“My aim, then, is the education of the perfect orator” (Quintilianus, 1.Preface.9). Book I of "Institutio Oratoria" discusses at length the proper method of training an orator, virtually from birth. This focus on early and comprehensive education was in many ways a reflection of Quintilian's career; Emperor Vespasian's influence on the official status of education marked the period as one of conscientious education. Quintilian's contribution to this line of thought, aside from his long career as a public educator, was the opening of his text, and it is regarded as a highlight of the discussion: