Philodemus on Rhetoric books 1 and 2 : translation and exegetical essays

Abstract

Bibliography: leaves 227-237.This thesis attempts to elucidate Philodemus' approach to one aspect of paideia, that of rhetoric as treated in the first two books of his On Rhetoric, and to account for this approach within the broader tradition of Epicurean thiking on this discipline. As a preliminary to the investigation of this topic a complete English translation is provided of the most recent edition of the text (Longo Auricchio [1977]). The subsequent study takes the form of series of three essays which seek to clarify Philodemus' conception of the problem and through a close reading, to provide an exegetical commentary on the most important features of Philodemus' approach, especially the way he manages citations from the works of the Founders of Epicureanism in support of his own views