30. Aristotle: The First Salesman

The Original Source

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Mortimer Adler, the noted twentieth century professor, philosopher, and chairman of the Board of Editors at Encyclopaedia Britannica, was also a scholar of the classics. In his 1983 book How to Speak How to Listen, Mr. Adler described an invitation he received to speak at the Advertising Clubs of California:

They asked me in advance for a title. I suggested that it be “Aristotle on Salesmanship,” a title I thought would be sufficiently shocking for them. It was. No one had ever before connected the name of Aristotle with salesmanship—or with advertising, which is the adjunct of selling.1

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