Seek ye knowledge

     Spencer 's post touched on the knowledge that Cicero attained during the thirty years between his composition of De Inventione and De Oratore. An orator, such as Cicero, can gain knowledge in the rhetorical field over time and through experience. This is essential to his skill and power in persuasion. But what about his knowledge about his subject matter? Should a rhetorician be well-informed in the fields about which he speaks?

     Socrates adamantly refused that Gorgias could speak about anything, anytime, anywhere without having a true understanding of that 'thing'. Cicero supports Socrates by saying, "The orator must know the facts of his case. If he doesn't then he must learn them" (168). Through Crassus,  Cicero explains that a rhetorician cannot ignore the necessity of obtaining basic knowledge about his topic. This is in line with Socrates's argument against Gorgias that skillful rhetoric cannot take the place of expertise in a given field.

     I find it interesting that while Cicero and Socrates agree about the need for specified knowledge, Socrates believes that a specialist will speak more eloquently about his subject than the rhetorician ever could. Cicero disagrees, saying that once the orator learns a subject, he "will present this material better than the specialist could" (168). I think the competition would come down to how skilled the orator is and how much he learns about the topic. Unless the specialist has absolutely no public speaking skills at all, then it would be an easy bet. What do you think?

Kirby, the rhetorician, knew nothing about cooking
until he needed to write an argument about it.
Now he has quite the big mouth!

Cicero states that, "Knowledge of the rules [of rhetoric] is the first step towards oratory" (169), and it seems to me that another step is acquiring knowledge about the subject so as to intelligently approach the argument.