Of course, all argumentation tries to convince the listener or reader that the speaker deserves credence, and every convincing instance of logic, authority, or testimony demonstrates that he has earned it. But the writings of the sage are unique in that their central or basic rhetorical effect is the implicit statement to the audience: "I deserve your attention and credence, for I can be trusted, and no matter how bizarre my ideas or my interpretations may at first seem, they deserve your respect, your attention, and ultimately your allegiance because they are correct and they are necessary to your well-being." This appeal to credibility, of course, plays some role in any kind of literary mode or form of argumentation that attempts to convince someone of something, but only in the writings of the sage does ethos become the principal effect, and not merely a contributory one.

Ethos and the various techniques that produce it are hardly unique to this genre. What is unique, however, is the central importance of the appeal to credibility, which subsumes the sage's other rhetorical devices. In essence, one might define the genre of the sage as that in which evidentiary and other appeals function only to produce such confidence in a speaker or writer that he can be believed when conventional wisdom, supposedly expert testimony, or one's inclination argues against his position. After briefly comparing the sage's ethos to that of the narrative voice in Victorian fiction, I propose to suggest the ways that the sage's characteristic techniques work to create credibility. Then, after sketching a taxonomy of techniques that produce ethos, I shall concentrate on those central ones involving autobiography and self-revelation that attempt to authenticate the sage's message by authenticating the sage himself. Finally, citing examples from the writings of Didion and Mailer, I shall show how techniques that strive to create this effect of credibility function to create an equivalent to plot in fiction.