Quinitilian, From Institutes of Oratory

Quintilian. "From Institutes of Oratory." The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. 2nd ed. Trans. John Selby Watson. Eds. Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 364-428. Print.

In Book II, Quintilian shares his ideals concerning the teaching of rhetoric: that qualified students should learn rhetoric from teachers who have moral "purity," who are calm, clear, and willing to uphold high standards (366). For Quintilian, writing should be lively, not dry (369). He says it is important to read only the best writers (375). He writes of the amount of guidance versus correction that instructors should give students (376). Later, he elaborates on correction with respect to writing (407-408). He writes about memorization and then differences in ability, and how that relates to imitation (377). 

In Chapter XV, Quintilian revews various definitions of oratory and shares his own idea: that "a perfect order" needs "above all, to be a good man," and that "oratory is the science of speaking well"  (388).  Later, in Chapter XX, Quintilian writes of rhetoric as a virtue, further emphasizing it's value and "usefulness" (397-398). Quintilian comes back to the idea of the "good man" again in Book XII (413-422). He notes that morality should always be a concern (420). He also discusses the importance of firmness, confidence, and courage (424).

In Book X, Chapter II, Quinitilian writes about imitation, noting that it is valuable but not enough: that no one is perfect, that exact imitation is harder than aiming for excellence, that to always follow means to "always be behind," and that imitations can feel fake (401). Quintilian writes about writing and composition in Chapter III (403-407).