Aural Memory and the Assumption of Structure

On the subject of ~1st century aural memory (ability to remember a speech), I came across an interesting passage in Theon's "Exercises". 

"In listening (akroasis), the most important thing is to give frank and friendly attention to the speaker." Then the student should recall the subject of the writing, identify the main points and the arrangement, finally recall also the better passages. If at first he cannot recall the words or their arrangement, it is still useful for him to try, but not everything at once. Have him write it down at leisure. Begin with the prooemion [introduction], and then, after practicing with that for several days, continue to the narration, then move on to the arguments, two or three at a time. (bolding added)1

There are three points that I find interesting from this quote. (The following point is a minor one) Firstly, I find the systematic advice for listening demonstrative that structure was an expected quality of ~1st century (and prior) writing/speeches. In other words, structure was just as important and fundamental for ancient compositions as it is now. While this is not surprising for many of us, I have heard comments which sometimes put ancient people into a category which almost don't need structure.  

Secondly and most importantly, writing was seen as a helpful memory/training tool for listening skills. In other words, their aural memory was not so refined that it did not need the help of writing. This sort of background is helpful in holding realistic opinions about oral tradition and its associated methods used for memory. We also don't see in this quote a dichotomy, which is easy to create, of oral vs. literary culture; but, rather, we see a blending of the two "cultures". 

Thirdly, I find the quote helpful in realistically understanding 1st century aural memory. Here, Theon talks about taking several days in remembering just the prooemion (introduction) alone. Obviously, this is light on details about the size of the prooemion and the time spent each day doing this. Also, this is instruction for kids. Nonetheless, it reveals that their abilities were not superhuman in the aural department as some make it sound like.  

Lastly, while this information is helpful, care needs to be taken in simply reading this type of information back into the NT because we are reading a Greco-Roman text and not a more Jewish source. Nonetheless, texts like this help us get a better image of the NT world.

   

1. Kennedy, George, Progymnasmata: Greek Textbooks of Prose Composition and Rhetoric (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003), p. 69.