The most important historical theory of persuasion is Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory. Aristotle's work, "The Rhetoric," is divided into three books, each of which discuss principles relevant to persuasion. Book One establishes the philosophical position of rhetoric to logic; establishes the purposes of rhetoric; discusses three types of proof: ethos, pathos, and logos; defines rhetoric as a faculty for providing two modes of argumentation: paradeigma and enthymeme; and delineates the types of rhetorical situations. Book Two deals with the audience, viewed by Aristotle as a study of human emotions and attitudes. Book Three is an examination of speech composition in which Aristotle discusses delivery, style, diction, and metaphor. (Seventeen notes are included.) (MS)