The Progymnasmata Explained
Summary:
- The progymnasmata are a series of writing and speaking exercises which develop the skill of eloquence incrementally. They have been invented and refined by classical teachers over the last two millennia.
- Their incremental arrangement develops foundational skills and then builds upon these kills with much practice.
- The topics for these writing exercises arise directly from subjects and text students are studying, thus Providence's writing training is an organic part of our overall curriculum.
- Explore the progym at Providence
The progymnasmata at Providence Christian Academy
"For it is true that copiousness and facility in expression bear abundant fruit, if controlled by proper knowledge and a strict discipline of the mind."
(Cicero, Ad Herennium)
In the simplest terms, the progymnasmata are a series of speaking and writing exercises designed to develop the rhetorical skill incrementally. Although this definition is entirely accurate, Cicero's keen observation introducing his manual on public speaking provides much-needed context.
First, Cicero refers to Rhetoric as "copiousness and facility in expression." For the classical tutors, rhetoric was not empty speaking, but an art or skill that could be learned and honed. It must be instilled in the student; learning it is more like learning to ride a bike than memorizing a multiplication table. Because of this, the classical educators knew that teaching Rhetoric would require a three-part pedagogy: hard study, careful imitation, and long practice (Cicero).
The progymnasmata, then, are clearly situated in the third part of the classical pedagogy. A student uses them to practice the theory he has studied and the techniques he has imitated. Their incremental arrangement allows a student to develop foundational skills and then build upon them as his proficiency increases.
But Cicero also clearly understood that Rhetoric could be both beneficial and dangerous. An eloquent man without "proper knowledge and a strict discipline of the mind" is himself lost in error, and, whether from ignorance or ambition, is prone to lead others into error as well.
It is not enough, therefore, to simply train a student in the style of persuasive communication as did the sophists in Socrates' day. A truly excellent rhetorician must be honorable as well as eloquent. Fortunately, we acquire the virtue of honor and the facility with words in the same way: through study, imitation, and practice. Thus, the canon of great literature must be an integral part a true education. From it we learn both the technique of style and the habit of moral virtue.
In a truly classical manner the progymnasmata are woven throughout the entire Providence curriculum. At each stage of development students practice that which they have studied and imitated. No student writes an arbitrary assignment; rather, they exercise their rhetorical skills on topics which organically arise from their observation and imitation in history, literature, science, etc. In this way we, following the advice of Cicero and others, give students a facility with words, proper knowledge, and a disciplined mind.