CAMPANELLA'S RHETORIC

This paper provides an exposition of Campanella's Rhetorica. It shows that the apparently novel structure and chapter titles of the work in fact present the classical syllabus of rhetoric, incorporating some Renaissance developments, such as the focus on topical invention and the addition of further genres of rhetoric. When Campanella calls rhetoric "a type of magic" he means that it has power over the emotions of the audience. He makes original contributions to rhetorical theory on the relationship between emotion and reason and on methods of winning the attention of a hostile audience.