I got the very luxery Dutch translation of this book which (in contradiction to the English translation) comes in one book of 750+ pages. Quintilian, a writer that lived around the year 40. This fact makes this text older than the New Testament! Still, reading the book it could have been written rather 20 than 2000 years ago. Quintilian wrote the book in only a few months, but Piet Gerbandy (1958) needed 12 years to make the Dutch translation! And a very good translation too, with a glossarium and extensive index.
The book is a course in rethorics, it teaches you how to become a good spokeman. This is mainly focused on the juridical-court (and a little politics), but can also be applied to other specialities. In the beginning you will learn how to raise your child to become a good rethor, how to choose the schools, demands for teachers, etc. Then higher forms of education and after this more specific information about language (very technical), language, mimics, humour, the art of memory and much, much more.
Literally and figuratively a classic.