In LTW III, we learn to make decisions about a future action. We assume a perspective, find a necessary question, generate an issue, and attempt to persuade the audience (the decision-maker) to act: either to implement a change (the proposal) or to maintain the status quo. We learn special topics to find advantages: honor and/or utility. In addition, we add three new and powerful tools: the modes of persuasion, the four causes, and analogical reasoning.

The deliberative outline adapts the elements (amplification, narratio, proof, etc.) to the needs of the deliberative address.

New schemes and tropes are included, along with paragraph coherence and cohesion.

When we have to make decisions about the future, the problem is obvious: we don’t know it. In real life, that means any decision we make is, to some extent, uncertain. Therefore the bigger purpose of studying Level III is to grow in wisdom and prudence by practicing making difficult decisions from which we can learn principles and habits of decision making for our own lives and communities. We will experience these principle truths as we see through the eyes of some of the greatest characters in literature from Homer, Virgil, and Sophocles.

Optional Resources:

• A CiRCE Literature Guide The Space Between – A Guide to Homer’s Iliad
• A CiRCE Literature Guide The Journey Home – A Guide to Homer’s Odyssey
• 30 Poems To Memorize (Before It’s Too Late) edited by David Kern