Proposals for action "must first convince the audience that a problem exists and make the audience want action. Often, these arguments consider ethical situations: if the situation is wrong, then the solution must make it right" ("Writing Tip #21). Alexander identifies his men as the cause of being able to claim so many cities; "through your courage and endurance you have gained possession of Ionia, the Hellespont, both Phrygias, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Phoenicia, and Egypt; the Greek part of Libya is now yours, together with much of Arabia, lowland Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Susia; Persia and Media with all the territories either formerly controlled by them or not are in your hands; you have made yourselves masters of the lands beyond the Caspian Gates" (Arrian). He evaluates the probability of success in future endeavors, and also the possible consequences of failing to continue; "But if you turn back now, there will remain unconquered many warlike peoples between the Hyphasis and the Eastern Ocean, and many more to the northward and the Hyrcanian Sea, with the Scythians, too, not far away; so that if we withdraw now there is a danger that the territory which we do not yet securely hold may be stirred to revolt by some nation or other we have not yet forced into submission. Should that happen, all that we have done and suffered will have proved fruitless or we shall be faced with the task of doing it over again from the beginning" (Arrian). Finally, he proposes future action moving more into Asia, and tries to prove that moving into Asia is the only appropriate solution; "The conquered territory belongs to you; from your ranks the governors of it are chosen; already the greater part of its treasure passes into your hands, and when all Asia is overrun, then indeed I will go further than the mere satisfaction of our ambitions: the utmost hopes of riches or power which each one of you cherishes will be far surpassed, and whoever wishes to return home will be allowed to go, either with me or without me. I will make those who stay the envy of those who return" (Arrian).
To bolster his argument, Alexander uses personal experience and facts. He does not rely upon statistics or tell stories from their past. Instead, he focuses on what they have accomplished up to this point. He discusses the possibility of things that might occur in the future. Moreover, he makes grandiose promises about what the possibility of success means, but those promises are supported by the riches that each man would likely encounter if they were to proceed into Asia. It is really the combination of glory and riches that Alexander relies upon the most to influence his audience. While he explicitly makes it clear that the people in his audience are free to choose whether to stay or to go home, he has structured the argument in a way that makes it appear that there is only one real option. The men with him are soldiers, many of them are probably mercenaries, and it may be unrealistic to assume that they had any real options if they returned home. Furthermore, given Alexander's violent response to later attempts to turn back to Greece, it certainly seems plausible that, even with his assurances, the men would fear the consequences if they refused to continue into Asia.
Ethos
Ethos refers to "an appeal based on the character of the speaker. An ethos-driven document relies on the reputation of the author" ("The Art of Rhetoric"). In this speech, Alexander does not really have to establish his extrinsic ethos. Up to this point, he has led these men on a very successful mission of conquering the then-known world. However, Alexander begins his speech by reminding his men of what they have accomplished, and the fact that he has led them in his accomplishments. Moreover, he reminds them that he has not been some type of hands-off leader, but that he has suffered the same degree of hardship and threat that he has asked them to face in the past and that he is asking them to face in the future. His most important reminder of how he has led them comes near the end of his speech:
I could not have blamed you for being the first to lose heart if I, your commander, had not shared in your exhausting marches and your perilous campaigns; it would have been natural enough if you had done...
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