Ancient Roman Rhetoric

Oratory and Roman Historiography in Nicolas Caussin’s Eloquentiae Sacrae et Humanae Parallela (1619) - This paper focusses on the Jesuit Nicholas Caussin’s ‘Eloquentiae Sacrae et Humanae Parallela’ (1619), with a particular analysis of some chapters of ‘De veteri eloquentia’ Book I. In this context we find a gallery of the most illustrious Greek and Roman orators which offers the opportunity to evaluate the author’s method of selecting, classifying and understanding the ancient texts with a marked attention to historiography. In addition to the use of a chronological order, an acknowledgment of Cicero’s authority and stylistic supremacy along with citations from his ‘Brutus’, Caussin’s section regarding Roman orators shows his ability to understand the role of eloquence in the overall political context of ancient Rome, as well as his interest in the figure and works of the historian Sallust. Focalizing on this latter aspect, the second part of the paper underlines how by including the text of the contio attributed by Sallust to the general Gaius Marius, in Book XIII of his ‘Eloquentiae Sacrae et Humanae Parallela’ Caussin added glosses not limited to the rhetorical aspects of the speech. In particular we see how his point of view as a Jesuit contributes to his vision of the general Marius, as a virtuous citizen also embodying values relating to a wisdom of Senecan ascendancy and to a Christian perspective. In this sense, Caussin’s glosses on the ‘contio’ attributed by Sallust to Gaius Marius appear quite different from those composed a half century earlier by Remigio Nannini, who included the same text in his ‘Orationi militari’ highlighting its social-political significance.

The references to the cult of Vesta included in numerous excerpts of Seneca the Elder’s collection of Controversiae offer a proof of the technical competence of declaimers in recalling the conditions prescribed by pontifical law for being admitted and kept in this priesthood, of which we are informed by the antiquarian tradition. Furthermore, these passages, which also show the importance recognized from an ethical viewpoint to values such as castitas and pudicitia in the time of Augustus and Tiberius, can be interpreted in light of some special episodes and dispositions stated by the historiographical tradition which reveal their interest in promoting and consolidating the cult of the Goddess Vesta protector of Rome’s Empire. Beyond the scholastic practice, the same interest is equally shared in the literary sphere by Seneca the Elder, as we can understand from the quotations within his work of excerpts from Controversiae dealing with Vestals

Plinius der Jüngere (61/62-113 n. Chr.) verlieh als senatorischer homo novus durch die Epistulae, den Panegyricus sowie einige Inschriften seiner aristokratischen Existenz dauerhaften Ausdruck. Diese literarischen und epigraphischen Zeugnisse ermöglichen aber nicht nur tiefgehende Einblicke in die sozialen, politischen und kulturellen Entwicklungen seiner Zeit. Sie belegen zugleich Plinius’ Bestreben, die eigene Person als in überragendem Maße wert- und normerfüllend zu präsentieren, um auf diese Weise sowohl soziopolitische Anerkennung als auch den eigenen Tod überdauernde memoria zu erlangen.

Insbesondere in seinen Briefen thematisiert Plinius dabei zahlreiche Bestandteile eines idealen aristokratischen Lebensentwurfes. Ihre systematische Auswertung ermöglicht es, die konstituierenden Betätigungs- und Bewährungsfelder der römischen Aristokratie zu identifizieren sowie die Werte, Normen und Handlungsmaximen zu bestimmen, nach denen Plinius wie auch seine Standesgenossen ihr Leben ausrichteten – oder doch ausrichten sollten.

Der zeitgenössische Diskurs über den idealen Aristokraten in der Kaiserzeit und dessen Habitus gewinnt in der vorliegenden Studie schärferes Profil.

This is a set of slides on ancient Rhetoric and Oratory. As for other topics taught in the course "Approaches to Ancient Studies", it was meant just as a quick initiation, i.e. making the students aware of the significance of these activities which were so important in the Greek and Roman worlds.

The textbook used was D.M. Schaps, Handbook for Classical Research, Routledge 2011. I follow it quite closely in these slides as I was teaching this topic for the first time during a colleague's sabbatical year.

I had the opportunity to use this brilliant paronomasia:

"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationary."

This study offers a synthesis of  the features of  those terms referring to ‘laughter’ in Amianus Marcellinus (their scarce presence; their attribution to Julian’s f igure in several instances;  the implication of  compassion that emanates in the last one) and the evolution of  those terms from Livy, whose influence in some cases is significant.

Quo usque tandem ... What made (and still makes) this opening question so eminently effective and memorable? By way of an answer, this paper suggests that (i) it is the double collusion
between rhetorical form and content, of which (ii) all later allusions acknowledge one.

(Philological Quarterly, Summer 2018)
This article reads Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar using the framework of classical rhetorical writings of Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and their Renaissance commentators. Topics include the peculiar oxymoronic nature of orator’s ethos, the uneasy relationship between the performativity of rhetoric and its ethical ends, and the Renaissance anxiety over the hypocrisy and deception potentially involved in the rhetorical representation of one’s self.

RESUMO: Na passagem traduzida, Antônio, um dos protagonistas do De oratore, refuta a posição de Crasso sobre oratória exposta ao longo do livro 1. Ele apresenta sua definição de orador, questiona a necessidade de este conhecer a fundo filosofia e direito civil e defende a prática assídua do discurso para que atinja seu objetivo.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Cícero, Do orador, retórica, oratória, filosofia, direito civil
ABSTRACT: In the passage selected, Antonius, one of the main characters of De oratore, refutes Crassus’s position on oratory, exposed in Book 1. He presents his definition of the orator, questions the need for him to have a deep knowledge of philosophy and civil law, and defends a continuous oratorical training in order to achieve his goal.
KEYWORDS: Cicero, On the Orator, rhetoric, oratory, philosophy, civil law

The study deals with Alfenus' passage, 6 dig. D.5.1.76, L 23, in order to understand the nature of the juridical starting point and the meaning of the long philosophical argumentation, as well as the relationship between these two components. It starts from an analysis of the syntactic structure of the text, aimed to grab elements of unity and consistency between the legal and the rhetorical plans. Then, the research delves in general into the juridical topic of the judge replacement, finally focusing the attention on the solution concretely proposed by Alfenus, in order to evaluate his conceptual tools.

The translation from Greek to Latin, as a school exercise, is often mentioned by Latin authors (Cicero, Quintilian and Suetonius). In particular, the paper analyzes a fragment quoted from Aspasia of Aeschines of Sphettus, preserved in Cic. inv. 1.51-52, translated into Latin and included in the discussion on the inductive reasoning. In this case it is possible to explore the close link between a literary quote and the argumentative process used by Cicero in his rhetorical manual.

Recorrido crítico por la figura y la obra del filósofo estoico, gramático y rétor del s. I d.C. Cornuto, que se sirvió para su obra tanto del latín como del griego y del que nos ha llegado en esta última lengua un "Compendio de las tradiciones de la teología griega". Es conocido sobre todo como el maestro de los poetas latinos Lucano y Persio. Esquema del estudio: Bibliografía. Testimonios. Nombre. Biografía. Escritos filosóficos. Escritos gramaticales. Escritos de retórica. Atribuciones falsas o dudosas. Influencia.

In this paper I try to demonstrate that the nature of Cicero's praise of Caesar in the Pro Marcello can be better understood when one compares its rhetorical pattern to that found later in the Philippics. A distinct pattern emerges from such confrontation, and Cicero's De officiis is then used to explain the philosophical background common to the praise and blame of Caesar, Octavian, and Antony in those speeches.

The tenth book of the Institutio oratoria by Quintilian (1st century A.D.) contains an extensive review of the authors and the works that young speakers in training had to read, learn to judge, imitate and emulate. The book aims to study the theoretical assumptions and the expositive and argumentative procedures that led to compiling this list that was the first ample example of literary history in a comparative perspective between the Greek and Latin worlds. The specific theme fits in the broader context of rhetorical education in Rome during the Imperial Age. The art of speech was the cultural paradigm that profoundly and comprehensively structured the worldview of the ruling groups of that time: through the art of speech they were formed, they perceived and thought reality, and they acted in public life.

In the Laudatio Turiae, Turia saved her property from her male relatives, and provided her husband (who was under her protection) with money. She also gave financial support to her sister, who was under legitimate guardianship. During the defence of her father’s will, she undertook the case. Being childless, she suggested to her husband to remarry, willing to share her property with the eventual children. In the Laudatio Murdiae, Murdia, had been married twice to worthy husbands and had children from both marriages. She left a will settling all her legal issues, making all her sons equal heirs after she made a bequest to her daughter. She also left her second husband a fixed sum, as a dower. Hortensia delivered a speech in front of the members of the Second Triumvirate against their decision to impose taxes on 1400 wealthy women, in order to sponsor the military legions. The women refused to contribute because their social position would be seriously aggravated if they lost their properties. These texts give a unique insight into the Roman family ideology and mentality, related often with the Roman law. In this article we try to illuminate the legal aspects dominating Roman society, but also the wife's position as the true guardian of the house.

This chapter discusses the place of metaphor in ancient and modern political rhetoric. It starts with the idea of metaphor in classical rhetorical and stylistic theories and juxtaposes it with modern cognitive theories, to note that the differences between Greek theorists’ and modern linguists’ views have often been misconstrued and overemphasised. It argues that the cognitive aspect of metaphor, well represented in Greek theorising, was sidelined in Roman and later tradition. It also analyses examples of some prominent types of metaphors in classical Athenian and recent rhetorical practice, including Cold War rhetoric, and discusses their real-life impact (including metaphors of states as structures and containers, personifications and body politic, and war as a sporting competition).

A perspective on the nature of the Roman legal order in the provinces and the status of local laws and practices under Roman rule. These questions are explored through a series of case studies from Roman Egypt, including the well-known petition of Dionysia (P. Oxy. II 237).

RESUMO: O trecho traduzido divide-se em três seções: 1.1-5 estabelece Quinto Cícero como o destinatário da obra e apresenta as circunstâncias que teriam movido Cícero a escrevê-la; 1.6-20 descreve as dificuldades de se atingir a eloquência e a escassez de grandes oradores ao longo da história, por contraposição ao que acontece
nas demais artes; 1.21-23 define o tema do diálogo e o situa na tradição retórica.

ABSTRACT: The passage selected is divided into three sections:1.1-5 establishes Quintus Cicero as the work’s addressee and presents the circumstances surrounding its writing; 1.6-20 describes the difficulties of reaching eloquence and the scarcity of great orators throughout history, as opposed to what happens in other arts; 1.21-23 sets
out the dialogue’s theme and places it within the rhetorical tradition.

The topic of my paper is memory and oblivion in the literary field, as it appears in the work of Quintilian and, in particular, in the tenth book of his Institutio oratoria. After some general considerations, I focus on the comparison between the Roman writer and his Greek predecessor, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, about the construction of a shared literary memory in order thereby to identify what are the motivations and the discursive strategies Quintilian uses in the devel- opment of this dynamic process between memory and oblivion.

[Draft. See Arethusa 52.1 for published version or write me for a copy.]

In his versions of the rape of Proserpina, Ovid appeals to his contemporary reader by poetically playing with the rhetoric and law of the Augustan age-a practice defined as a "poetics of legalism" in this article. In his Late Antique epic, Claudian follows an Ovidian model, continuing the legalistic treatment of the myth and submitting his characters to Constantinian raptus marriage legislation that would resonate with his contemporary reader. The continuity of a poetics of legalism present in the rapes of Proserpina illustrates the interconnected dynamics of law and poetry in the mythopoesis of Augustan and Late Antique literature.

Political image-making -- especially from the Age of Augustus, when the Roman Republic evolved into a system capable of governing a vast, culturally diverse empire -- is the focus of this study. Explored are how various artistic and ideological symbols of religion and power, based on Roman Republican values and traditions, were taken over or refashioned to convey new ideological content in the constantly changing political world of imperial Rome from the fourth century B.C.E. down to the second and third centuries C.E.  Religion, civic life, and politics went hand-in-hand and formed the very fabric of ancient Roman society.  Visual rhetoric was a most effective way to communicate and commemorate the ideals, virtues, and political programs of the leader of the Roman State.  Public memorialization could keep Roman leaders and their achievements before the eyes of the populace in Rome and in cities under Roman sway.  A leader’s success demonstrated that he had the favor of the gods -- a form of legitimization crucial for sustaining the Roman Principate, or government by a “First Citizen.”

M. Tulli Ciceronis praeclara illa, quam pro Archia poeta habuit quaque litterarum studia laudibus cumulavit, oratio ad discipulorum Academiae Vivarii novi Romanae, quibuscum eam (praeter alias quoque eiusdem scriptoris orationes) in scholis artis Latine scribendi diligenter legebam, usum aptata, argumenti causaeque compendio, partium ipsius orationis descriptione, notis aliquot in paginarum calce positis nec non, quo melius numerus oratorius percipiatur, quantitatum vocalium signis instructa atque aucta; accedit appendix cum aliquot notis quibus orationis ipsius initium explanans eram usus.
Ad lectorem: Quod si idem documentum in formam *.mobi vel *.azw3 redactum accipere volueris, scribere ad me ne dubitaveris. Vale.

This article simultaneously expands and refines the interpretive space within which we understand Augustine’s statement that he lay down under a fig tree when he converted to Christianity in 386 (conf. 8.12.28). It rejects the claim that this fig tree is a reference to Nathanael’s fig tree at John 1:48 on both philological and contextual grounds. Nathanael is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit (John 1:47), but this is inconsistent with the Augustine whose life is narrated in conf. 1–8. Instead, Augustine’s fig tree is best interpreted in the context of the fig leaves of Gen. 3:7, the withered fig tree of Matt. 21:18–22 and Mark 11:12–14 and 20–25, and the good and bad trees of Matt. 7:15–20 and Luke 6:43–45. Together, these biblical passages indicate that the Augustine who lay down under the fig tree was still a liar by profession and deceived in his philosophical beliefs. Thus, his departure from the tree is symbolic of his conversion from the mendacious life he once led as a Manichee and rhetorician.

This thesis examines divination at Rome and its role in Roman historiography, with particular reference to Livy and Tacitus. The focus of the thesis is why and how they used divination and the extent to which divination supported their historiographical aims.

Chapter One considers the meaning of divinatio and the types of diviners and supernatural sign encompassed by the term. I draw attention to the contradictions between types of divination observed by the Roman state and those observed by individuals in a personal or private capacity. This examination is supported by a full lexicography of divinatory terms in the appendix. The remainder of the chapter considers modern bibliography and the current scholarly position on divination and Roman historiography. I consider four main areas: divination, historiography, Livy and Tacitus. The final section of the chapter discusses Feeney (1998) on Literature and Religion at Rome and stresses the importance of regarding divination in Roman historiography as a text which could support the overall historiographical objectives of Livy and Tacitus.

The importance of divination at Rome is explored in Chapter Two. The chapter surveys Roman attitudes and approaches to divination from the late third century BC to the early second century AD. The analysis indicates a thriving competitive and mercenary atmosphere of diviners and divination that offered the Roman people an outlet outside of the more rigid practices of the Roman state. I argue that there was a plurality of views and approaches to divination. Even where Varro and Cicero seemed to promote a sense of a 'traditional' Roman approach to divination, both engaged with the subject from very different viewpoints. In contrast there was a plethora of authors and works that considered less acceptable types of divination, such as astrology. I suggest that an interest in forms of divination which were not practised by the Roman state was as much a concern for members of the Roman upper classes as it was for the lower classes. This interest meant Augustus was able to incorporate elements of astrology into his religious 'revival' without causing offence. I show too that 'traditional' Roman practice continued to be significant throughout the early Empire. I suggest that different types of divination were not practised to the exclusion of all other types, that Livy and Tacitus, in their desire to present a 'traditional' view of Roman divination, were subscribing to a literary construct laid down by Varro and Cicero and they have obscured the plethora of divinatory activity available at Rome.

Chapter Three considers why Livy and Tacitus included divinatory material in their histories. I consider briefly the nature of Roman historiography and the influence of poetry and drama and of rhetoric on the Roman historiographical tradition since these encouraged historians to indulge in inventio, in order to flesh out their historiographical narratives. I argue that both Livy and Tacitus were influenced by the character of the annalistic tradition which presupposed the inclusion of prodigies and other religious and divinatory material. This explains why both authors were aware of the dangers of fabulae but understood how that material could be manipulated to suit their own historiographical purposes.

Chapter Four shows how Livy used divination in Books 1 and 5 to emphasise the importance of Roman divinatory institutions and Rome's relationship with the gods. I show how he uses prophecy to direct his work towards the glorious years of the middle Republic and how the Third Decade deliberately echoes themes from the early books to point towards Rome's control over the Mediterranean. However, Livy also used divination to stress the sense of decline from the Fourth Decade onwards. Using the Liber Prodigiorum of Iulius Obsequens, I argue that this continued into the lost later books, but that Livy may have intended to bring his work round full circle by pointing towards the success of Augustus and his religious revival with conscious echoes of Book 1. Finally, I consider those types of divination that Livy included or omitted. I argue that the choices made stressed the sense of traditional divination and the antiquarian approach of his work. In particular, Livy used divination to emphasise the superiority of Roman divination to that of other nations and to private practices.

In Chapter Five, I consider how Tacitus adapted Livy's annalistic form for imperial historiography. The chapter begins with a survey of Tacitus' approach to prodigies and shows the different ways in which he could use prodigia as dramatic devices. I also show that, like Livy, Tacitus contrasted foreign and private forms of divinatory practice with the state practices in order to reflect the traditions of the annalistic form. But in the sections on the Histories and the Annals, I argue that Tacitus surpassed his predecessor in the use of divination for drama, characterisation and emphasis.

This paper focuses on the reciprocity between visual and verbal that characterizes ancient ekphrasis. According to the authors of the Progymnasmata (Aelius Theon, Hermogenes, Nicolaus, Aphtonius), a major feature of ekphrasis is its vividness (enargeia), i.e. its ability to "bring before the eyes" what is absent.  Ekphrasis is not aimed at the imitation of a given object, but at the effect this very object produces on the audience. This ecphrastic shift, according to which the fictive object is more vivid, and hence more persuasive, than the real object, is a key feature of Philostratus' Eikones. Philostratus himself defines his own work as a logos graphes, i.e. as a "speech on verbal images," which is paradigmatic for the mutual dependence between visual and verbal in ancient ekphrasis.

Building upon the insights of historians of rhetoric and
architecture, this study examines the Celsus Library at Ephesus
through the lenses of literacy studies and hegemony. By drawing on first-hand observations of the extant structure and historical studies that re-create its original appearance and relationship with its architectural context, the author speculates on the uses and functions of the library during the early second century CE. While the library’s elite patrons experienced its instrumental impact, passersby from all levels of society witnessed the building’s hegemonic display of Rome’s cultural and political power.

""Book abstract: Despite the crucial role played by both law and architecture in Roman culture, the Romans never developed a type of building that was specifically and exclusively reserved for the administration of justice: courthouses did not exist in Roman antiquity. The present volume addresses this paradox by investigating the spatial settings of Roman judicial practices from a variety of perspectives. Scholars of law, topography, architecture, political history, and literature concur in putting Roman judicature back into its concrete physical context, exploring how the exercise of law interacted with the environment in which it took place, and how the spaces that arose from this interaction were perceived by the ancients themselves. The result is a fresh view on a key aspect of Roman culture.

My chapter discusses the location(s) and functions of the Praetor's tribunal from the 4th c. BCE down to the Augustan era, and how each location affected or influenced the 'identity' of teh urban praetor.""

St. Boethius’ text, "An Overview of the Structure of Rhetoric," is a very concise, yet sound, summary of classical rhetorical theory. For scholars new to the field of rhetoric, this text is an excellent entry point, since it is much briefer than Aristotle’s "Rhetorica" (On Rhetoric), the "Rhetorica ad Herennium" [traditionally (mis)attributed to Cicero], or Cicero’s "De Inventione" & "De Oratore."  This precis gives a synopsis and evaluation of Boethius’s "Overview . . . of Rhetoric."

Doctoral Thesis.  University of Sheffield Department of Biblical Studies, 1999

This thesis represents an experiment in which the Fourth Gospel is analyzed for functional similarities with the precepts of the classical rhetorical handbooks and illuminated at points by reference to Roman law.

After exploring the possibility of an Ephesian provenance, the feasibility of examining the Gospel against the backdrop of the classical forensic rhetoric that pervaded such a cosmopolitan milieu is argued in the introduction. Further, the use of legal themes and motifs within the Fourth Gospel are amongst features that make the Gospel a favorable subject for such an analysis. Functional correspondences between the structure of the Gospel and that of ancient legal speeches are designated a primary interest.

Subsequent chapters, analogous to structural elements of a legal speech, include examination of John 1: 1-15 as a prologue and 1: 16-18 as an ipsius causae statement of the case. The witness motif, signs, scriptural allusions, and logical arguments in 1: 19-12: 50 represent the type of evidence present in the probatio or proof portions of forensic orations. The farewell discourses (13-17) may be akin to a digression while the presentation of proof is resumed at the point of Jesus' arrest. Verses 20: 30-21: 25 conform to conventions for perorations. In addition, Roman laws and procedures involving women as witnesses and the distribution of inheritances illuminate various pericopes. Given this analysis, there is some support for the hypothesis that the Gospel was crafted in a way that reflects the modes and structure of forensic argumentation in Greco-Roman culture.

The implications of such a structure would be threefold: 1) the Gospel has been carefully and intentionally composed 2) the distinctiveness of the Fourth Gospel compared to the Synoptics may be due to similarities with forensic rhetoric 3) the Gospel may be read from the perspective of a Roman legal context.