On the Contrary: The Protocol of Traditional Rhetoric

How does one compose discourse? In antiquity rhetoricians answered that question by dividing the creative process into five arts: finding what to say, arranging the material discovered, fitting it with an appropriate style, delivering it orally or in writing, and storing it in memory. The first of these, called invention, is the most crucial and the most complex. But it has also been the most obscure, at least since the time of the English Renaissance. One cause of this obscurity is the severance of rhetoric from its ancient counterpart, disputation, or debate, a practice which required students to argue both sides of a question. Thomas O. Sloane's On the Contrary reconnects rhetoric with this inventive contrarianism.

The book addresses contemporary views of rhetoric, of its history, and of its impoverished protocol. But its major focus is on reconstructing the past through centering on three documents in particular: Cicero's De oratore (55 BC), Erasmus' De copia (1534), and Thomas Wilson's Discourse on Usury (1572). These often misread works, among others, reveal the contrarianism at the heart of traditional rhetorical invention, in which both, or all, sides of a question must be given a fair hearing.

Students of the history of rhetoric, antiquity, the English Renaissance, Cicero, Erasmus, or Thomas Wilson, as well as teachers of composition and even undergraduate debaters will find something of interest in this book. Written in an engaging style, the book will reshape our thinking about rhetoric. Long associated with public speaking, traditional rhetoric yet offers a stimulating way of composing discourse, a protocol that is cognizant of audiences and opposition--a protocol cognizant of what it means to speak in public.

Thomas O. Sloane is professor emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley. He taught rhetoric at the university for almost twenty-five years, and prior to that taught public speaking and oral interpretation at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Sloane is best known for his writings on the rhetoric and poetry of the English Renaissance. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Rhetoric of Renaissance Poetry: From Wyatt to Milton (University of California Press, 1974) and Donne, Milton, and the End of Humanist Rhetoric (University of California Press, 1985).

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""On the Contrary pursues a strikingly original and particularly timely thesis about the importance of arguing both sides of any question. . . . It contributes to the history, theory, and criticism of rhetoric as we know it, and it makes a powerful case for adjusting our attitudes toward all three to improve our students' current language skills and appreciation of literary techniques.""--Prof. William J. Kennedy, Cornell University

Sloane has written an engaging history of humanistic rhetoric that also serves as a brief for reforming the teaching of composition and debate. . . . Practicing what he preaches in both style and method, Sloane offers insightful readings of the works, life, and practices of Cicero, Thomas More, and Erasmus, and examines in detail Thomas Wilson's writings and career. . . . This important and stimulating book should be in the hands of a wide audience. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates, graduates, and faculty interested in composition, speech communication, the history of education, rhetoric, and humanism.""--Choice

Table of Contents

1. Issues

2. Invention

3. Copiousness

4. Disputatiousness

5. Suasion

6. A Case Study: Thomas Wilson

7. The End

Appendices

A. Wilson's Logic and Rhetoric

B. To Marry or Not to Marry, That's the Question

Bibliography

Addressing contemporary views of rhetoric, this text reconstructs the past to reconnect rhetoric with the invention of discourse. Sloane reveals the contrarianism at the heart of traditional rhetorical invention, in which both, or all sides of a question must be given a fair hearing.