Definition:
The means of persuasion in classical rhetoric that appeals to the audience's emotions. See also ethos and logos.
Etymology:
From the Greek, "experience, suffer"Examples:
- "But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period--I am addressing myself to the School--surely from this period of ten months, this is the lesson: Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated. Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these Islands, though we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer."
(Winston Churchill, "To the Boys of Harrow School," October 29 1941) - "Hillary Clinton used a moment of brilliantly staged emotion to win the New Hampshire Democratic primary . . .. As she answered questions in a diner on the morning before the election, Mrs Clinton's voice began to waver and crack when she said: 'It's not easy. . . . This is very personal for me.'
"Emotions can be an electoral trump card, especially if one can show them as Mrs Clinton did, without tears. The key is to appear stirred without appearing weak."
(Christopher Caldwell, "Politics of the Personal," Financial Times, January 12, 2008)
Pronunciation: PAY-thos
Also Known As: emotional argument
