Quintilian and Hugh Blair. The rhetorical theory of the XIX century in Spain

Abstract

The Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1784) by Hugh Blair became widespread in Spanish education through the Compendio of the Lectures carried out by José Luis Munárriz in 1815. This article examines Blair´s ideas as reflected in the Compendio, in order to demonstrate that this work, distancing itself from the scholastic rhetorical tradition, revitalised the foundations of the Classical Rhetoric in a process influenced by Quintilian. Finally, it considers why, despite the dissemination of this proposal, it didn't succeed in reversing the decline of Rhetoric in Spain during the 19^th century.