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Discusses the Roman orator.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses the Roman orator. His founding of the Western oratorical tradition. His political career as a Senator, and other political offices. Clash with Caesar. His execution. His rich prose style and eloquence. Dependence of his oratorical style on philosophy as well as language. His famous orations. His use of persuasive oratory.
Paper Introduction:
When one thinks of great orators, some of the modern masters of oratory and rhetoric come to mind such as – on the side of the angels –- Martin Luther King, Jr. or Winston Churchill or – on the side of evil –- Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot. These men were all undeniably masters of the art of persuasive and eloquent speech; however, to understand how oratory is practiced one can look most profitably to the origins of the form in the classical world. This paper examines the person who might be considered to be the founder of the Western oratorical tradition, the Roman writer, diplomat and orator Cicero (106-43 BC).
Although he had a distinguished political career, he is best known as Rome's greatest orator and as a man of letters. Born Marcus Tullius Cicero in Arpinum (now Arpino, Italy), he was also known as Tully. As a youth he studied law, oratory, literature, and p
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Toronto: University of Toronto. 19). Cicero understood the power of symbol, and both of these sets ofdiatribes rely heavily on his comparing himself to the heroes of old,effortlessly linking his own political ambitions (and, to be fair, his owndesire to see justice down to and for his fellow Romans) to such greatheroes of the Republic and of the empire as Romulus, whom (as Cicero notedin his orations against Cataline) only founded Rome while Cicero himselfsaved it (Bailey, 1986, p. Thus one of the most important aspects that marked Cicero's oratorywas a deep education. Johnson, W.R. This paper examines the person who might be considered tobe the founder of the Western oratorical tradition, the Roman writer,diplomat and orator Cicero (1 6-43 BC). Sumner, G. Luxuriance and economy: Cicero and the alienstyle. They became oratorsnot simply because of an interest in wordsmithery, but because they wishedto make important changes in society. Although Cicero's family did not belong to the Roman aristocracy, hewas supported in the competition for the consulship in 64 BC by most richand powerful Romans because of their distrust of his aristocratic but lessrespectable rival, Lucius Sergius Catilina, known as Catiline. Cicero saw no moral (or rhetorical) problem in using his words topersuade his fellow citizens of the correctness of his own position. Cicero created a rich prose style that combined clarity with eloquenceand has become one of the standards by which all other Latin prose isjudged. Cicero: Philippics. 27). Roman orators (and it may be argued that this remains true for oratorstoday) felt that the greatest possible sin was apathy. As a result,in 58 BC, Cicero was forced into exile. 5). Chapel Hill: University ofNorth Carolina. In each of these sets of oratorical pleadings, Cicero showedhimself to be a master of the Roman art of pleading intellectual andphilosophical points as well as a master of the Roman art of politics. After a year in Macedonia he wasrecalled by the Roman general Pompey the Great (Sumner, 1973, p. References Bailey, D.R. Cicero's Philippics are a nearlyperfect example of this. Cicero'swriting covers numerous subjects of intellectual interest with nearly allof his philosophical works being borrowed from Greek sources. Thus his oratory began alwaysin reading and in discussions with other philosophers, with an attempt tolocate his main points within a larger body of learning, particularly thatof the Greek scholars that had come before him (Bailey, 1986, p. (1986). Hoping to see a restoration of the Republic,he supported Caesar's adopted son Octavian, later the emperor Augustus, ina power struggle with the Roman consul Marc Antony. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC,Cicero returned to politics. 7). Cicero suppressed the conspiracy and had severalmembers of Catiline's group executed, something that he accomplished in nosmall measure through the power of his public oratorical presentations.Julius Caesar and other Roman senators argued that Cicero had acted toohastily, without giving the conspirators due process of law. Cicero was notinterested in the truth, and his oratories against Cataline as well as thePhilippics were crafted to achieve the maximum possible political effect,using historical examples, metaphors, analogues, metonyms, and variousliterary devises like litotes to persuade his listeners or readers that hisposition was correct (Johnson, 1971, p. He greatly enriched the vocabulary of his own language. These men were all undeniably masters of the artof persuasive and eloquent speech; however, to understand how oratory ispracticed one can look most profitably to the origins of the form in theclassical world. or Winston Churchill or - on the side of evil --Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot. The most famous of his orations are the four against Catiline and thefourteen so-called Philippics against Antony, which were among seventeendelivered. Hecreated oratory that was at its heart and core persuasive. Hereturned to Rome in 5 BC and joined Pompey, who had become Caesar's bitterenemy. Cicero occupied himself with literature until 51 BC, when he acceptedan assignment to govern the Roman province of Cilicia as proconsul. 39). He regarded rhetoric as the counterpart, orsister art, of logic. This democratization of Greek society imposed on allcitizens the necessity of public service, making skill in oratoryessential. After briefmilitary service and three years' experience as a lawyer defending privatecitizens, he traveled to Greece and Asia, where he continued his studies.He returned to Rome in 77 BC and began his political career and in 74 BC hewas elected to the Senate (Sumner, 1973, p. Born Marcus Tullius Ciceroin Arpinum (now Arpino, Italy), he was also known as Tully. 38). Berkeley: University of California. (1973). The actual founder of rhetoric as a science is said to be Corax ofSyracuse (flourished about 465 BC), who defined rhetoric as the "artificerof persuasion" and composed the first handbook on the art of rhetoric.Plato would satirize this technical approach to rhetoric, with its emphasison persuasion rather than truth, in his Gorgias, and in the Phaedrus hediscussed the principles constituting the essence of the rhetorical art.Aristotle, in his Rhetoric, defined the function of rhetoric as being, notthat of persuasion, but rather that of "discovering all the available meansof persuasion," thereby emphasizing the winning of an argument bypersuasive marshaling of truth, rather than the swaying of an audience byan appeal to their emotions. S. From this necessity arose a group of teachers arose known asSophists, who endeavored to make men better speakers by rules of art,including Protagoras, the first of the Sophists, who made a study oflanguage and taught his pupils how to make the weaker cause appear thestronger (Johnson, 1971, p. Cicero's oratory in these two sets of writings was very much based ina classical tradition of oratory that is still seen in a somewhat veiledform in modern political oratory and that is based in social and historicalcircumstances surrounding the establishment of democratic institutions inAthens in 51 BC. Cicero, like all of the great Roman orators, wasinfluenced by these ideals of oratory and depended on them (Johnson, 1971,p. Hisrhetorical works, written in dialogue form, particularly On the Orator, areof value as the products of an accomplished rhetorician and as a richsource of historical material allowing us a glimpse into the ways in whichstyle and content were balanced to produce great classical oratory (Bailey,1986, p. His oratorical style was not marked simply by theability to create eloquent sentences but also by his ability to summarizecomplex philosophical and historical points. Although he had a distinguished political career, he is best known asRome's greatest orator and as a man of letters. After Pompey was defeated by Caesar in 48 BC, Cicero, realizing thatfurther resistance was hopeless, accepted Caesar's overtures of amity.While Caesar was virtual dictator of Rome, Cicero lived as a privatecitizen and wrote extensively. The orators in Cicero's Brutus: prosopography andchronology. It was neverintended to be a simply eloquent presentation of the truth. (1971). Cicero waselected, but during his administration Catiline organized a plot tooverthrow the government. Outstanding among his pieces of oratory are his treatises On theRepublic, On the Laws, On Duty, and On the Nature of the Gods. Octavian and Antonywere reconciled, however, and Cicero was executed as an enemy of the stateon December 7, 43 BC (Sumner, 1973, p. 13). 48). As a youth hestudied law, oratory, literature, and philosophy in Rome. 112). Inthese speeches he presented himself convincingly as a shrew but beleagueredpatriot attempting to protect himself through the power of oratory from hisenemies, a shrewd leader of men and of Roman public office and a man withsufficient intelligence and moral strength to protect Rome from itsenemies. When one thinks of great orators, some of the modern masters oforatory and rhetoric come to mind such as - on the side of the angels --Martin Luther King, Jr.
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