This book deals with the art of persuasion in the past and present. There are three parts: the art of persuasion and the audience reaction in ancient Greece, the art of persuasion and the audience reaction in ancient Rome at the time of the early Roman republic, and the lecturer and audience in present days - issues, dangers and suggested solutions.

This book has been written with the deep conviction that mankind needs nothing so much as peace, especially today, in the atomic age, when war threatens to annihilate all life on earth. Nathan Spiegel, a distinguished scholar of classical literature, has combated ancient Greek authors from Homer to the Attic Orators, in order to contribute to the discussion of peace, so vital to the future of mankind. The result is a comprehensive survey of the ancient Greeks' views on war and peace within the broad context of political and intellectual history and also within the particular context of each author's life and works, and his views on ethical issues: good and evil, justice and injustice, civil rights and responsibilities, patriotism, freedom and servitude.