topics and arguments. When students in a literature class interpret a novel, for
example, they must practice invention not only to develop an interpretation (de-
ciding what to write) but also to find ways to support it.Arrangementinvolved
how best to organize a speech, whereasstylewas related to the tone or voice of
the speech, whether it would be formal or informal, sophisticated or plain.
Memorywas very important because speakers did not use notes or talking
points but had to give the appearance of speaking extempore; also, their
speeches were usually quite long—1 or 2 hours—so developing the ability to
memorize was crucial to success.Deliverywas related to style but focused
more on gestures and postures. Many handbooks on rhetoric during the Renais-
sance, for example, provided numerous illustrations of hand gestures and
postures intended to evoke specific responses from audiences.
A counterpart of rhetoric wasdialectic,or what is sometimes referred to as
“philosophical rhetoric.” Rhetoric was almost completely pragmatic; that is, its
aim was to get things done through persuasive discourse either in the governing
assemblies or in the law courts. Dialectic, however, was not pragmatic but
rather sought to discover truth. Plato claimed that philosophical rhetoric would
convince the gods themselves(Phaedrus,273e),and his Socratic dialogues are
examples of dialectic. Over the centuries, the understanding of both rhetoric
and, especially, dialectic changed, gradually moving closer together. By the
time of the late Roman period, St. Augustine could declare inOn Dialect (De
dialectica)that “Dialectic is the science of arguing well” (I.1). By the Middle
Ages, dialectic had changed again and was understood primarily aslogic,
which was considered a part of grammar.
Both Plato and his student Aristotle wrote about grammar, but the first com-
plete grammar book we know about was written around 100 BC by Dionysius
Thrax, a native of Alexandria who taught in both Athens and Rome. HisArt of
Grammar (Techne grammatike)set the standard for all grammar books until the
20 thcentury. The following excerpt illustrates how his influence exists even to-
day and should seem very familiar: “A sentence is a combination of words, ei-
ther in prose or verse, making a complete sense.... Of discourse there are eight
parts: noun, verb, participle, article, pronoun, preposition, adverb, and
conjunction” (Dionysius, 1874, pp. 326–339).
Grammar in Rome
Greece had several prosperous colonies in Sicily and southern Italy, and the
sheer vitality of Greek culture meant that it exerted an important influence on
Rome from the earliest days. As Rome grew in power and size, it assimilated
numerous Greek customs and practices, including the educational system.
A SHORT HISTORY OF GRAMMAR 5