Elements of Rhetoric: Comprising an Analysis of the Laws of Moral Evidence and of Persuasion, with Rules for Argumentative Composition and Elocution

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R IC H A R D WH AT E LY L A N D M A R K S I N R H E T O R I C A N D P U B L I C A D D R E S S ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC ELEMENTS OF RHETORIC COMPRISING AN ANALYSIS OF THE LAWS OF MORAL EVIDENCE AND OF PERSUASION, WITH RULES FOR ARGUMENTATIVE COMPOSITION AND ELOCUTION ELEMENTS OF R HETOR IC S OU T H ER N I L L I NOI S U N I V ER S I T Y P R E S S R IC H A R D WH AT E LY Edited with a Critical Introduction by Douglas Ehninger Foreword by David Potter RHETORIC Direct, comprehensive, well organized, simple in statement, Elements of Rhetoric is in all respects well fitted to fulfill its assigned role as a textbook. The remarks on practical problems and the examples and analogies confirm contemporary reports that Whately was himself a talented and stimulating teacher. The modern field of speech was born near the beginning of the twentieth century, some seventy years after Whately wrote. But influential leaders in the new field endorsed Whately’s judgments, and courses and textbooks in public address have remained strongly influenced by his ideas. Whately’s views on a number of major questions in rhetoric have proved sound and fruitful during many decades of practice, and his book remains one of the most influential works on the subject. Douglas Ehninger, a professor of speech at the University of Iowa, is a coauthor of The Speaker’s Resource Book and Decision by Debate. WHATLEY Southern Illinois University Press 1915 University Press Drive Mail Code 6806 Carbondale, IL 62901 www.siupress.com Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-8093-2974-3 ISBN 978-0-8093-2974-8 Whately_NIP_CDDC.indd 1 1/20/10 8:58 AM LANDMARKS in Rhetoric andPublic Address ...