Old print by Mark Fabius Quintilian from the library of the K. D. Ushynsky South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University

Abstract

The aim of the work is to analyze the historical context of the origin and content of the legacy of Marc Fabius Quintilian on the basis of the invented old print «Instructions to the Orator» in 1665. The research methodology is a set of principles of historicism, objectivity, systematics. The main research methods are historiographical and bibliographic, as well as the method of historical and bibliological and terminological analysis. The scientific novelty of the topic lies, first of all, in the formulation of the problem of scientific research of old prints of the funds of small libraries of Ukraine, which often keep in their bookstores rare and valuable publications. Such studies make it possible to identify gaps and identify promising areas for further research. Significant ideology of the library storage system during the Soviet era, low level of proficiency in classical languages and even the languages of European countries of library staff sometimes led to almost complete loss of outstanding copies of human memory from scientific and educational circulation. The figure of Mark Fabius Quintilian has rarely been the subject of historical research. «Instructions to the Orator», the main and only authentic work of Quintilian, which has survived to our time, has a strong technical focus and provides rich material, especially to classic philologists, historians of pedagogy and rhetoric. However, this material does not exhaust the content of «Instructions to the Orator». Many of the plots of Quintilian›s major work have a historical context and political coloration and are of great interest to researchers. Conclusions: «Instructions to the Orator» differs from the usual textbook on rhetoric in that Quintilian proclaims his goal not only to teach the technique of eloquence, but also to educate a perfect speaker. The fruit of eloquence, according to Quintilian, a true speaker should see not in selfishness or payment, but in himself, in his knowledge and nobility of thought. Such a position is natural in the framework of normative policy ideas about the free activity of a citizen in the public field. Thus, although in a somewhat modernized form, Quintilian gives all his advantages to the polis ideal of the speaker.