Project Gutenberg 2005-02-11 Public domain in the USA. 279 Tacitus, Cornelius 56 117 Tacitus, Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, Caius Cornelius Tacitus, Publius Cornelius Murphy, Arthur 1727 1805 Ranger, Charles A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, or the Causes of Corrupt Eloquence The Works of Cornelius Tacitus, Volume 8 (of 8); With an Essay on His Life and Genius, Notes, Supplements Produced by Ted Garvin, Tom Martin and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team "A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, or the Causes of Corrupt Eloquence" by Tacitus is a philosophical treatise likely written in the first century AD. The work is structured as a dialogue between several notable figures, including Curiatius Maternus, Julius Secundus, and Marcus Aper, who debate the state of oratory and its decline from the eloquence of ancient times. The central theme revolves around the reasons for the deterioration of effective communication and the contrast between poets and orators in terms of societal value and personal fulfillment. The opening of the dialogue introduces the characters and sets the stage for a discussion on the decline of eloquence from its earlier, more esteemed forms. Maternus has recently faced criticism for his obscure tragedy, which leads to a conversation with Aper and Secundus about the merits of oratory versus poetry. Aper argues for the superiority and advantages of pursuing a career in oratory, outlining the public esteem and personal benefits it entails, while Maternus defends his passion for poetry as a higher calling despite the risks and sacrifices it entails. The discussion quickly evolves into an exploration of the differences between ancient and modern eloquence, touching on education, style, and the societal attitudes toward each profession. The groundwork for a critique of contemporary rhetorical practices is laid as the characters delve into specific examples and broader implications of their beliefs. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Dialogues, Latin Oratory, Ancient PA Text Classical Antiquity Browsing: History - Ancient Browsing: Language & Communication Browsing: Literature 523550 497920 2024-09-07T03:34:14.701856 2023-09-07T05:43:06.347199 text/html text/html 488732 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/html; charset=utf-8 181076 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/html; charset=utf-8 application/zip 260024 2024-09-07T03:34:24.542866 application/epub+zip 272792 2024-09-07T03:34:17.551952 application/epub+zip 265342 2024-09-07T03:34:16.420860 application/epub+zip 581104 2024-09-07T03:34:29.412866 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 531095 2024-09-07T03:34:23.721864 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 349372 2022-09-07T19:30:51.508445 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 439668 2024-09-07T03:34:13.043884 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 439617 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/plain; charset=utf-8 171041 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 438908 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 170679 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 439414 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 170366 2020-12-14T02:13:44 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 22728 2024-09-07T03:34:29.561808 application/rdf+xml 24256 2024-09-07T03:34:16.816912 image/jpeg 4447 2024-09-07T03:34:16.617902 image/jpeg 254331 2024-09-07T03:34:14.745866 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia