Institutes of Oratory

This is the first single-volume English translation of the "Institutio Oratoria," a treatise on all stages of the orator’s education that was written in Latin under the emperor Domitian (81–96 CE) by the Roman rhetorician and teacher Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, commonly known as Quintilian. In the course of twelve books Quintilian discusses the education of young children, rhetorical theory (including discussion of invention of arguments, arrangement, style, memory, and performance), literary criticism and history, gesture, rhythm, the ethics of persuasion, and much more. It is a treatise that has had a profound influence on education from Late Antiquity through the Renaissance and into the present day. This translation is based on that of the Rev. John Selby Watson, originally published in 1856 in two volumes and now in the public domain. For this edition the editors have updated Watson's widely admired and already very readable translation to reflect 21st century usage. Several other editions of Watson’s translation of Quintilian’s “Institutes” are available, but these are unrevised scans (often of low quality) of out-of-copyright editions and usually include only half the work, even if the title states “in twelve volumes” (this designation is copied from the title page to Watson’s original edition in two volumes). This completely re-typeset edition is the only edition of Watson’s translation to include Quintilian’s complete text in one volume.