To provide a view of the history of western rhetoric, this volume presents original articles by a number of world-renowned scholars representing different countries and varying viewpoints. In discussing the status of the historical perspectives on rhetoric, these international scholars also present a tribute to James J. Murphy, whose scholarship and service did much to shape the field. The book will introduce new insights into western European rhetoric and its connections with English rhetoric.

Contents: W.B. Horner, Preface. J.J. Murphy, Bibliography. B.S. Bennett, M. Leff, Introduction: James J. Murphy and the Rhetorical Tradition. Part I:Theory and Pedagogy in the Classical and Medieval Traditions. L.D. Green, Aristotle's Enthymeme and the Imperfect Syllogism. R. Gaines, Cicero's Response to the Philosophers in De oratore, Book 1. J. Axer, Cicero's Court Speeches: The Spoken Text Versus the Published Text. Some Remarks From the Point of View of the Communication Theory of Text. G.A. Kennedy, Attitudes Toward Authority in the Teaching of Rhetoric Before 1050. M.C. Woods, Teaching the Tropes in the Middle Ages: The Theory of Metaphoric Transference in Commentaries on the Poetria Nova. M. Camargo, Between Grammar and Rhetoric: Composition Teaching at Oxford and Bologna in the Late Middle Ages. Part II:Renaissance Textbooks and Rhetorical Education. J. Ward, The Lectures of Guarino da Verona on the Rhetorica ad Herennium: A Preliminary Discussion. J.D. Moss, Ludovico Carbone on the Nature of Rhetoric. W.A. Wallace, Antonio Riccobono: The Teaching of Rhetoric in 16th-Century Padua. Part III:Continuity and Change in 18th-Century Rhetorical Education. B. Warnick, A Minor Skirmish: Balthazar Gibert Versus Charles Rollin on Rhetorical Education. S.M. Halloran, Hugh Blair's Use of Quintilian and the Transformation of Rhetoric in the 18th Century. T.M. Conley, An 18th Century Greek Triplex modus praedicandi Treatise. Part IV:Rhetoric and Culture From the Renaissance to the Present. K. Meerhoff, International Humanism. D.P. Abbott, Diego Valadés and the Origins of Humanistic Rhetoric in the Americas. H.F. Plett, Shakespeare and the Ars Rhetorica. R. Schoeck, The Borromeo Rings: Rhetoric, Law, and Literature in the English Renaissance. N. Streuver, The Discourse of Cure: Rhetoric and Medicine in the Late Renaissance. B. Vickers, Deconstruction's Designs on Rhetoric.