Bacon's conception of rhetoric

Early in Book I Aristotle divides all proofs into two types, ατεχνōι π?σει? and εντεχνōι π?σει?. This paper defends the position that ατεχνōι π?σει? may best be translated as “evidence,” and points to possible explanations of why this translation has not been made. Two passages from Chapter 15 of Book I, which reflect upon the relationship between the two types of proofs, are discussed. It is concluded that the position of ατεχνōι π?σει? in Aristotle's Rhetoric is not intended to de‐emphasize the position of evidence or to confine its use to forensic speaking.