Ancient Rhetoric and the Art of Tertullian

Sider has traced the influence on Tertullian of the methods, techniques and patterns of argument of classical rhetorical theory contained in the basic textbooks (primarily Cicero, De Inventione, Quintilian, Institutio, and occasionally Aristotle and Hermagoras). While emphasizing forensic rhetoric (especially the extremely important “conjectural” method), he also examines the influence of deliberative and epideictic rhetorical theory on the structure of Tertullian’s treatises and parts of treatises, on his characteristic ways of arguing, and on certain of his biblical exegeses. Sider finds that Tertullian’s rhetorical training furnish him with far more than a stylistic tool; it provided a veritable “habit of thought” which, in some cases, controlled the development of his argument.

Sider’s book, useful to specialists and others, has made a fine contribution to Tertullian scholarship by identifying carefully and convincingly one of the main elements of Tertullian’s thought.