The Rhetorical Tradition, Boethius, pg. 486-491
This section of The Rhetorical Tradition was interesting, because it highlighted a Roman rhetor from the Medieval time period and how his teachings and writings were based off of classical rhetors, including Aristotle, whom Boethius studied extensively and aimed to emulate. He focused on Aristotle's structure and basis for rhetorics, and how this is important for an orator to use in order to develop their own speech and writing skills.
This section was also interesting, because the Overview of the Structure of Rhetoric that was presented after the historical background on Boethius presented solid information on rhetorics and about the teachings of rhetoric, and how they can be used to develop one's own speech skills. Overall, this section provided further insight into what the study of rhetorics is.
Again, I felt that this section within The Rhetorical Tradition was important and it only solidified the notion that ancient rhetorics have helped form and shape what rhetorics were and have been evolving to become throughout time. Boethius was a good example of a rhetor who relied on the teachings of Aristotle in order to hone his own skills as an orator and his sense of the teachings of rhetoricas in its entirety. The historical sections are particularly interesting, because it is made evident that without the classical ideas and practices of rhetoricians, we would not have the skills or necessary mindset to be as effective writers or speakers.
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