In my opinion Quintilian’s rhetoric covers three aspects: the theoretical, the educational, and the practical. He agrees on the theory of rhetoric with other rhetoricians “that oratory is the science of speaking well, for it embraces all the virtues, and includes also the character of the true orator, as he cannot speak well unless he be a good man”. (44) This ought to be acknowledged by everyone, and especially by me, who allow the attainment of oratory only to the man of virtue. The difference between the unlearned speaker who gives forth everything and there is no skill and arrangement in his ideas and the learned one who uses selection and moderation is really interesting.  But it is outdated at the same time because in modern age even unskilled and unpolished have their value.

The second feature that attracted me was the educational aspect of oratory. The material of oratory is everything that may come before an orator for discussion. He agrees with Socrates that the matter of oratory is not in words but in things. Cicero, too, gives his opinion that an orator has to speak upon all subjects. It would be apt to say that whatever occurs in human life ought to be examined, heard, read, discussed, handled, and managed by an orator. That is why he feels that the study and art of rhetoric could not be reduced rather an orator must turn his thoughts in various directions according to the different needs of the audience.

I think the work is a comprehensive and thorough study of the technical aspects of rhetoric. Just like an intelligent orator he covers all the topics that can be topics of rhetoric but examined in detail the most influential idea of tropes and figures. Unlike many modern theorists, he “does not see figurative language as a threat to the stability of linguistic reference. The referential use of a word was always the primary meaning, and the use of figurative language was merely an addition to it, not a replacement for it. Furthermore, he organizes the practice of oratory into five canons: inventio (discovery of arguments), dispositio (arrangement of arguments), elocutio (expression or style), memoria (memorization), and pronuntiatio (delivery).

Last but not the least, pragmatism is the most striking feature of Quintilian discussion and he remains concerned with the practical, applicable aspect, rather than the theoretical. Besides that there is an aura of authenticity as Quintilian drew from a number of sources in compiling his work. This eclecticism also prevented him from adhering too rigidly to any particular school of thought. The book is an excellent example of simplicity; it advocates a return to simpler and clearer language. He disagrees with the use of ‘erratic and wantonly adorned and far-fetched descriptions’. Cicero is the model Quintilian adopts as the standard-bearer for this form. Quintilian evidently preferred the natural, especially in language, and disliked the excessive ornamentation popular in the style of his contemporaries. Deviating from natural language and the natural order of thought in pursuit of an over-elaborate style created confusion in both the orator and his audience.