In the Institutio Oratoria, written between 93 and 95 CE, Quintilian describes the education of the Roman orator from cradle to retirement. He provides detailed exposition of rhetorical and educational theories, including considerations of argumentation, structure, prose style and delivery, culminating, in Book XII, with the practical application of this training to public life. Book X, as part of the section on elocutio delivery], concerns the acquisition of facility hexis] through reading, which will help the orator to extemporise polished speeches. Quintilian prescribes reading in verse and prose, both Greek and Latin; and his 'canon' has become the most celebrated and most often mis]read part of his work. While it contains many interesting comments, it is not intended as a work of literary history; Quintilian is selecting models by which the orator may hone his compositional craft. Peterson's 1891 edition is still the best separate edition of the book. It has introduction and notes which provide a wealth of detail, on Quintilian's life, literary criticism, style and language. In the century since its publication, interest in ancient rhetoric in general and particularly in Quintilian has grown tremendously. In a new introduction Adrian Furse assesses Peterson's contribution and surveys subsequent scholarship on Quintilian X and its reception in the wider context of studies on oratory and rhetoric in the Roman world. Sir William Petersen (1856-1921) was Principal of University College, Dundee and McGill University, Montreal, Canada.