Ethics & Bioethics (in Central Europe), 2020, 10 (3–4), 107–115 DOI:10.2478/ebce-2020-0012 The moral power of the word: Ethical literature in Antiquity Przemysław Paczkowski1 Abstract According to an old legend, during the Messenian Wars in Laconia in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the Athenians sent the poet Tyrtaeus to the Spartans who were close to being defeated; he aroused in them the fighting spirit and renewed Spartan virtues. Philosophers in antiquity believed in the psychagogical power of the word, and this belief provided the foundation for ancient ethical literature, whose main purpose was to call for a spiritual transformation and to convert to philosophy. In this paper, I would like to demonstrate what tradition philosophy referred to in these efforts; what concept of man supported that belief; finally, what literary genres were used by ancient philosophers in ethics. Keywords: Plato, dialogues, ancient rhetoric, literary genres Ancient philosophers believed in the psychagogical power of words, and ethical literature in ancient times was based on this belief. Its goal was to cause spiritual transformation and conversion to philosophy. I shall attempt to show what tradition ancient philosophy referred to in this field; on what concept of human nature this belief was based, and what literary genres were developed in ethics by philosophy. Belief in the power of words ‒ educational, paraenetic, persuasive ‒ accompanied Greek culture from its very beginnings. Poetry (but also music and performances on stage) was attributed with the power of tuning the psυche: evoking or soothing emotions and inspiring heroic deeds. It is illustrated by the following legend: when, during the Messenian wars in Laconia at the turn of the eighth and seventh centuries BC, the Spartans faced defeat, the Athenians, instead of an army, sent them the poet Tyrtaeus, who aroused their fighting spirit and renewed the Spartan virtues.2 Much of the philosophical literature was written to cause moral effects, lead to a spiritual transformation, and the oldest texts which can, with all certainty, be called philosophical were Sokratikoi logoi ‒ Socratic dialogues. Plato’s dialogues occupy a special place among them because of the protreptic power that was attributed to them. In this respect, their role in ancient culture can be compared to the role played in Christianity by the Letters of St. Paul. In Hellenistic times, the literary practice of philosophers was already supported by a refined theory of the influence the text had on the reader, which drew both on the achievements of rhetoric and ancient philosophy. Cicero saw the main purpose of philosophy in the treatment of the soul, perceiving its action in analogy to medicine (Tusculan Disputations, 3.5‒6). The therapeutic power of the word is the discovery of Greek poetry, probably originating in earlier magical practices. We read in Odyssey (378 n.) that Odysseus’ companions blocked the blood flowing from his wound with chants. Aeschylus in Prometheus speaks of healing words (iatroi logoi, 378), and Empedocles was supposedly the author of a poem entitled Iatrikos logos (D.L. 8.77). Laín Entralgo (1970, pp. 1‒31), analysing early Greek literature, distinguished four varieties of persuasive speech that appear there: a request (euche), the deceptive word (thelhterios logos), the soothing word (terpros logos), the magic-healing song (epode). Gorgias based the idea of rhetoric on the concept of the magical and therapeutic effects of speech, and his contemporary, the sophist Antiphon, ran a practice in Athens that can be compared to 1 University of RzesZow (Poland); [email protected] 2 Tyrtaeus’ activities and his influence on the culture of Sparta are a historical fact, but it may be just an element of the legend that he was sent to the Spartans by the Athenians. 107 modern psychotherapy offices: for a fee, he gave comforting speeches tailored to the individual needs of the clients. Ancient rhetoric The aforementioned Gorgias created a fascinating and highly influential theory of the irrational impact of the word on the soul of the listener. The stylistic elements he developed (Denniston, 1952, p. 8 n.), the rhythms and rhymes used, were to have a similar effect to magical incantations, for the task of the word is, according to Gorgias, persuasion (peitho). This concept later met with Plato’s criticism, who, in his polemic against it, proposed his own idea of philosophical rhetoric (see below). However, it was Gorgias who strengthened the belief in the power of a skilfully used word in Greek culture and laid the foundations for the rhetorical model of education that became an inseparable element of ancient schooling. Rhetorical education was based on the claim that language and style influence the persuasive value of speech (text) at least as much as argumentation. One of the sections of the refined theory of rhetoric, elocutio, concerned the ability to present arguments using beautiful language; another, dispositio, taught the principles of proper composition of speech due to its persuasive qualities.3 Rhetorically educated philosophers of the Hellenistic and Roman era, such as Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch or Marcus Aurelius, and even the first Christian philosophers, such as Saint Augustine, treated rhetoric as an effective tool in the philosophical work of psychagogy. Nevertheless, at the beginning, rhetoric was defined by its negative attitude to the possibility of reaching and conveying the truth, or as demagogy, the art of convincing the crowd. In his famous treatise On Nature or the Non-Existent, Gorgias argued that nothing exists in the way Parmenides wrote about “the existent”, and thus as unchanging, knowable and definable, as thinkable and utterable (D.L. 9.22). There is no “correspondence” (medieval adaequatio) between the word and the object; the purpose of language is not referentiality. This made the field of the word completely autonomous, a kind of a game whose goal is to win over the opponent, and victory in this case means to convince them. Gorgias’ signature speeches, such as Encomium of Helen, were an illustration of this theory, and also an advertisement for the art he prided himself on teaching. In practice, they showed how to seduce with words, enslave listeners to accept any theses; how to invoke deceit (apate) in them. Gorgias’ rhetoric, however, was not an art (techne) in the strict sense of the word, because a rhetorician should always adapt their speech to a specific audience. Therefore, the action of the word can be compared to the action of a medicine that cures one person but can harm another. Rhetorical art ‒ like medical art ‒ derives its value from experience and requires talent. Moreover, the most important rule that the speaker should follow is kairos, the rule of the right moment, emphasising the role of improvisation in rhetorical art. The most outstanding disciple of Gorgias, Isocrates, departed from this principle. Plato’s great rival, the founder of the influential rhetorical school competing in Athens with the Academy in the field of education, did not have any talent for public speaking. He directed rhetoric towards literature, writing speeches intended for reading, in which non-verbal persuasion, so important in Gorgias’ concept, was replaced by a sophisticated style. His activities contributed largely to the transition of Greek culture from orality to literacy (Bons, 1993, p. 161). Isocrates believed that rhetoric was to serve the purposes of education, and consciously referred to the tradition of educational poetry. He condemned the contemporary sophistic practice that was focused on eristic effectiveness instead of developing arete. In fact, he had similar ideals to Plato (Panhellenism), he adhered to similar values (moral reconstruction of the polis), he believed himself to be a true philosopher, except that he used the term in the traditional sense (unlike Plato). 3 Other sections of ancient rhetoric are inventio (finding arguments), memoria (the art of remembering) and actio (appropriate performance). 108 Isocrates not only wrote educational speeches, but also practised the theory of the influence of the text, calling himself the Phidias of rhetoric (Antidosis 2).4 Written speech, he argued, is characterised by the fact that you can re-read it, interpret it again and in a deeper way. An educational text works by example (paradeigma) and imitation (mimesis), presents the virtues and deeds of great people to the reader, encouraging him or her to compete with them in this field. The educational role is played by such literary genres as praise (enkomion), funeral speech (epitaphion) or paraenesis (parainesis) ‒ the lives of historical figures who serve the purpose of encouraging a virtuous life. At the same time, literature has a higher value than visual arts, because words imitate character virtues better than shapes and colours do (Euagoras 74n.), being able to convince people of what is righteous and to conquer what is base (Nicocles or the Cyprians 7.4‒5). This theory was developed in the literature of Hellenistic and Roman times. Cicero combined the achievements of old rhetoric and philosophy. Rejecting Gorgias’ cognitive nihilism, he decided that wisdom and knowledge of truth (scil. philosophy) must be accompanied by the art of speech (rhetoric) so that it could help the state (De inventione 1.1.10) ‒ vir bonus should combine the virtues of a philosopher and a rhetorician. The work of Plutarch, who in ethical writings declared the possibility of teaching virtue by presenting lofty paradeigmata, and implemented his educational programme in numerous Lives, can be considered a continuation of Isocrates’ idea. Both the reader and the author himself can derive from historical biographies the ability to order their lives and make their character similar to the virtues of great people (Moralia: How a man may become aware of his progress in virtue 85b). Educational literature overcomes time, summons the ancestors, allowing us to associate with them and study their lives.