Appendix C : Theodorus

1. To Which Theodorus Does Longinus Refer?

No Theodorus other than Theodorus of Gadara qualifies as a rhetori­ cal theoretician who might be referred to simply as “Theodorus.” When Quintilian refers to Theodorus of Byzantium, he adds “of Byzantium” to distinguish him. The followers of Theodorus of Gadara are called “Theo­ dorei” in contrast to the followers of Apollodorus, the “Apollodorei” (e.g., 2.11.2; 2.1.18). Theodorus of Gadara himself is generally called simply “Theodorus” (2.15.16, 3.1.18, 3.6.2, 3.6.36, 3.6.51, 3.11.3, 4.1.23, 5.13.59 though not in 2.15.21, 3.1.17). Seneca (Controversiae 2.1.36) also refers to Theodorus of Gadara without any modifying phrase. Strabo (16.2.29), probably writing in the late Augustan or early Tiberian period, refers to him as “Theodorus of Gadara,” one of the natives of Gadara along with Philodemus the Epicurean and Menippus the satirist, but the tone may be contemptuous, and the modifier may be reinforcing the contempt, for Gadara was in Palestine, and Roman anti-semitism be- gan officially under Tiberius.

Since Gadara was in Palestine, we may assume some cross-influence of Greek and Jewish cultures: there is the possibility that Longinus was a Hellenized Jew (see II.B.2), and this possibility, if true, would increase the likelihood of Longinus’ familiarity with Theodorus of Gadara.

It was a principle of Theodorus of Gadara that praise and blame were appropriate to every part of a speech (Quintilian 5.13.59). Tiberius, Theodorus’ student, was noted for the artifice of his rhetoric-­ practising excessive mannerism and nicety (adfectatio et morositas) con­ cealment, ambiguity, and emotional complexity (Suet., Tiberius 70.1, Augustus 86.2; Tacitus, Annals 1.11, 3.22). But Theodorus, like Lon­ ginus, was also strongly critical of excess emotion: a story told by Seneca the Elder (Suasoriae 3.6-7) shows “Tiberius, himself a Theo- dorean” objecting to an excessively emotional speech by Nicetes; and Theodorus was not much concerned with epideictic oratory (Quintilian 2.15.21), the type of oratory allowing the greatest use of emotionalism.

Hence the context in which Longinus mentions the name “Theodorus” lends marked support to the argument that he is referring to Theodorus of Gadara, for ch. III (where Theodorus is mentioned) discusses in detail the problem of false and excessive emotions,

2. The Grammatical Argument

If Longinus has Theodorus of Gadara in mind, two grammatical points are relevant: (a) the relative pronoun is onep; (b) he speaks of Theodorus in the imperfect:

ὅπερ ὁ θεόδωρος παρένθυρσον ἐκάλει.

The intensive suffix -nep indicates that Longinus is deliberately cit­ ing the exact word of Theodorus. (Similarly in 16.2 Longinus conjoins the verb “call” and the relative pronoun to indicate a specialized term.

When several generations intervene between a speaker and his ref­ erence, both Latin and Greek idiom, like English, prefer either the pres­ ent or perfect (aorist) tense. Xenophon (Memorabilia 1.7.1) says that Socrates “always used to say (ἀεὶ);” a ὡς clause follows paraphrasing what Socrates used to say. In Mem. 1.7.5, Xenophon says that Socrates “ἀπατεῶνα the word ἀπατεῶνα. is Socrates’ actual word; hence καλέω. In each case, the imperfect is used, indicating that Xenophon himself heard Socrates. Hermogenes (Περὶ Ιδεῶν I.196) uses ὅπερ with the imperfect of λέγω to show what was just recently said.

At I.261, the distinction between ὅπερ + imperfect and ὅπερ + aorist is made clear: ὅπερ ἐν τῷ εὐκρινείας ἐδείξαμεν, i.e., a previous section of the work; ὅπερ ἔφην, i.e., what he just said a few lines above. In line with the practise described above, Quintilian, throughout the Institutes, refers to Theodorus in the perfect or present tense. When he quotes Theodorus (2.15.16) or cites a technical word favored by The­ odorus (3.6.2), he uses the present of voco, the Latin equivalent of καλέω. Yet, referring to his own teachers—whether alive or recently dead—he reverts to the imperfect (2.4.26). Seneca the Elder, quoting Tiberius and Messala, carefully employs the imperfect to show habitual use of exact words; and Seneca, throughout the Suasoriae and Controver­ siae, is quoting those he had actually heard (e.g., Suasoriae 3,6, 3. 7).^[1]

Since Longinus, too, quotes a technical term (παρένθυρσον)—one apparently coined by Theodorus—it is reasonable to conclude either that he himself heard Theodorus, or was, at the most, removed from him by no more than two generations. If Longinus had been much later, he would have used either the present or the perfect, as is normal.