Quintillian

Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (Quintillian) was a theorist whose thoughts thousand years ago were still in practice. He emphasized the science of correct expression. He was concerned with the practice of virtue through speech i.e the science of good speech instead of the art of clever speaking. To him to be a good orator one should be a good man. In addition, one needs to have linguistic expertise which is acquired through a good programme of linguistic studies. A good orator is not only a gifted speaker but also a trained speaker.

Quintillian was of the view that persuasion in itself is not a noble goal. He posited that evil men can persuade more effectively than good men (how true). To him the practice of Rhetoric (a verbal persuasion) could lead to a corrupt educational system, a corrupt society and corrupt leaders. Hence, he emphasized on the importance of acquiring good habits of conduct and good speech in the very earliest years of one's life (this is actually very islamic..Islam emphasizes on this..so, I would say his thoughts were actually based on Islamic values). Any pedagogic programme that survived from the ancient world is said to owe to Quntillian's contributions. Many of his thoughts on pedagogy were still relevant in present context. That I find interesting.