HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Despite dating from the 4th century BC, The Art of Rhetoric continues to be regarded by many as the single most important work on the art of persuasion. As democracy began emerging in 5th-century Athens, public speaking and debate became an increasingly important tool to garner influence in the assemblies, councils, and law courts of ancient Greece. In response...

"Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies, Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people upon whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort...

James M. May is professor of classics, the Kenneth O. Bjork Distinguished Professor, and former provost and dean at St. Olaf College. An award-winning teacher, he is a widely recognized expert on Cicero and classical rhetoric and has written and edited many books on these topics. He lives in Northfield, Minnesota. Timeless techniques of effective public speaking from ancient Rome's greatest orator All of us are faced countless times with the challenge...

Socrates: Phaedrus, I am a friend of division and synthesis as ways of promoting speech and thought. So, if I encounter someone who is able lead the way in discerning such natural unity and diversity, "I follow in that person's footsteps as I would a god." Only the gods know whether I give such people the right name or not, but I call them dialecticians. This dialogue provides a powerful example of the dialectical writing that Plato uses to manifest...