10 definitions
Deception (n.) leaves the deceived wiser than the not-deceived, in the theater.
A Gibe (n.) at its best: Gorgias, soiled by a swallow, cried 'Nay, shame, O Philomela' — addressing her as the girl she once was, not the bird she is.
A Jest (n.) in debate: kill your opponent's earnestness with jesting and his jesting with earnestness, said Gorgias.
Longevity (n.) needs no apology: asked at a hundred and seven why he consented to stay alive so long, Gorgias said, \"I have no fault to find with old age.\"
Misuse (n.) is the pupil's crime, not the teacher's: when a boxer strikes his own father, nobody should exile the man who taught him to box.
An Orator (n.) would beat a doctor in any city's election for doctor: the man who can speak gets appointed, and the man who knows makes no showing at all.
Oratory (n.) is the greatest good there is, Gorgias boasts: master it and the doctor and the trainer become your slaves, and the moneymaker turns out to be earning for you.
Oratory (n.) succeeds where medicine fails: Gorgias talked sick men into the surgery and cautery their own doctors could not get them to accept.
Persuasion (n.) is the best of all arts, Gorgias used to boast, because it enslaves the others with their consent, not by force.
Speech (n.) works on the soul like a drug, Gorgias held: it can stop fear, take away grief and breed joy — without asking for the listener's critical consent.