Cicero, On the Ideal Orator, Book 3

Thus , being both a rhetorician and a philosopher , an orator is better than both

As soon as Cicero assigns the role of the philosopher to the orator , he immediately makes it mandatory for him to be educated and developed on the lines of education that are generally isolated mainly for philosophers . This would be a sound grounding in the knowledge of psychology and linguistics . A study of psychology would make it possible for the orator to judge the situation properly and thus fashion his utterances to the greatest effect . Although these were

acceptable , what proved to be difficult for pure rhetoricians to understand and accept was Cicero 's insistence on inculcating knowledge of things that were usually assigned outside an orator 's ken . Of particular controversy was Cicero 's prescription of the orator 's knowledge of civil law . Crassus in the third part of the dialogue goes at length discussing the necessity for an orator to understand the nuances of civil law . Although it was difficult for a great number of Cicero 's contemporaries to understand why he stressed on the knowledge of civil laws , yet for Cicero himself it was an integral part of the orator 's education , as an orator should always be diligent in gathering knowledge , or what he calls , universal knowledge

This emphasis on the attainment of universal knowledge as a prerequisite for an orator is almost without precedence in Cicero . However , for Cicero this is important because an orator for him should possess a high moral character , which in turn can lead to a sound moral decision . This sound moral decision can be effected only when an individual looks on both sides of a subject , which in turn was a sign of universal knowledge . Cicero did state the ability to argue on both sides of...