Classical Teaching of Rhetoric in Russian Philological Tradition (18th — First Half of the 19th Century)

Abstract

The article presents a historical and critical review of the classical teaching of rhetoric as the science and art of speech in the Russian philological tradition of the 18th — first half of the 19th centuries. A description of this experience of rhetoric as “the science of inventing, arranging and expressing thoughts” can give a lot to a modern scholar and teacher, since today’s educational practice largely uses ancient classical methods and techniques in organizing verbal and speech education. The authors present information about rhetoric in Ancient Rus’, when there were no rhetoric textbooks, but active oratorical activity was carried out; the first rhetoric textbooks of the 17th century and the time of Peter the Great with their practical advice and recommendations for constructing a speech; describes “means for acquiring eloquence” by Mikhail V. Lomonosov, which, as it turns out, were based on their predecessors, rhetoric manuals of Peter’s times; in our first higher educational institutions, for example, Moscow University, “eloquence” was taught primarily, and at the beginning of the 19th century, “literature” reigned and the peak of Russian rhetoric flourished in the first years of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where Nikolai F. Koshansky was teaching. The modern world of the Russian Word cannot be imagined without this historical and cultural tradition, in the study of which much remains to be done, but without the support of which it is impossible to realize creativity in modern Russian speech. Materials related to teaching rhetoric can provide a lot of useful advice and recommendations to the modern teacher and student regarding both the rules of speaking and the education of a speaker. Th us, Old Believer rhetoricians give specific advice on personality formation and pronunciation rules; Lomonosov offers classical “means of acquiring eloquence,” interpreting them in an original way for the Russian audience, and the pinnacle of rhetorical education should be the lessons of N. F. Koshansky at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, who recommended reading, reflection and practical exercises.

Keywords:

rhetoric, eloquence, teaching, science, art, Mikhail V. Lomonosov, Nikolai F. Koshansky