How to Be a Virtuous Orator
The event will be held on Zoom platform, due to the Covid pandemic
Time: 16.00 - 18.00 h.
Description
Le vie del falso
In his work Institutio Oratoria, Quintilian deals with the art of oratory and the ideal speaker. Although he demands a high standard, Quintilian allows ‘his’ speaker to lie if certain conditions are met. This has irked modern critics.
Since Quintilian’s work is not only a teaching manual, but also deals with the history of rhetoric, I will ask about possible models for Quintilian’s approach to lying, taking the court speeches of Attic Oratory as an example. I will discuss both the explicit handling of accusations of lies in the Attic courts as well as the (supposed) actual lies by speakers.
The discussion shows the importance of character and passion for the plausibility process, and questions what, if anything, might be considered a ‘justified lie’. The boundaries between truth and lie turn out to be fluid and, upon closer inspection, often a matter of interpretation.
Keynote Speaker
Katharina Wojciech - Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Introduction: Elena Franchi
Registration
Registration is free but necessary
Online Registration is now open ENG - Le Iscrizioni online sono aperte ITA
Registrations will close on April 21 at 12.00 Noon
Scientific committee
Elena Franchi
Image: Jean-Léon Gérôme, Phryné devant l'Aréopage (1861)