CITIZENS’ FEAR AND TRUST: ARISTOTLE’S RHETORIC II AND DEMOSTHENES AGAINST MEIDIAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53382/issn.0719-9902.46Keywords:
Aristotle, Demosthenes, Emotions, Rhetoric, DemocracyAbstract
This paper shows how Against Meidias complements Aristotle's treatment of fear and trust in Rhetoric II through a valuable picture of the dynamics of these emotions in fourth-century democratic Athens. First, I examine the analysis of fear and trust in Aristotle's work. Next, I summarize the content and structure of Against Meidias and explain why they make this discourse an effective resource to address the issue of fear and trust of citizens in the democratic polis. Next, I analyze how Demosthenes presents his demand as a contest between the democratic polis and Meidias and describes in this argumentative framework the trust and fear and the corresponding laudable or reprehensible attitudes of the various actors that appear in the discourse. Finally, I show that Demosthenes' argumentative strategy is aimed at arousing the anger of the judges and the condemnation of Meidias by making them see that rich ὑβρισταί like Meidias lack fear, shame and compassion, put the τιμή of citizens at risk and threaten a patrimony that these share: trust and security (ἄδεια, ἀσφάλεια, θάρρος) provided by laws and justice.
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