ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapter of this book. The book considers how emphasis on Hippocratic treatises for the emergence of scientific method can obscure other layers of meaning which are integral to the persuasive aims of the authors. It also considers how Aristotle's Rhetoric has tended to exert a heavy influence over scholars working on early prose writing and agrees with scholars who consider this problematic. The book explores the use of antithetical pairs in the five Hippocratic expository. It also explores the resonance between oppositional pairs, and considered how the accumulation of oppositions serves to create networks of meaning underlying the surface content of the texts. The book aims to point out some of the ways in which close analysis of the persuasive strategies of these authors can yield new insights into their methods and aims.
