Barilli has written a provocative and lively essay, tracing with astonishing rapidity and confidence theories of rhetoric from ancient to modern times. The exploration of theories that see rhetoric as a 'Mitglied', an intermediate entity which alone is able to bridge the gaps between truth and practical morality, between reason and prudence, between the world of thought and the world of things, is especially valuable, as is the eloquent chapter on Renaissance theory. The book is thus a distinguished and appropriate addition to the University of Minnesota's prestigious series on the Theory and History of Literature.