Stasis Theory Essay
Stasis Doctrine as Invention
The inheritance of a stable rhetorica from the Greeks gave the Roman rhetoricians of the first century BCE, the structure on which various new appendages were attached, one of which was the theory of stasis which was first formalized by Hermagoras of Temnos in the late second century BCE. Although the notion of stasis predates Hermagoras, Antoine Braet writes that he is due credit for developing “the doctrine of stasis as a closed procedure of inventio” (79) and that later rhetoricians have tired to reap glory for themselves by inventing all sorts of variants on Hermagoras’ system (80).
Stasis theory underwent several revisions—as evidenced in the works of Cicero later in the next century and the works of Quintilian in the first century CE—until Hermogenes of Tarsus, who appeared in the second century, offered the most intricate discussion of it in his thesis, On Stasis. Although most of Cicero’s work was centered on oration, he still is identified with the doctrine of stasis. Most rhetorical historians agree Aristotle provided the antecedent elements of stasis theory. Kennedy, for instance, notes that Aristotle’s observations at 1374a probably provided a seminal source for stasis theory—particularly stasis of definition. (104) Ray Nadeau theorizes that rhetorical stasis was developed from and …show more content…
It can best be illustrated in the American justice system by such things as the common occurrences of evidence, obtained by illegal searches and seizures, being disallowed; or by mistrials being granted on the grounds that the prosecution violated a procedure that resulted in undue bias against a defendant. In ancient Greece and Rome, procedural stasis was often invoked in situations such as when the legitimacy of a governing body bringing a charge was in question (i.e. jurisdiction) or when a charge of procedural prejudice was
The inheritance of a stable rhetorica from the Greeks gave the Roman rhetoricians of the first century BCE, the structure on which various new appendages were attached, one of which was the theory of stasis which was first formalized by Hermagoras of Temnos in the late second century BCE. Although the notion of stasis predates Hermagoras, Antoine Braet writes that he is due credit for developing “the doctrine of stasis as a closed procedure of inventio” (79) and that later rhetoricians have tired to reap glory for themselves by inventing all sorts of variants on Hermagoras’ system (80).
Stasis theory underwent several revisions—as evidenced in the works of Cicero later in the next century and the works of Quintilian in the first century CE—until Hermogenes of Tarsus, who appeared in the second century, offered the most intricate discussion of it in his thesis, On Stasis. Although most of Cicero’s work was centered on oration, he still is identified with the doctrine of stasis. Most rhetorical historians agree Aristotle provided the antecedent elements of stasis theory. Kennedy, for instance, notes that Aristotle’s observations at 1374a probably provided a seminal source for stasis theory—particularly stasis of definition. (104) Ray Nadeau theorizes that rhetorical stasis was developed from and …show more content…
It can best be illustrated in the American justice system by such things as the common occurrences of evidence, obtained by illegal searches and seizures, being disallowed; or by mistrials being granted on the grounds that the prosecution violated a procedure that resulted in undue bias against a defendant. In ancient Greece and Rome, procedural stasis was often invoked in situations such as when the legitimacy of a governing body bringing a charge was in question (i.e. jurisdiction) or when a charge of procedural prejudice was