A Course of Lectures on Oratory and CriticismCambridge University Press, 2013 M10 24 - 396 pages While a tutor at Warrington Academy, the polymath Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) established himself as a leading grammarian and educational theorist, producing the influential Rudiments of English Grammar (1761) and A Course of Lectures on the Theory of Language and Universal Grammar (1762), both of which are reissued in this series. In 1762 he also delivered these lectures on rhetorical theory, arguing that the purpose of rhetoric is moral formation. Priestley was deeply influenced by associationism, a theory of mind developed by John Locke and David Hartley. This claims that all complex ideas develop from simple ones, which arise purely from sensory impressions. The orator's role, then, is to form the right associations between impressions and ideas in a listener's mind. Informed by this theory, these thirty-five lectures re-evaluate the classical rhetorical components of topic, method and style. First published in 1777, the work is reissued here in its 1781 Dublin printing. |
Contents
E C T II Ofthe Natureand UſeOfTOPlCS | 8 |
LEC T XIII Of the Tendency of ſtrong Emotiff | 9 |
E C T III Of UNlVERSAL TOPICS | 14 |
E C T IV Of particular Tomcs and OII | 23 |
E C T V Of AMPLIFICATioN | 31 |
E C T VI Of METHOD in Narrative Diſ | 39 |
LEC T Vll Of METHOD in Argumentative | 49 |
Of the ſeveral Parts qf a proper | 57 |
T XIX Of NOVELTY | 174 |
Of the SUBLIME | 181 |
E C T XXI Of the Pleaſure we receive from | 199 |
T XXIIl Rules fbr the Uſe of Mrsra | 224 |
E C T XXIV Of CONTRAST in general | 235 |
E C T XXV Of BURLBSQUE PARODY | 252 |
Of RIDDLES PUNS and | 266 |
Of METONYMY | 288 |
Of the ANALYTlC METHOD | 66 |
PART | 85 |
LEC T XIV Of the Influence of the Paſſions | 116 |
PRESSXON | 127 |
Of the PLEASURES or IMA | 148 |
T XVIII A general Account of the Pleaſure | 162 |
T XXIX Of PERSONIFICATION | 295 |
LE CT XXXIII Of the lieſemblance between | 346 |
LECT XXXlV OfHARMONYinVERse | 356 |
OfHARMONYinPRosz | 370 |
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Common terms and phrases
admit advantage affected alſo appear arguments aſſociated attention bear becauſe called caſe cauſe circumſtances compoſition connected conſequence conſiderable conſidered courſe demonſtration different diſcourſe diſtinct doth effect equally example excite expreſſion favour feel figure firſt former give greater hath head himſelf hiſtory human ideas imagination introduced kind language LECTURE leſs likewiſe lively manner means metaphors method mind moſt muſt nature objects obſervations occaſion occur particular paſſage pauſe perceive perſon pleaſing pleaſure preſent principal proof proper properties propoſition propriety reader reaſon receive regard relation require reſemblance reſpect ſame ſay ſcene ſee ſeems ſenſations ſenſe ſenſible ſentence ſentiments ſeveral ſhall ſhould ſhow ſimilar ſituation ſome ſpeak ſtate ſtrong ſubject ſublime ſuch ſufficient taſte tend themſelves theſe thing thoſe thought tion topics true truth univerſally uſe variety verſe whereas whole whoſe writer