I.

THE LIBERAL ARTS:

A. THE TRIVIUM or three ways to knowledge:

1. Grammar (and with it poetics), symbolized by the figure of Donatus, a Roman teacher who
wrote the Latin grammar book used in all medieval schools.

2. Rhetoric, symbolized by the figure of Cicero, the great Roman orator.

3. Logic (including both demonstrative and dialectical logic), symbolized by the figure of
Aristotle.

B. The Quadrivium or four ways to knowledge:

1. Arithmetic or algebra, symbolized by the figure of Pythagoras.

2. Geometry, symbolized by the figure of Euclid.

3. Music, symbolized by the figure of Tubalcain (rather than his brother Jubal, because in the
Middle Ages bells were a favorite musical instrument and Tubalcain was the inventor of metal work).

4. Astronomy, symbolized by the figure of Ptolemy.

II. PHILOSOPHY (science), symbolized by a noble woman with her head in the clouds and her feet on
the earth:

A. Natural science and with it medicine, sometimes symbolized by the figure of Galen, the great
Greek doctor and disciple of Aristotle.

B. Social or moral science and with it law, sometimes symbolized by the figure of Justinian, the
Christian Emperor who codified the Roman law.

C. Metaphysics or natural theology, represented by Plato, who was regarded by the earlier Middle
Ages as the great pagan theologian.

III.SACRED THEOLOGY, symbolized by a queen holding the Sacred Scriptures, or later by St.
Thomas Aquinas, the Common Doctor of the Church. This system of education was perfected by the
great Doctors of the Church (of whom St. Thomas Aquinas was the chief, along with St. Bonaventure
and St. Anthony of Padua, St. Albert the Great, and later St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Peter Canisius)
and by educators like St. Ignatius Loyola, St. John Baptist de la Salle, and St. Angela Merici.
DIALECTIC
THE INSTRUMENTS OF RHETORIC

If the rhetorician is to get his audience to act lie must help the," to see that the, goal he proposes is (1)
good, (2) important, and (3) possible. No one will act unless by doing so he has real hope of attaining
something really important to him. On the other hand if the rhetorician wishes to persuade the audience
to avoid something or refrain from acting, he must show them that it is (1) evil, (2) trivial, or (3)
impossible.

To achieve this effect the rhetorician has five weapons, two of them of lesser importance, and three of
major importance:

1. His or her delivery of the speech -- that is, the volume and quality of voice, pronunciation,
and gestures and facial expressions. It is obvious that no matter how good the contents of a speech it
will fail of its effect if the audience cannot hear what the speaker says, or if they are irritated or bored
by his mannerisms.

2. His or her style of composition -- that is, the organization of his or her material, the structure
of his or her sentences, and his or her choice of words and figures of speech. A speaker who expresses
himself or herself awkwardly, vaguely, obscurely cannot win his audience without difficulty.

3.His or her personal character as it appears to the audience (ethos). A speaker will be most
effective in persuading others to follow him or her if they are convinced that he or she is himself or
herself honest, well-intentioned, and intelligent. We quickly accept the advice of a person whom we
trust, like, and admire, while we may reject the same advice if it is offered by one whom we distrust,
dislike, or despise.

4. His or her appeal to the emotions of the audience (pathos). A speaker will never get people to
act if they remain cold and indifferent, or if they consider his or her proposals in a purely theoretical
and objective way. He or she must move them to be concerned personally with the problem, and to
view it as involving their own pain and pleasure, their own profit or loss.

5. His or her appeal to the reason of his audience (logos). A speaker does not want to stir up a
mob of people who blindly follow their emotions. He or she wants them to have a reasoned and sane
conviction that what lie asks them to do is the practical and moral thing to do.