Abstract
At the time of Quintilian's death in c. 97 the Graeco-Latin culture of the Roman Empire still thirsted for the intellectual and artistic traditions of its great past, "but the stream was running low, and its current was becoming progressively more feeble." A century of stagnation came close on the heels of Quintilian's passing, and following it a sharp decline. Literature suffered at the hands of showy ''Asianism," and of the arts only architecture produced anything of timeless quality. Science and philosophy lingered a little longer, but, before the accession of Diocletian in 284 A.D., they too had wilted before the forces which were bringing the classical world to an end. Economic chaos, political upheaval, urban blight, governmental absolutism, and social cleavage all contributed to create an environment stifling to man's creative forces.
Journal Title
Iowa Communication Journal
Volume
7
Issue
1
First Page
1
Last Page
6
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Morrison, Matthew C.
(1975)
"A Survey of Classical Rhetoric from Hermogenes to Bernard,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 7:
No.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol7/iss1/3
Copyright
©1975 Iowa Communication Association
