Quintilian on the Separation of Philosophy and Rhetoric

Quintilian gives a fascinating, if brief , account of the separation of rhetoric and philosophy in Rome. First, he tells his readers that the original fault lies with rhetoric, or at least, rhetoricians, their mercenary bent and ethical problems. He writes, "as soon as the tongue became an instrument of gain, and it was made a practice to abuse the gifts of eloquence, those who were esteemed as eloquent abandoned the care of morals." So, greed led rhetoricians to seek their own gratification over the needs of the state. Something Plato could wholeheartedly agree with. However, Plato would not agree with the next statement, for Quintilian argues that as a result of the separation of the two, philosophy suffered from a lack of intellectual rigor. According to Quintilian, "when thus neglected, [philosophy] became as it were the prize of the less robust intellects." Thus, rhetoric deteriorated morally, and philosophy deteriorated intellectually.

The solution? Joining the two: "Let the orator, therefore, be such a man as may be called truly wise, not blameless in morals only (for that, in my opinion, though some disagree with me, is not enough) but accomplished also in science and in every qualification for speaking, a character such as, perhaps, no man ever was. But we are not the less, for that reason, to aim at perfection, for which most of the ancients strove, who, though they thought that no wise man had yet been found, nevertheless laid down directions for gaining wisdom. For the perfection of eloquence is assuredly something, nor does the nature of the human mind forbid us to reach it, but if to reach it be not granted us, yet those who shall strive to gain the summit will make higher advances than those who, prematurely conceiving a despair of attaining the point at which they aim, shall at once sink down at the foot of the ascent."

Institutes of Oratory. Preface. 13-20