The purpose of speaking well (rhetoric) is to handle topics we discuss without formal methods, for an audience that can't easily follow complex arguments or long reasoning.
The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor; it is the one thing that cannot be learned from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of... ...
We are convinced by a speaker's good character when their speech makes us trust them. We believe good people more easily and completely than others, especially when there's no definite answer and opinions are split.
Rhetoric is useful because truth and justice are in their nature stronger than their opposites; so that if decisions be made, not in conformity to the rule of propriety, it must have been that they have been got the better... ...
A period may be defined as a portion of speech that has in itself a beginning and an end, being at the same time not too big to be taken in at a glance
Rhetoric can be described as the skill of finding all possible ways to persuade in any given situation. This is unique to rhetoric and not part of any other art.
The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances.
Of means of persuading by speaking there are three species: some consist in the character of the speaker; others in the disposing the hearer a certain way; others in the thing itself which is said, by reason of its proving,... ...
