“According to the great Roman orator Cicero, the threefold goal of rhetoric is “to teach, to move, and to delight.” Now, these three goals line up with singular appropriateness to the three standards of truth, goodness, and beauty. Effectiveness in rhetoric can be measured against our ability to teach men the truth, to move men to goodness, and to delight men with beauty – and by beauty we mean verbal beauty, the beauty of a pleasing poem or a well-turned phrase. Effective speaking and writing is informative, powerful, and elegant.”

– James Nance, Fitting Words: Classical Rhetoric for the Christian Student (2016).