Libanius composed Oration 62 (Against Critics of His Educational System) in ad 382 (Norman 2000: 87-8) to rebut the accusation that very few of those he trained succeeded in the profession of advocacy and in the curial and imperial administration. His critics never questioned his ability as a rhetor but doubted that he could educate young men for successful careers. Libanius refuted them by citing the cases of a few outstanding pupils and denouncing the specific historical circumstances that caused rhetoric to be less highly prized than in the past. Rhetoric alone, moreover, could not assure material success without the help of Fortune, a deity in whom Libanius fervently believed. While it is likely that he did not fully convince his critics, he succeeded in presenting an image of himself as an educator who cared for the old (and neglected) values of honesty, personal commitment, and religious and social integrity. Throughout his work the practice of rhetoric and the worship of the traditional gods are linked according to the system of reforms that his beloved emperor Julian had intended but failed to achieve, and in which Libanius himself never ceased to believe. He wrote to Julian upon his arrival in Antioch in ad 362 that the emperor had brought back reverence for the gods and rhetoric: eloquence itself inspired him toward religious piety (Or. 13. 1).
When, in the 360 s, Libanius wrote spirited letters to his student Albanius, life had not yet dealt him the worst blows he was to suffer, and his faith in the material benefits of the training he offered was still intact. He told Albanius that rhetoric would be his ally in any profession he chose. Albanius was supposed to take advantage of the fact that a certain governor favored young men with an education because he ‘‘was nourished in the art of Hermes’’ and admitted to being a slave only to rhetoric’s pleasures (Ep. 140). Besides providing an excellent training in the endurance of toil and discipline and a stimulating mental gymnastics (Cribiore 2001), what did this discipline offer? With time, Libanius became disillusioned and doubted that the connection between rhetoric and material power was as valid as it had been in the past. Yet, he never ceased proclaiming rhetoric’s educational value. Rhetoric was not a dispensable adornment that titillated one’s vanity and aroused admiration through its verbal fireworks. In a letter (Ep. 1261. 4), he asserted that it contributed to making a student ‘‘good and temperate’’ and had moral power. Those who, in the name of paideia, renounced less worthy pleasures to cultivate their minds were the truly valuable members of society. It is likely that Libanius’ reluctance to praise prosperity and wealth (particularly when they were not achieved through education) contributed to his personal success with some of the young men in his following. By invoking the true glory and power that only knowledge could confer, he was able to appeal to the idealistic nature of some adolescents. His letters reveal numerous examples of the loyalty of pupils and their resentment when their families’ priorities forced them to leave his school before they had completed their studies.
Rhetoric was valuable not only for moral and cultural reasons: it could, when historical circumstances were favorable, open the path to distinguished careers. Libanius maintained that rhetoric was able to reveal the right course of action ( Or. 49. 32) by permitting correct understanding of any given issue. Eloquence was the product of understanding (phronesis), but understanding was prompted by eloquence (Or. 12. 92). Education had the power to transform people from swine into human beings. Speaking of the education of the emperors Constantius and Constans, he reiterated that innate talent and knowledge of the art of ruling were not sufficient when eloquence was lacking (Or. 59. 33). Through rhetoric, a governor could become a ‘‘prophet’’ and forecast the future. Oracles predicted the future through inspiration, but orators foresaw future events by means of their intellect (Or. 23. 21). In AD 365, writing to a former student who was the son of an eminent governor but who was growing intellectually lax, Libanius pointed to the reasons Julius’ father had acquired his position and to the wondrous quality of his tenure:
When you were here, I both persuaded you and forced you to withstand the labours of rhetoric. I would not be able to do the latter now, since you are away, but I urge you to consider that education is the greatest of goods, and that none of the things that lead to it is heavy to bear. You would do this if you bore in mind the reason why your father governs and elicits admiration. You will find that those things do not derive from great wealth, physical beauty, and high birth, but are both the gifts of rhetoric. (Ep. 1335)
He reiterated the same concepts in a much later oration that he wrote to upbraid those students who had abandoned his school precipitously upon the occasion of the riots of AD 387 in Antioch (Or. 23. 21-2). By leaving the dangers of the city promptly (and perhaps rightly!), those young men had forgotten that ‘‘eloquence helps to conceal low birth, hides ugliness, and protects wealth.’’ Dismissal of wealth and beauty figures throughout Libanius’ work, but his position with respect to eugeneia (high birth) deserves a closer look. The youths who attended his school belonged to elite families, but some did not enjoy economic prosperity. When noble families that had fallen into disgrace for various reasons could not support their sons, the sophist tried to help by waiving tuition fees and asking benefactors for financial aid (Ep. 80, 319). In letters of recommendation, he also appealed on behalf of some poor young men in search of positions by asking governors to take into account their nobility and education rather than their financial means (Ep. 293. 2, addressed to Domitius Modestus). At a personal level, he was very proud of the nobility of his family and often bragged about it to the annoyance of others: he was convinced that few people were his equals by birth (Or. 2. 10-11). His financial means, however, did not correspond to the eugeneia of his family, which had lost much wealth at the beginning of the century. At the top of his scale of values, in any case, there was paideia. Rhetoric had the power to confer nobility on those who practiced it. Education could obliterate social barriers.
World History
