Aristotle, Rhetoric
J. H. Freese, Ed.

Similarly, Theodectes in his “law,”¹ says: “Since you bestow the rights of citizenship upon mercenaries such as Strabax and Charidemus on account of their merits, will you not banish those of them who have wrought such irreparable misfortunes?”

[18] Another topic consists in concluding the identity of antecedents from the identity of results.² Thus Xenophanes said: “There is as much impiety in asserting that the gods are born as in saying that they die; for either way the result is that at some time or other they did not exist.” And, generally speaking, one may always regard as identical the results produced by one or other of any two things: “You are about to decide, not about Isocrates alone, but about education generally, whether it is right to study philosophy.”³ And, “to give earth and water is slavery,” and “to be included in the common peace⁴ implies obeying orders.” Of two alternatives, you should take that which is useful.

[19] Another topic is derived from the fact that the same men do not always choose the same thing before and after, but the contrary. The following enthymeme is an example: “If, when in exile, we fought to return to our country [it would be monstrous] if, now that we have returned, we were to return to exile to avoid fighting”!⁵ This amounts to saying that at one time they preferred to hold their ground at the price of fighting; at another, not to fight at the price of not remaining.⁶

[20] Another topic consists in maintaining that the cause of something which is or has been is something which would generally, or possibly might, be the cause of it; for example, if one were to make a present of something to another, in order to cause him pain by depriving him of it. Whence it has been said: “ It is not from benevolence that the deity bestows great blessings upon many, but in order that they may suffer more striking calamities.⁷

” And these verses from the Meleager of Antiphon: “ Not in order to slay the monster, but that they may be witnesses to Greece of the valor of Meleager.⁸

” And the following remark from the Ajax of Theodectes, that Diomedes chose Odysseus before all others,⁹ not to do him honor, but that his companion might be his inferior; for this may have been the reason.

[21] Another topic common to forensic and deliberative rhetoric consists in examining what is hortatory and dissuasive, and the reasons which make men act or not. Now, these are the reasons which, if they exist, determine us to act, if not, not; for instance, if a thing is possible, easy, or useful to ourselves or our friends, or injurious and prejudicial to our enemies, or if the penalty is less than the profit. From these grounds we exhort, and dissuade from their contraries.