Ancient rhetoric description: Another one

Author: (German) Nietzsche
Translator: Tu Youxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-11-01
Features: As a master once said: If Kant is an insurmountable bridge to classical philosophy, then Nietzsche is an insurmountable bridge to modernism and postmodernism. This great Western philosopher of the late 19th century coined groundbreaking statements such as "God is dead" and "Re-evaluating All Values." To study Nietzsche's philosophy, one must first study this book, known as the "Essence of Nietzsche's Philosophy," Ancient Rhetoric: A Description.
Excerpt:
I. The Concept of Rhetoric
The distinctive evolution of the concept of rhetoric exemplifies a specific difference between antiquity and modernity: this art has recently suffered some discrimination. Nietzsche's note: Locke expressed his aversion with extreme intensity in An Inquiry into the Understanding (3, 10, 34): "We must acknowledge that all the techniques of rhetoric, all the inventions of elocution, all the artful circumlocutions of language, can only suggest false ideas, can only move the passions, and thus deceive judgment; they are truly tricks of deception." (Translated by Guan Wenyun, Commercial Press, 1959 edition, page 497, with minor revisions) Even in our modern times, when used appropriately, it is merely a playful pursuit, based on rough estimation rather than experience. Generally speaking, the perception of what truth itself is has undergone great changes: some people still live in mythological imagination, yet to touch the absolute necessity of historical precision, rhetoric has emerged among them: they prefer to be persuaded rather than taught. Moreover, those suited for eloquent speech are often trained in the liberal arts: rhetoric was developed as one of the seven liberal arts. Thus, it is ultimately an art of the republic: people must be accustomed to tolerating strange opinions and ideas, and maintain a certain joy in mutual contention; one must speak from the heart, just as one listens voluntarily; as listeners, one must also be able to appreciate the art being employed. The education of the ancients usually concluded with rhetoric: this was the supreme spiritual activity of an educated political person—a concept that sounds strange to us today! Kant made this point with great clarity in Critique of Judgment (page 203): "Speech arts are oratory and poetry. Oratory, as an art, treats serious matters as if the understanding were a free play of the imagination; poetry, as an art, controls the free play of the imagination as if the imagination were a serious matter of the understanding. Therefore, when an orator declares a serious matter, he handles it as if he were merely playing with ideas, so that the audience is entertained and forgets the seriousness. The poet claims to be merely playing with the amusing game of ideas, yet the understanding performs so many functions that promoting understanding seems to be one of his purposes. Thus, the unique vitality of ancient Greek culture can be highlighted: it regarded everything, such as intellectual activity, the essentials of life, inevitable circumstances, and even dangerous situations, as a game. The Romans were long-time naturalists in rhetoric, relatively dry and rough. However, the aristocratic demeanor of Roman politicians and the diverse practices of judicial procedures added to their glory; the great Roman orators were usually powerful party leaders, while the Greek orators discussed among their like-minded private gatherings. The Romans, rather than the Greeks, paid attention to a unique solemnity. Schopenhauer's statement (The World as Will and Representation, Part II, page 129) aligns perfectly with the aforementioned idea: "Oratory is such a skill that it induces in others the opinion of something or our attitude toward it, evokes in them the feelings we have toward it, and thus brings them into harmony with us; all of this is transmitted from our stream of ideas to their minds through words, and through this power, the stream alters their own direction of thought, incorporating their fixed tendencies into its own tendency and carrying them away. The more their tendency of thought previously diverged from this, the more evident the skill in altering their fixed tendencies." (Schopenhauer) Here, from the Roman perspective, the unique individual advantage of dominating everything is emphasized (oratory); whereas in Kant, the Greek (oratory) is highlighted.