[14]
Some, on
the other hand, entirely reject the elaborate and
formal methods of reasoning employed by dialectic,
regarding such ingenuity as suited rather to quibbles
over words in philosophical discussions than as likely
to carry much weight in the performance of the
duties of an orator. For though in dialogue definition may serve to fetter the person who has got
to reply in chains of his own making, or may force
him to silence, or even to reluctant confession of a
point which tells against himself, it is of less use in
forensic cases.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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