ciceros catilinarian orations. a study in emotional appeal

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Loyola University Chicago

Loyola eCommons

Master's Teses Teses and Dissertations

1942

Cicero's Catilinarian Orations: A Study inEmotional Appeal

Mary Alvina Jaracz Loyola University Chicago

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CICERO'S CATILINARIAN ORATIONSA STUDY IN EMOTIONAL APPEAL

By

Sis ter Mary Alvina, S.S.J.

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFTHE REQuiREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER

OF ARTS IN LOYOLA UNIVERSITY

February

1942



VITA

Sis ter Mary Alvina, S.S.J. attended

the St. Stanislaus grammar school, East

Chicago, Indiana. She was graduated from

St. Joseph Academy at Stevens Point, Wis-

consin, and received a teachers cer t i f icate

from the Central State Teachers College,

Stevens Point, Wisconsin, August, 1934.

She attended State Teachers College,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also Marquette Uni-

versi ty, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received

her A.B. from De Paul University, Chicago,

I l l inois , June, 1937. Since then she has

been teaching Latin a t Lourdes High School,

Chicago, I l l inois .



TABLE OF OJNTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I . STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND

JAETHOD OF PROCEDURE···••••••••••••••••••• 1

I I . CICERO'S SINGULAR ART OF INGRATIATINGHIMSELF INTO THE MINDS OF MEN THROUGHTHE lmART • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2 0

I I I . HIS OWN REPUTATION, A POTENT FACTORIN EXCITING THE EMOTIONS ••••••••••••••••• 30

IV. HIS APPEAL TO PATRIOTISM, A TORCHAPPLIED TO THE PREVAILING PASSIONOF HIS ROMAN AUDIENCE •••••••••• . ••••••••• 41

V. HIS INVOCATION TO THE DEITIES, PRO-

VOCATIVE OF DESIRED ENDS••••• . ••••••••••• 50

VI. HIS SKILLFUL ~ ~ L O Y M E N T OF RHETORICALDEVICES, A MEANS TOWARD SECURING

POPULAR REACTION••••••••••••••••••••••••• 59

VII. SUitWARY• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • 96

BIBLIOGRAPHY. • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • 99



ism with but l i t t l e emphasis on the logical aspects of

the case. Even more str iking i s Aeschines' speech for

the prosecution in th is same case of The Crown. Legally,

Aeschines had a strong case, and from the standpoint of

the legal and logical aspect should have had no trouble

in winning the verdict . Emotionally, however, Aeschines

was on the weaker side - - he could not wave the f lag of

democratic Athens with the same vehemence or in the same

cause as Demosthenes. Nonetheless, instead of resting

h is case solely upon h is logic , he fe l t the need of em-

ploying the emotional appeal, weak though i t was. As we

pass from the democracy of Athens to the democracy of

Rome, we pass from the democracy of the ci ty-s ta te to

the democracy of a world-state, a s ta te in which the emo-

t ional appeal of the orator would have greater weight be

cause it coul.d be employed upon topics of greater moment

and of wider scope. And i t i s interest ing to note tha t

in the orator who best represents the Roman oratory of

the Republic the factor or emotional appeal has such

great weight in the winning of persuasion for his cause.

In the following chapters I intend to point out the

factors which contribute to Cicero's pract ical ly unique

a r t of swaying the minds of men by moving the hearts . I

became interested in research into the emotional appeal



of Cicero when I was struck forcibly by the t r ibute which

Quinti l ian, the famous l i t e ra ry cr i t ic of his day, paid

the orator , when he cal led him the supreme ar t i s t possess

ing the power to play upon the feelings of men. 1 I f such

were the estimate of Quint i l ian, then there ahould cer

ta inly be copious examples of the emotional appeal in Ci

cero, and i t was especially in the Catilinarians tha t I

proposed to discern just how the orator exercised th is

faculty. Furthermore, in spi te of intensive research on

my par t , I fai led to discover any work whatever, wherein

the writer attempted to prove that Cicero succeeded in

suppressing the Cati l inar ian conspiracy solely through

an appeal to the feelings of his public. Not only does

th is investigation bid fa i r to contain some fresh col la-

t ion of data and conclusions concerning Cicero 's emotion-

a l appeal, i t bas the added advantage of dealing with

those orations of the great Tully which are most frequent

ly read. As a resul t , the reading of this thesis should

prove of material advantage to a l l students of Cicero.

In the present work, therefore, I shal l endeavor to point

out some of the more outstanding factors in the Cat i l i -

1Quinti l ian, XI, 1, 85: "sunnnus i l l e tractandorum

animorum ar t i fex"



narians which contributed to the orator ' s power of excit-

ing in h is hearers the whole gamut of human emotions.

I have found that the foremost of these factors was

the orator ' s reputat ion for self -sacr i f ice , patriotism

and in tegr i ty . Frequently among the ancients we f ind tha t

a man's success in achieving his object was attr ibutable

in large par t to his possession of such estimable t r a i t s

of character as these. Chief among such men of antiquity

we might place Demosthenes whose speeches are the very

breath of patriotism - i f passionate devotion to the great-

ness and the t radi t ions of a country, and i f recognition

of an unlimited duty of maintaining i t s fame by energy,

courage and self -sacr i f ice are considered emblematic of

patriot ism. Vlhen he was sent as an ambassador to the

Thebans, h is force and power fanned the i r courage and f i r

ed thei r emulation to such an extent that they cast away

every thought of fear or obligation and chose the path of

honor to which h is words invited them. Through his ~ p e a c h -

es he united c i t i es and peoples into a general league. He

ruled supreme in the i r popular assemblies and incensed

them against Phil ip and Alexander the Great of Macedonia,

Plutarch t e l l s l us tha t he exercised his authori ty ~ -1

A. H. Clough, Plutarch 's Lives, Vol. iv , P• 380.



~ unfair means. Then, too, we find that the best of

Romans were willing to die fo r thei r country and did die

for i t , not only by going into batt le but in other ways

as well . As Roman history informs us we have the story

o.r R e g u l u s ~ 1the Boman prisoner, who was sent along with

the Carthaginian ambassadors to ass is t them in the i r pur-

pose of securing peace and who promised a t the same time

to re turn a t once to Carthage i f he fa i led in his mission.

2he Oarthaginians believed that for his own sake Regulus

would do a l l that he could toward restoring peace. But

whan the l a t t e r re<:iched R o m t ~ he was noble enough to for-

get himself, courageous enough not to make peace and not

to exchange the Carthaginian prisoners for the Romans who

w t ~ r eheld

a tCarthage. .Regulus then returned

tohis ene-

mies and met a cruel death a t the i r hands. A n ~ t h e r fa

mous incident i s that of Camillus, 2 the Roman general,

who bad a. goodly share of years, as wall as of glory. On

watching the re t rea t of the Roman soldiers , be addressed

them with f iery words, spurring them on to patriotism.

Then he commanded his men to l i f t him on his horse. The

soldiers , with lhouts of renewed courage were thus lad to

-------------------------------1

Caroline H. and Samuel Harding, ~ City of theSev:en Hil ls , P• 132.

2 Ib id . , P• 105.



victory. Again, when Appius Claudius Caecus1 the con

structor of the f i r s t aqueduct and the builder of the Ap

pian Way, heard that peace was about to be made with

Pyrrhus who was stationed with his army on the I ta l ian

so i l , he ordered his servants to carry him in his chair

through the Forum to the Senate house. There by appeal

ing to thei r patriotism he prompted them to continue the

f ight . Thus did personal devotion to country lend added

weight to the emotional appeal in the speeches of these

early Romans.

Cicero himself was an axamplary pattern of Roman

character and conduct. In the passages wherein he in -

forms the ci tiz.ens that thay have a consul who has been

saved from many dangers and plots , from the jaws of death

not for his own sake but fo r tS!i£ preservation,2 or where

he commended to the Romans his l i t t l e son fo r protection

i f they would but remember t h ~ t he was the son of the man

who saved the entire sta te , r isking himself alone, 3

---------------------lcaroline H. and S a m u a ~ Barding ~ · c i t . , p. 120.2Cicero, .f.e. Oatilinam, IV, i x ~ '-Ha,betis consulam ex

plurimis periculis a t insidi is atque-ex media morte nonad vitam suan sed ad salutem vastram reservatum•.

3lbid. , x i: •commando vobis parvum meum filium ••• s ieius qui haec omnia suo solius periculo conservavit i l -lum filium esse memineristis 1



in such passages are detected the sparks of that reputa-

t ion for sel f-sacr i f ice and patriotism which blaze bright-

ly throughout his speeches. Moreover, Cicero continually

gave expression to the ideal of love of one's country,1

which demanded the willingness to die for one's native

land in case of necessi ty. He devoted himself nobly to

his c ivic duty and no sacr i f ice of time or labor was too

great for him i f , thereby, he could but achieve some suc-

cess fo r the republic. Res Publica, the Republic, was the

one word which contained a pol i t ical charm to his ear. Thus

it was that his appeal to patriotism proved to be a torch

applied to the prevailing passion of the Roman, for he him-

se l f being a master of such emotions and being himself so

moved, could mould the feelings of others into harmony

w1 th his own.

Besides his reputat ion for patriot ism and se l f - sacr i

fice another factor which I regard as valuable in enabling

Cicero to sway the masses was his invocation of the dei-

t i e s . TheRoman

was a person inwhom

the fear of the godsand the influence of the supernatural were factors which

every orator had to take into account. In fact , in Cice-

ro ' s own time the strength and violence of the attack of

1Torsten Petersson, Cicero, p. 37.



1Lucretius on the deep-seated supersti t ions of the people

i s , in i t se l f , an indication of the hold which re l igious

observances had on the average educated Roman. And in

2former times did not Marcus Curtius, a brave youth, de-

vote himself as a sacrif ice to th e gods so that his coun

t ry might not perish? At another time when the Roman

armed forces were giving way and the enemy was pressing on

to victory, the chief pries t Showed how necessary to them

was the aid of the gods. Did not Decius Mus

3

then sacr i

fice his l i fe in the same unselfish spir i t? He mounted

his horse and rushed into the midst of the enemy, where

he fe l l pierced by many weapons. I t was perhaps with such

precedents in mind, and with a keen appreciation of the

sens i t iv i ty of his audience to a rel igious appeal, tha t

Cicero employed his invocations to the gods of Rome, in -vocations that could not f a i l to exal t the heart and s t i r

the soul from i t s profound depths.

In addition, therefore, to the item of personal char

acter , I intend to devote a chapter to the constant in -

1Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Bk. 1, 62-65:

"Humana ante oculos foede cum vi ta inoeretin te r r i s oppressa gravi sub rel igionequae caput a coeli regionibus ostendebathorr ib i l i super aspectu mortalibus instansu

Ibid, 101: "tantum rel igio potui t suadere malorum"2caroline H. and Samuel Harding, £2• ~ . , p. 113.3Ibid.



voking and apostrophising of the deit ies by Cicero. The

very fact that Cicero, in his speeches, could appeal to

the rel igious feelings of his l i s teners necessitates the

~ r e s e n c e of religious feeling in thei r hear ts . Every Ro-

man believed that Jupiter , Optimus Maximus, was the god

of the heaven above them and watched over the destinies of

the Roman State1 • Even Sulla who plundered the temple at

Delphi, always carried with him a l i t t l e image of Apollo,

which he frequently kissed, and to which he addressed fer

vent prayers in moments of danger2. In the eyes of Lucre

t ius a l l worship seemed prompted by fear and based on ig

norance of natural law3 • He saw men fearing death and

fearing the gods. And so we note Cicero made use of this

popular weakness in order to prevent crime and add ter ror

to l i f e . He announced himself the agent of the purpose

and the wisdom of the gods, saying tha t i t was they who

had willed that the wicked should be punished in the in

fernal region4. He emphasized continually the providence

1warde w. Fowler, Social Life a t Rome, p. 337.2Ludwig Friedlander, Romaii"Lifeand Manners, Vol. I I I ,

p . 86 --L u c r e t i u s , ££• c i t . Bk. I I I , 87-90:"nam veluti pueri t repidant atque omnia caecisin tenebris meticunt, s ic nos in luce timemusinterdum, nilo quae sunt metuenda magis quam

4quae pueri in tenebris pavitant figuntque futura•

Gaston Delayen, Cicero, p. 131.



of the immortal gods1

•

Thirdly, I intend to show how Cicero's sk i l l fu l use

of rhetorical devices was s t i l l another of the potent

means Which he employed to secure a favorable popular re -

action toward the banis bing of Cati l ine. In fact , i t was

this expert touch on the chords of rhetoric that made his

hearers l ive through the conspiracy with him. In the Ca

t i l inar ians we find interwoven with dil igent dexter i ty

everyornament that

the a r tof rhetoric

couldsupply.

He

has not only successfully employed and applied.the rules

of tha t a r t which were previously in vogue but has multi-

2plied them and created othersl such as his favorite

clausulae, and his uses and adaptations of prose rhythm.

His richly-decorated s tyle , his pungent sal l ies of pas

sion, and his tremendous apostrophies gained for him a

powerful influence over the senses and feelings of his

hearers. Because of his eloquence, Cicero stands out in

bold re l ief as one of the most powerful and magnetic per

sonal i t ies among orators .

Therefore, besides his i n v o ~ i n g of the dei t ies fo r

the sole purpose of securing the people's a p p r o v ~ l to rid

-----------------------------------------------------1

2warde W. Fowler,John E. Granrud,

O r a t o r i c a l ~ , Classical

..e.B• c i t . , PP• 322-326.•·wasiO:rcero Successful in the ArtEUlletin, Vol. VIII, P• 236.



the country of the Cati l inar ian plague, I wish to show in

another chapter a f u r t h e r ~ m e a n s used by Cicero fo r at ta in-

ing th is object, namely, the employment of gl i t te r ing

rhetoric . He dazzled his audience with the bri l l iancy oflhis speeches • N ~ t only were the elaborate periods de-

veloped With at tent ion to such rhetor ical f igures as ana-

ph ora, chiasmus, hyperbaton and others; there was also

considerable emphasis upon prose rhythm and cer ta in fa -

vori te clausulaa of the orator Which were always called

upon by the author a t cr i t i ca l points . The author 's mag

ic 11 ba.g of t r icks 1· with which he charmed the i r ears led

also the minds of his l i s teners to react to the i r emo-

t ions .

Furthermore, 1 shal l indicate h.ow 'Ulinti l ian, 2whom.

Windsor3

cal ls a •·tolerably jus t c r i t i c ' \ can say of him

tha t fo r posteri ty the name of C.icero has come to be re -

garded not as the name of a man, but as the name of elo-

quence i t se l f . !low, i f C.icero and eloquence are synony

mous, i t will be well to determine in th is introductory

chapter just what is meant by 'eloquence•·. llany writers ,

~ a . y n e t T. Jaa.ley, •·Ciceronian l letr ics and Clausulae, 1

Classical Journal, Vol. : 3 : 3 , p. :336.24uint1lian, ~ i , 112: 1 apud posteros vero id con

secutus, ut Cicero iam non hominis nomen, sed eloquen-

t iae ~ a b e a t u r 1 "Arthur L. Windsor, iithica., P• :366..



ancient and modern, have t r ied to explain the meaning of1

this "ar t of ar t s" . Why an "ar t"? When the human mind

endeavors to express i t se l f passionately, def ini te ly , v i

vidly - - that i s the beginning of a r t ; whereas when the

form charms the eye or the ear through the permanent and

continuing power of beauty that is the end of a r t . Elo-

12

quence is supposed to bear an intel lec·tual message, to con

vince through logic, and to at t rac t through charm. And so

in formulating a defini t ion of eloquence, this masterfular t , I have res t r ic ted myself to that of Cicero's own, since

2Thorndike remarks that "Cicero himself said the best thinga

ever said about i t " :

"Eloquence is not only the a r t of addressingmen in public - - it is the gi f t of strong feel ing, accurate thought, extensive knowledge,

splendor of imagination, force of expression,and the power of communicating, in written orapoken language, to other men, the idea, thefeeling, the conviction of t ruth, the admirat ion for the beaut i ful , the disposit ion of uprightnes's, the enthusiasm for vir tue , the devotion to duty, the heroic love of country, andthe fa i th in immortality, which make men honorable - - the feeling heart , the clear head, the

sound judgment, the popular knowledge, the ar t i s -

t ic imagination, the ardent patriotism, the a ttachment to l iber ty , the pious philosophy, andlas t ly the rel igion consonant with the most exalted 3idea of the people great , and the human race sacred."

David J . Brewer, The World's Best Orators, p. ix .;Ashley Thorndike, Modern Eloquence, Vol.IX, p .x i i i .

Qo·ted from A. DeLa.liiartlne, Memoirs of CelebratedCharacters, P• 335.



Taking into account, therefore, Cicaro 1 s own viewpoint

of eloquence I have endeavored to at t r iPute the man's suc

c.ess in his Cati l inarians f i r s t of a l l to the man himself ,

because he himself possessed the g i f t of strong feel ing ,

the force of expression and the power of c ommunice.t:J.ng

himself to others . W.i th h is resolute and imperious tone he

fo.rced himself upon man•s convictions to the extent th&.t

h ~ convinced them tha t Oati l ine should be disposed of. He

s t i r red public opinion and exci tad it in his favor. He

knew how to ta lk to the swaying and passionate mob and

make himself l is tened to . Be made the del iberat ive assemb-

ly accept and even applaud opinions contrary to the pre

fez'ence of some of i t s members. For who would dare tol

salute Cati l ine on his ar r iva l in the Senate! Such a

bel l igerent a-ttitude on the par t of c . ~ t i l i n e • s fel low

Senators was something great indeed fo r the orotor to a

chieve. His eloquence rose and triumphed in that splendor

of imagination which we detect in those impassioned apos

t rophes where he personif ies his native country as i f plead-

. 2ing with Cat i l ine . Again his enthusiasm fo r vir tue , his

devotion to duty, his heroic love of country, his a.ttach-

------------·----------------------~ O t c e r o , In C a t i l i ~ , I , Vi i .

Ib id . , x r .



ment to l iberty, - those offsprings of true eloquence -

are readily recognized in the famous perorational where be

exhorts the Senate to take measures for the protection of

the Roman people, for their wives and thei r children, for

their al tars and hearths, for the shrines and the temples,

for the dwellings and homes of the entire ci ty, for the

g o v e r n m e n ~ add for l iberty, for the safety of Ita1y, for

the wbo1e s tate . And then he assures them that they have

a. consul who will not h.esitc..te to obey their orders, whocan. uphold their decrees as long as he shall live and who

can by himself warrant their accomplishment. SUch ex-

hortations as these did, then, influence tbe affairs of

bis country. I t seems impossible, after reading the Ga

t i l inarians and realizing their ,effect to deny to him

the possession of the power of swaying the mob and con-

vincing honest people. ~ did with his words a ll that

words could possibly do.

Perhaps i t may be objected that there was too much

art i f ice end method in the Ciceronic style. A concise

and simple stc..tement might be more suitable, according

to our notions. To this objection I would urge the point

that Cicero•s speeches were perfectly appropriate to the

1Cicero, !a Catilinam, I I I , xi i .

.



ta i te of his t ime. The Roman public of his age was ex-

1tremely appreciative of such r h e t o r i c ~ l construct ions as

ha employs, and it was precisely because of a l l these a t-

t r ibu tes tha t the ore. to r won his way in to the i r minds.

:Mora over, he believed tha t in order to persuade i t i s

nec;essary to please. and not to be disagreeable in any

respect,.2 Even 'Ulintil ian

3in the passage which he takes

4from ~ e r g i l ~ h a t i f they see before them some grave

statesman renowned for h is virtue and high service, theyl i s ten to him at tent ive ly and he i s the man who controls

the i r minds and soothes the i r passions•· seems to attr1.

buta only to the good man, the tt:man of in tegr i ty and de

votion •· (pieta._te gra.vem) the power of entering in to the

hearts of men and winning the i r affect ion, for men then

•stand in si lence with the i r ears erect ' ' • As a resu l t

they are in a pl iant mood fo r he can •·rule the ir hearts

by his 1110rds and soothe the i r passions". This man who

has weight (gravem) because of his patriotism and devo

t ion (pie ta te) would seem to ' luinti l ian to be examplar

~ G . C. Richards, aicero, P• 230.

Quoted from D1Alton. Roman Literari : T h e o r y ~ Ori t i -

.£1!!!, P• 549._ i ~ i n t i l i a n , , XII 1,, 27.Vergil-• Aeneid fnr. I , 153-154'

"Tum, pie ta te gravem ac meri t i s s i forte virumquem

Uon.spexare, s i len t , arrectisque auri bus adstant;Is te regi t d ic t is animos, a t pectora mulea t . 1 '



of the great orator , and i t would appear that he stresses

par t icular ly suCh quali t ies of character.

Furthermore, the paramount importance of character

is seen in the statement of Kleiser , l that nthe value of

personal character in the speaker is emphasized in the

phrase, 'What you are prevents me from hearing What you

say ' . What an audience knows about a man goes to determine

the mental image they have of him when he stands before

them to speak, and in a very large degree does this affectthe importance they at tach to his utteranceu. According-

ly , i t would seem to be important to this investigation

to determine what the Romans knew about Cicero, what sort

of man they conceived him to be for such knowledge would

determine thei r nmental image" of him and great ly affect

thei r reaction of his words.

Now, DeQuincy2 t e l l s us that ttthe only actor who

stood upon the authori ty of his character was Cicero. All

others, from Pompey to the f inal part isans at Actium moved

by the authori ty of arms". "I have saved Rome from the

flames, the cit izens from massacre and I ta ly from war"

such were the proud yet jus t i f iable boasts of Cicero,a

1Grenville, Kleiser, Great Speeches and ~ to MakeThem, p. 9- - - - 2Thomas DeQuincey, Historical and Cri t ical Essays, p.2.

3

Cicero, In Catilinam, I I I , i .



the dictator, but a dictator friendly to the people. His

supreme ambition was not to amass r iches or dominate his

fallow-men, but to win admiration, whereas the triumvirs,

lThe Three-Headed Monster - Pompey through his fame,

Crassus through his wealth, and Caesar through his genius

- - combined, thought of nothing but their own ambition

2and personal fortunes. In his missive to Atticus, Ci-

cero says that •pompey bas resolved upon a cruel and dead

ly war. pompey is aiming at monarchy af ter the type ot

Sulla.lll. Caesar, suspected as a se ere t accomplice of C:a-

t i l ino, l ~ f t for the conquest of the unknown country for

be undarstood that he would require an army as well as

military renown to gain mastery over Rome. Both Caesar

and Pompey formed the triumvirate in order to seize upon

the government of the republic. The question pertinent

for us to answer i s whether a Roman would believe thut

true ~ t r i o t s think of poli t ical revolutions and civi l

war or t h ~ t they think f i rs t and foremost of the peace,

s tabi l i ty and well-being of a ll the cit izens. If then,

Cicero does have any acknowledged superiori ty over other

men of the las t century of the Republic, these references

seem to indicate that this superiority arises as much

1~ G a s t o n Delayen., .21?.• c i t . p. 150.C i c e r o , · ~

!tl• i:x.



~ r o m his p e r s o n ~ l character and lofty patriotism as from

any rhetor ical or l inguist ic excellence which he may pos

S.liolss. I t will be necessary, therefore to devote our a t-

tantion to the orators• personality as well as to his

"bag of t r icks 1' in orddr to appreciate to the ful lest

extent the power and influence which he exerted on the

feelings of his hearers.

And so delving into C-ict:jro 1 s reputation as an ardent

patr io t and a man of integri ty, his appeal to the godstogether with the employment of high-sounding phrases,

sonorous and thundering periods thect his generation de

l ighted in , I shall venture to prove in the following

chapters that these factors kindled his audience • s fan-

e ias,. warmed thei r passions and awakened thei r in terests .

They climaxed his success in squelching that monstrous

design, the overthrow of the ~ p u b l i c .



n.w:e should have seen him in the Campus Kart ius ,-

In the tr ibunal, - - shaking a l l the t r ibes

With mighty speech. His words seemed oracles,

That pierced thei r bosoms: and eaab man would turn,

And gaze in wonder on his naighbor 1s face,

That with the l ike dumb wonder answer 1d him:

Then some would weep, soma shout, some deeper touch'd

Keep down the cry with motions of their hands,

In fear but to have ~ o s t a syllable 11·•

Quoted from David A. Harsha,

~ Eminent Orators and Statesman of Ancient and Kode!:n Time§_,p.-62:"



CHAPTER I I

CICERO'S SINGULAR ART OF INGRATIATING HIMSELF

INTO THE MINDS OF MEN THROUGH THE HEART

"Which i s mightier, the pen or the swordff? We ask

ou.rsel ves this hackneyed question af ter reading Cicero's

Cati l inarians. According to Quintil ian, Caesar has answer

ed it for us when he says that "cicero triumphs ofte ner,

by virtue of his eloquence, than a l l the res t of the Ro-

mans by their arms". Through years of l inguis t ic study

and pract ice, Cicero became a world master of language

habi ts , l and also an a r t i s t well-versed in swaying the

feelings of his emotional Roman l i s teners .2 To him i s

at t r ibuted the admirable ta lent of affecting the heart

by the wonderful ar t of moving the passions.3 Nature

endowed him supremely for th is . 4 Already as a school

boy Cicero acquired such reputation that the fathers of

1Grant Showerman, Cicero the Styl i s t , ClassicalJournal, Vol. VII, p. 189.

2J. W i ~ ~ t Duff, A Literary History of Rome (GoldenAge) , p. 375.

3Gaston Boissier , Cicero and His Friends, p. 42.4J. Wight Duff, Writers of Rome, p. 40.

20



his schoolmates came to see the prodigy. 1 Ambition, ta l -

ents and self-confidence were his gif ts from the gods and

the gods are par t ia l . He never needed to f ight against

the ordinary temptations of idleness, or greed, or envy,

or pleasure. Thus such par t icular combination of gif t s

as Cicero's disposit ion and ta lents were an assets to his

career.

Cicero te l l s us 2 that Hortensius yielded to him most

freely in the ar t of Peroration because i t was his (Ci

cero's) sovereign perfection to be able to move his audi

ence and to make impressions upon the i r minds by the turns

of his eloquence. How did he accomplish these effects?

By the sheer force of his reasoning he was able to engen-

der the ardent emotions by which he at tained the desired

resolutions of a l l who heard him. 3 No one can convince and

move to action who is not himself convinced of the pecul-

ia r value of that action. No one can inspire who is not

inspired. The salesman must f i r s t se l l his product to

himself before he can se l l it to others. He must reason-

ably demonstrate to himself the superiori ty of the product

he is sel l ing. Cicero was a salesman who had for sale a

lT . Petersson, QE• c i t . , p. 33.2cicero, Brutus-r90; Orator 130.3J. Wight DUff, ! Literary History o f ~ , p. 376.



2

commodity known as Roman Republicanism. And it was because

he had f i r s t demonstrated to himself the inherent advant-

age of that commodity, having himself experienced the feel

ings with which he wished to inspire his audience, that he

could command and sway them according to his wishes, f i r -

ing them with his own zeal, and electr ifying them with the

1current of his own power.

Cicero looked a t oratory from the point of view of

the practical man, of the salesman who had to convince not

one house-wife, but the whole thinking body of the Roman

people, for he considered the people, his l i s teners , the

f inal judges.2

He real ized that the gi f t of arousing an

in te l l igent but excitable populace was the most valuable

asset of a speaker. According to his opinion, man was elo

quent only so far as he knew the secret folds and natural

turnings of the heart , and could lay them open to the pub

l ic view. He t e l l s us again and again that the orator 's

greatest power is found in his capacity to s t i r the emo-

tions of his hearers. Oratory's aim is not simply to con

vince, but to lead to decision, to move to action. 3

Among the statements which Cicero himself makes con-

~ T o r a t e n Petersaon, ££• £!!., p. 1000J. E. D'Alton, 2£• c i t . , p. 149.

3Grenville Kleiaer, ££• £!1., p. 61.



cerning the importance of emotional appeal is his remark

in the Orator where he is distinguishing between the "two

topics Which, i f well-handled by the orator, arouse admi

rat ion for his eloquenceu.l He speaks of one of these:;J • /

under i t s GreEk t i t l e /' & 1 ft:J"" ("expressive of

Character"), and while this is related to men's nature,

character and habits , and deals with the intercourse of

l i fe , s t i l l the other is· far more important. This element

the Greeks called71 . . & ~

T.-h- .::1.-.v

("relat ing to the emo-

t iona"). "IT," says Cicero, "arouses and excites the emo

t ions and in this par t alone oratory reigns supreme1' .

2

Thus although Cicero recognizes that the style of an ora

t ion must conform to the character and habits of men, s t i l l

he ranks above this need for "characterization", the need

of emotional appeal as the one dominant element in oratory.

Again, in the ~ e Oratore3 he emphasizes the same fact

that the supreme power of the orator consists in exciting

the minds of men to the various passions, such as anger,

or hatred, or grief , or in recall ing them from these vio-

lent emotions to gentleness and compassion. He goes on

1cicero, Orator, 128.

2cicero, ib id . 128: "alterum quod idem nominat quoperturbantur animi et concitantur, in quo uno regnat ora-

t io" .3cicero, De Oratore, I , xi i .



farther in the Orator and defini te ly points out that the

duty of an orator is not only to inform his audience of

some circ1nnstance or prove his point but also to be able

to win the favor of the hearers and s t i r them to the de-

sired action. I t certainly did not suffice for Cicero

to enumerate a l l the vices of Cati l ine. His primary aim

in this case was to get the Senate interested in the af-

fa i r and put Cati l ine on the carpet .

Heshows us, then, that eloquence that amuses the

head without affect ing the heart does not deserve i t s

name. And in his Cati l inarian struggle how vividly did

his eloquence burn in his heart , f lash in his eyes, and

burst from his l ips , as he pronounced such statements:

"Vivis, et vivis non ad deponendam, sed ad confirmandam

audaciamff.1 This effectiveness of Cicero 's eloquence,

based on the tone, look, gesture and whole manner2 {al l

of which things cannot be t ransferred to the writ ten or

24

printed page) played as well an important par t in the

orator 's projecting himself into the minds of his hearers.

Cicero knew the importance and power of gesture when he

remarked3 "the hands are the common language of mankind",

1cicero, In Catilinam I , i i : "You l ive , - and you

l ive, not to lay aside but to pers is t in your audacity".2arenville Kleiser, 2£• c i t . , pp. 26, 27.3navid A. Harsha, Orators-and Statesmen, p. 64.



and seemed never ready to talk " t i l l he had warmed his arm".

Mighty mouthed and easily impressible, with a vivid imagi

nation and strong emotional nature , l his very presence and

bearing were enough to command, inspire , electr i fy and win.2

In this "prince of orators"3were combined a l l the essent ial

quali t ies of the accomplished Orator.

According to Harsha4 Cicero displayed his greatest t a l -

ents as an orator and statesman by detecting and crushing

the conspiracy of Cati l ine. He considers this "the most

glorious act of his pol i t i ca l career; and his orations a

gainst Catil ine as the most splendid monuments of his elo

quence•.5 Did not the Catil inarians drive out the conspir-

ators from Rome and save the commonwealth from ut te r de

struction?6 Did not Catil ine himself lose his l i fe in a

bat t le?7 Were not f ive of the principal conspirators exe

cuted?8 Was not , f inal ly , the conspiracy completely sup

pressed?

1sherwin Cody, World's Great Orations, p. 14.2J. Wight Duff, Writers of Rome, p. 40.

3Jerome Corcopino, Daily Life in Ancient Rome, p. 125.4David, A Harsha, on. ci t : - ; -P".nl . -5 ~ -Ibid . , P• 51.

6cicero, In Catilinam I I I , i : "Principio, ut Catil inapaucis ante diebus erupit ex urbe".

7sal lus t , ib id . , LV: "In eum locum postquam demissusest Lentulus, vindices rerum capitalitim quibus praeceptumerat laqueo gulam fregere." ••• "De Cethego, Sta t i l io , Gabinis , Coepario, eodem modo supplicium. sumptum est ."



Possesing the knowledge and the power to win his way

to the heart , to touch the tender cords of the soul, to

convince, to move, to arouse, to astonish, Cicero could

accomplish what he did. His were the l as t and highest

notes of patr io t ic eloquence in Rome. We are well aware

that he never los t sight of the man who put Catil ine to

f l ight and thus saved the Capitol . l But though his voice

a t Rome was equivalent to the modern press - - Cicero being

a greater edi tor ia l writer than the world has ever know.n2-

yet he seemed prouder of his pol i t i ca l achievements than

his eloquence in his speeches. That he boasted so much

about saving the republic from ut te r destruction may be

ascribed to the intense love he possessed for his native

land. This he makes apparent in his speech In Pisonem, 3

where he draws for us a vivid picture of his solicitude for

the welfare of his native country. Cicero t e l l s us the

story in his own words how at the cost of enmity to himself,

but no odium to the senate, he deprived of the privilege of

candidature at the elections young men, though brave and

pat r io t ic , who would have shattered the constitution, had

they obtained the off ice. He alone, when Lucius Catil ine

12G. c. Richard, ffCiceron (Review), T i m e s ~ p. 55.P. Colum, "Cicero and Rhetoricians", Dial , Jan. '29,

p. 55 - - - -~ C i c e r o , In Pisonem I I , 4-5.



was not obscurely but openly plot t ing the massacre of the

senate and the destruction of the c i ty , bade him go for th

from the c i ty , that Rome might be protected by i t s walls

from one from whom the laws could not protect them.

the l as t month of his consulship, wrenched from the

He, in

abomi-

nable hands of conspirators the weapons which were levelled

a t the throats of his ci t izens. The torches which were a l-

ready l i t for the conflagration of the ci ty were by him

seized, displayed and extinguished. Then he goes on to say

that constantly he defended the senate upon the ros t ra and

the people in the senate-house; he welded the populace with

i t s leaders, and the equestrian order with the senate. Fi

nally his self-laudatory speech reached i t s apex when he

repeated the solemn oath that during his consulship Rome

had been saved by his work alone.

We conclude this chapter with the verdict that Cicero's

power of playing upon the minds of his Roman audience brought

about decisive measures in saving the s ta te by foi l ing the

conspirator Cati l ine. The various means employed for ac

complishing this feat will be successively discussed in the

oncoming chapters. We shal l s ta r t with one of the foremost

factors which contributed extensively toward the achieving

of his laurel , the fact that Cicero himself excelled his

contemporaries as a man of good reputat ion. This consti

tuted one of the surest passports to popular favor. Quin-



t i l ian says1 that " i f a bad man has been discovered who i s

endowed with the highest eloquence, the cr i t ic would none

the less deny that the man i s an orator ; for he believes

that true courage cannot be conceived without the accompa

niment of vir tue". On account of th is great avenue of dis-

t inction he could expect from others what he possessed him

se l f . We shal l note that his people adhered to his words

because he had bu i l t up their confidence in himself. Pub-

l ie opinion forbade even Sal lust , Cicero 's public enemy,

to write in his dispraise.2 Few men have ever exercised

such direc t influence.

1Quinti l ian XII, i , 23.2A. Trollope, The Life of M. T. Cicero, p. 17.

28



"Ac, velut i magno in populo cum saepe coorta est

Sedit io, saevitque animis ignobile vulgus;

Jamque faces, et saxa volant; furor arma ministrat ;

Tum, pietate gravem ac meritis s i forte virum quem

Conspexere, s i len t arrectisque auribus adstant;

Is ta regi t d ic t is animos, e t pectora mulcet."

- - Virgi l , Aeneid, I , 150-155.

"As when in tumults r ise the ignoble crowd,

Mad are thei r motions, and thei r tongues are loud;

And stones and brands in ra t t l ing volleys f ly ,

And a l l the rus t ic arms that fury can supply;

I f then some grave and pious man appear,

They hush thei r noise, and lend a l is tening ear;

He soothes with sober words thei r angry mood,

And quenches their innate desire of blood."

Translation by Dryden



CHAPTER I I I

HIS OWN REPUTATION, A POTENT FACTORIN EXCITING THE EMOTIONS

How did Cicero, the upstar t , (novus homo) the strang-

er from the country, succeed in driving out the t ra i tor

Cati l ine, that unscrupulous ring-leader of an ancient

patr ician family, when there were many in that senate

bodyl who leaned toward that "scum of hum.anity",2 pi l lo

r ied as the very pattern of a l l wickedness3 who had threat

ened the l iber t ies of Rome? 4 We have th is vehement apos-

trophe:

"Quosque tandem abutere, Catil inapatient ia nostra? Quam diu etiam furori s te tuus nos eludet? Quam ad finemesse effrenata iactabi t audacia?"5

Had we been present a t the senate we should have seen Ci

cero, his eye fixed upon the conspirator . We should have

heard him breaking into the most scathing invective a-

l J . L. Strachan-Davidson, Cicero and the Fall of theRoman Republic, p. 123. - -- --W. L. Collins, Cicero, (Ancient Classics for EnglishReaders), p.32.

3Gaston Delayen, op. c i t . , pp. 78-79.4Torsten Petersson, op: -c i t . , p. 63.

5cicero, In Catilinam-I, i : "In heaven's name, Catil ine , how long-will you abuse our patience? How long wil lthat madness of yours mock us? To what l imit wil l your

unbridled audacity vaunt i t se l f?"30



31

gainst Cati l ine when he accused him of attacking openly the

whole s ta te , of threatening with destruction the temples of

the immortal gods, the houses of the ci ty , the l ives of a l l

the ci t izens , - in short , a l l I t a ly , l and then, when he dis-

closed the infamy in the conspirator 's private af fa i r s ,

when he emphasized that l icentiousness in his eyes, that

atrocity in his hands, that in iqui ty in his whole body. 2

With a l l the f i re and force of an incensed eloquence, he

laid open the whole course of his vi l la in ies , and the noto

r ie ty of his treason, in order to show Catil ine that his

p lo t was discovered, that his movements were discovered and

to drive him out of the ci ty into the position of a public

enemy. Did his words bear weight? What was the reaction

of his audience to th is f iery denunciation of Cati l ine 's

effrontery? In answer we have Cicero's own response in the

Second Cati l inarian, where he recounted to the people the

events which had transpired in the senate on the preceding

da.y.3

1cicero, In Catilinam I , v: "Nunc iam aperte rempublicam universari1 pet i s ; templa deorum immortalium, tectaurbis, vitam omnium civium, Italiam totam ad exitium etvas t i ta tem vocas". .

2rbid. , v i: "Quae nota domesticae turpitudinis noninusta vitae tuae est? Quod privatarum rerum dedecus nonhaeret fama? Quae l ibido ab ocul is , quod facinus a manibus umquam tu is , quod flagitium a toto corpore afuit?"

3Ibid . , I I , v i .



32

He makes mention f i r s t of a l l of the personal danger

to which he had been exposed when he had been "a l l but mur-

dered" in his own home. Then af ter winning the sympathy of

his hearers he t e l l s how he had convened the senate in the

temple of Jupi ter Stator and had related the a f fa i r to the

gentlemen of the senate. With what resul t? Cicero i s most

emphatic and dramatic in employing the rhetorical question

to heighten the colors of the picture he is paint ing. "What

senator addressed him?"l he cr ies ."Who

looked upon him

not so much even as an implacable enemy?" And with these

questions ringing in the i r ears, Cicero completes his pic-

ture with the graphic touch of the leaders leaving "that

par t of the benches to which he came bare and unoccupied.lt2

We should have seen th is most powerful exhibit ion of

indignant, denunciatory eloquence that te r r i f ied the enemy

of l iber ty! Even his accomplices did not dare to salute

Cati l ine . Astonished by the thunder of th is speech, the

l a t t e r had l i t t l e to say. Cicero t e l l s us that Cati l ine

was s i len t ,3 and Sal lus t adds tha t , uttering violent

1cicero, In Catilinam I I , v i: "quis sa lu tav i t , quisdenique a s p e x i ~ u t perditum civem ac non potuis ut im-portuniss urn hostem?"

2rbid. , "Quin etiam principes eius ordinis partemi l lam subselliorum, ad quam i l l e accesserat , nudam atqueinanem re l iquerunt ."~ C i c e r o , Orator, 129: "a nobis homo audacissimus Ca-t i l ina in senatu accusatus obmutuit."



1 9threats , he l e f t the h o u s e , ~ Proclaiming himself the

general of the Republic, he hurried in to Etruria to assume

the responsibil i t ies of the head of an open insurrection.

The people were inflamed with indignation against him.

How did the orator accomplish these elect r ic effects? The

general esteem which he had won gave him the a ir of author-

i ty to denounce Cati l ine. His reputation as an honest or

as De Quincey te l l s us "thoughtfully conscientious man",3

in other words, his wise conduct gained him the confidence

of his people so that they believed whatever he said .

Quintil ian wrote about him:

I cannot see that the aims of Cicero were •in any portion of his career other than suchas may become an excellent ci t izen. As evid-

ence I would cite the fac t tha t his behaviouras consul was magnificent and his administra-t ion of his province a model of in tegr i ty ,while he refused to become one of the twentycommissioners, and in the grievous c ivi l warswhich aff l ic ted his generation beyond a l lothers, neither hope nor fear ever deterredhim from giving his support to the bet terparty, that is to say, to the in teres ts ofthe commonwealth.n4

1sa l lus t , op. c i t . XXXI, "Tum i l le furibundus, 'Quo-niam quidem cireumventus' inqui t 'ab inbtic is praecepsagor, incendium meum ruina restinguam'"·

~ I b i d . , XXXII: ffDeinde se ex curia domum proripuit .2

4Thomas DeQuincey, ££• c i t . , p. 2.Quinti l ian, XII, i , 12.



In addition Rolfe te l l s us that •no man of Cicero's day

could show so clean a record, and few statesmen of any

age would appear to better advantage i f the i r acts and

thoughts ware exposed to the same publicity as those oflCicero•.

Cicero discharged his debts conscientiously in order

to have a f r ~ e hand and avoid putting himself under obliga-

t ion to anyona.2

I t is equally to his credit tbat he did

not enrich himself a t the expanse of his province. And

yet , in wbat manner did be gain the weal tb be possessed?

He did not acquire i t from his practice a t the bar. Thera

was a law forbidding orators to accept any fee from those

for whom they pleaded. We have no evidence in his le t ters

t b ~ t he acted l ike Pompey, who profited from his funds

invested in an important b ~ n k . His works ware not sold

to booksellers as i s the custom of authors of tbe present

day. At Cicero's time books ware usually borrowed and

copied by slaves. The ambitious noble usually counted

on immense wealth which he procured in the government of

provinces. ~ i c e r o deprived himself of this opportunity

by yielding to Antony, his colleague, the province which

was due to him after his consulship. Again, he te l l s us

~ J o h n C• .Rolfe, Cicero !B£ .£iis !Ef.lueQQ_!_, P• 64.Ibid. , P• 62.



35

in one of his le t te rs tha t he succeeded in delivering many

s ta tes from the burden of excessive t r ibu te , high ra tes

of in teres t , and fraudulent debt cla ims. l In reference

to his management in Cil ic ia he professed that in a l l his

l i fe he never experienced so much pleasure in the con-

templation of his incorrupt ibi l i ty as a t that t ime, and

tha t it was not so much the enhancement of his reputation,

though tha t i s important, as the exercise of the vir tue

tha t delighted him. 2 I t i s probable, however, that the

nobles whose honor or fortune he had saved and the towns

or provinces that he had protected agmnst greedy govern

ors, had often found an opportunity of tes t i fy ing their

grat i tude by bequest which they l e f t him. The greatest

origin of his fortunes was the legacies received af ter

death and wil l of the cl ien ts . From Cicero's le t te rs

to Atticus we are informed tha t Cluvius, a r ich banker

of Puteol i , l e f t his esta te to Cicero.3 We read in Pro

J.11ilone tha t Cyrus placed Cicero among h is heirs . 4 One

lc icero, Ad Fam. x:.l, 4: 11 Q.uibus in oppidis cum magni

conventus fuissent:-mllltas civi ta tes acerbissimis t r ibu-t i s e t gravissimis usuris e t falso aere alieno l iberavi .n

2cicero, Ad Att . V, 20: "Ego in vi ta mea nulla umquamvoluptate tanta-sum-adfectus, quanta adf ic ior hac in tegr i -t a te , nee me tam fama, quae summa est , quam res ipsa delec ta t .n

ocicero, Ad. Att. XIV, x i: "De Cluvio quoniam in remea me ipsum diiTgentia vincis , res ad centena perduci tur ."

4cicero, Pro JV:ilone, xvi i i : 11Nam quid de Gyro nuntiare t , quem Clodius Roma proficiscens re l iquera t morientem?

Testamentum simul obsignavi, una fui; testamentum autempalam fecerat e t illum heredem e t me scr ipsera t ."



3

of the largest sums inheri ted was from his old master,

Stoic Diodotus, as a recompense of his long-continued af

fection.1 These t ra i ts of honesty and integri ty endeared

him to his people. They se t up statues to him. They

looked upon him as the public oracle and tutelary god of

thei r country.2 A cer tain Macer, an office-seeker, having

learned that Cicero had intended to cast a vote against him,

pronounced himself already defeated without pleading his

cause. He committed suicide under the impression that

Cicero's condemnation was the verdict of the gods.3 A-

gain, when Caesar sought the partnership of Cicero in the

coalit ion with Pompey and Crassus, he figured that Cicero's

character would give respectabi l i ty to the new party.

Then, too, we see that Cicero neglected no means

that might acquire for him the reputation of good man. In

this he succeeded by the frequent portrayal in his speech

es of the qual i t ies of a fai thful Roman. The following

portions of his Catil inarians show the dr i f t of his

tact ics . He called Lucius Flaccus and c . Pomptinius, the

praetors, brave men (fort issimos) and well-affected

lc icero, Ad Att. I I , xx: "Diodotus mortuus est ; rel iqui t nobis Hs-fortasse centiens."

2Alphonse DeLamartine, ~ · c i t . , p. 361.

3Ibid. , p. 351.



(amantissimos) to the republic. 1He summoned his ci t izens

to consider Scipio i l lus t r ious (clarus) because by his

wisdom (consilio) and valor (vir tute) Hannibal was com-

pelled to return to Africa and to depart from I ta ly . 2 This

second Africanus, W1o destroyed the two ci t ies of Carthage

and Numantia, which were host i le to the Roman empire, was

to be extolled with conspicuous praise (eximia laude).3

Lucius Paullus was to be thought a great man (egregius),

he whose triumphal car was graced by Parses, previously

a most noble (nobilissimus) and powerful (potentissimus)

4monarch. Marius who delivered I ta ly from siege and

from the fear of slavery deserved eternal honor (aeterne..

glor ia) . 5 Pompey was to be ~ e f e r r e d to them al l ;

Pompey, whose virtues (vir tutas) were bounded by the same

dis t r ic t s and l imits as the course of the sun.6 Then,

1cicero, In Catilinam III , i i : "Itaque hesterno dieFlaccum e t c:-Pomptinum praetores, fort issimos atque aman-t issimos re i publicae viros, ad me vocavi. I l l i autem,qui

2omnia de re publica praeclara atque egregia sent i rent" .

Ibid . , IV, x: "s i t Scipio clarus i l l e , cuius consil ioatque vir tute Hannibal in Africam redire atque I ta l ia

decgdere coactus est"Ibid. , "ornetur a l te r eximia laude Africanus, qui duosurbes huic imperio infestissimos, Carthaginem Numantiumque,

d e l ~ v i t "Ibid. , "habeatur v ir egregius Paulus i l l e , cuius currum

rex potentissimus quondam e t nobilissimus Perses honestavit"5Ibid., "s i t aeterna gloria Marius qui bis Italiam ob

s i d ~ o n e e t metu servi tu t is l iberavi t"Ibid. , "anteponatur omnibus Pompeius, cuius rea gestae

atque vir tutes iadem quibus. aolis curaus, regionibus acterminis continentur."



further, in his speeches he continued to tag the patr iots

with superlatives of noble qual i t ies such as when he called

~ · Catulus a most eminent (clarissimo) and brave ( for t i ss i -

1mo) mm. , when he spoke of the husband of Lucius Caesar 's

s is te r as a ~ excellent (lectissimae) woman, 2 when he

called the tribunes of the treasury ~ excellent ( for t i

ssimos) men, who displayed zeal in defense of the republ ic . 3

Then he proceeded to say that no injury could be done to

him by them for he f e l t great protection in the affect ion

of a l l good (bonis) men, a protection which was procured

4for him forever. In another passage he mentioned a high

sp i r i t in the virtuous (in bonis) ci t izens.5

The consul had nothing with which to oppose this hor

r id conspiracy except his power of eloquence which alone

procured the desired resul ts without any other assistance6than firm, undaunted resolut ion. This he employed wher-

ever opportunity presented i t se l f .

1cicero, In Catilinam I I I , x: "Dissensit M. Lapidus ac:Ja rissimo e t fortissimo viro Q. Catulo"

2Ibid. , IV, vi: "cum sororis suae, feminae l ec t i s s i

mae virum dixi t"~ I b i d . , vi i : "Pari studio defendendae re i publicaeconlenisse video tribunos aerarios, fortissimos viros"

Ibid. , xi i : "Quamquam, Quiri tas, mihi quidem ips inih i l ab i s t i s iarn noceri potest . Magnum enim est in bonis praesidium, quod mihi in perpetuum comparatum est"

5Ibid. , I I , ix : "deinde magnos mimos esse in bonisvir i s" .

6T. Petersson, op. c i t . , p. 171.



From the outcome of the Catil inarians we know that

Cicero's reputation played a great part in promoting his

success. A great orator must not only possess in te l lec-

tual abi l i t i es but he must be a man of s ter l ing character.

In one of Pliny 's l e t te rs to Catius Lapidus where Pliny

attacks Regulus as the opposite of a good orator , he te l l s

us that "Herennius Senecio admirably reversed Cato's de-

f in i t ion of an orator and applied it to Regulus: 'An ora

tor is a bad man, unskilled in the a r t of speaking. ' In

real i ty Cato's defini t ion is not a more exact description

of a true orator than Senecio's is of the character of

th is man. "2

This magnetic orator besides his good reputat ion had

other outstanding qual i t ies of character, one ofwhich we

shal l discuss in the following chapter. His patr iot ic

zeal deserves a marked consideration. He always spoke of

his country with a throb of pleasure, and f inal ly sealed

his devotion for it with his own blood.

1Pliny, Epistulae Selectae 4, vi i : "Itaque Herennius

Senecio mirif ice Catonis i l lud de oratore in hunc e cont rar io ver t i t ' o ra tor es t v ir malus dicendi imperitus ' .Non mehercule Cato ipse tam bene verum oratorem quam hie

Regulum expressi t ."

39



Rom&_ parentam,

RoDLa patram patriae Cicercnam l i bera.. dixi t .

- - J u v e n a ~ , Satires, VIII, 243.

Bomd, frae home, hailed him with loud acclaiDL,

The father of his country - glorious name.

-Gifford



CHAPTER IV

PATRIOTISM, TEE TORCH APPLIED TO THE PRE

VAILING PASSION OF HISROMAN

AUDIENCE

Since one of the most remarkable quali t ies displayed

by Cicero was his s ter l ing patriot ism coupled with main-

1tenance of consti tutional freedom, he was qualified to

engender this same passion in his countrymen. He himself

aimed a t nothing but what was capable of promoting the

glory and in teres t of his fatherland. He loved his own

people.2 In evidence of this t r a i t we can point to the

incident where the emperor Augustus had so great an opin-

ion of Cicero's zeal for the good of his country that he

gave evidence of the esteem he had for him. Sometime af te r

the l a t te r ' s death, Augustus said to his grandson, whom

he found browsing over a volume of Cicero, 8My child, this

was a learned man and a lover of his country.n3

Perhaps nothing can be compared with the uncorrupted

l T ~ Petersson, ££• c i t . , p. 37.2cicero, Orator, 23:-wquod amarem meosn.3Alfred Church, Roman Life in the Days of Cicero,

p . 292. - - - -

41



zeal this pat r io t displayed for his native country ag&nst

the ambitious, aspiring man who meditated on one thing

only; viz . , how to raise himself to power by a l l the un-

just methods he could discover. The orator had not trem-

bled before the bravado of Cati l ine. Love of his country

and loyalty in the discharge of public duty compelled him

to denounce this vi l la in , guil ty of the basest crime, t rea-

son, and the murder of the Roman ci t izens , Had Catil ine

not sinned against pietas (devotion)? Roman pietas in i t s

highest form was ~ a t r i a e fil ium ~ . 1 In Cicero's opinion,

violence committed against one's fatherland amounted to

that towards one's father .2

The Catil inarian excerpt "nunc te patr ia quae communis

est parens omnium nostrum odit ac metuit e t lam diu nih i l

te indicat nis i de parricide suo cogitare,"3 portrays one

of the most successful attempts to excite the emotion of

patriot ism. Cicero could resort to th is strongest appeal

to the multitude for he himself, a master of this very

passion, was able to attune others in harmony with his

l J . c. Plumpe, Roman Elements ~ Cicero's Panegyricson t h ~ Legio Martis , p. 279.

Cicero, In Catilinam I , xi i .3cicero, Ib id . , I , vi i : "now your native country which

is the common parent of a l l of us hates and fears you andhas no other opinion of you than that you are meditating

parricide in her case".



43

own reel ings . l As a private ci t izen he always loved his

country ra i thrul ly; as a consul he was vigilant and pat r i

ot ic .2 Arter having completed his term or orfice he swore

on the spur of the moment, when he was attacked by Piso in

the senate, that during his consulship Rome had been saved

by his work alone.3 His election to the consulship tended

towards a reconci l iat ion between the Knights and the Sena

tors . This consolidation and perpetuation of the harmony

between the orders was the dream or Cicero's pol i t ics . This

upstart (nevus homo) defended the State as vigorously as

the proudest ar is tocrat could have done. Cicero's br i l -

l i ant success as consul won for him the t i t l e Pater Patr i

ae,4 peacefully without bloodshed. I t was the most glori

ous t i t l e with which any private person could hope to be

honored. I t gave him pretence to the ent ire mastery over

the minds or men by establishing his dominion in

hearts . He again was ready to support everything

thei r

with

courage and joy, provided it were for the glory and well

being or the Roman people. He was content to sufrer un-

l J . R. D'Alton, ~ · c i t . , p. 234: cr. De Or. I I , 189.2cicero, In CatiiTnam I I I , i : 11semper vigilavi e t

providi , Quiri tes , quem ad modum in tant is e t tam abscondi t i s ins idi is salv i esse possemus"

3cicero, In Pisonem I I I , 6: "Sine ul la dubitationejuravi rem publicam atque hanc urbem mea unius opera essesalvam"

4 G. c. Richard, ££• c i t . , p. 279.



popularity i f only he could fu l f i l l his duty. 1 He had

made an offer of his l i fe to save his country, for death

would not be fearful to a brave man, not premature for one

who had been consul, nor grievous for a man of wisdom.2

Richard te l ls us "that Cicero upheld the banner of a free

republic to the end and gave his l i f e for her ." 3 Cicero's

patriotism appears sometimes bewildered. This is due, per-

haps, to his vivid imagination which presented every pos-

sible aspect of a problem to his mind; as a consequence he

would view i t from a dozen angles. This habit led at

times to inconsistency of statement, confusion or to hesi-

tancy in action. One too sensi t ive to the excesses and

acts of his fellow-men becomes deprived of thei r powerful

support . This hero of his nation was, however, the expo

nent of i t s best thoughts and noblest aspira t ions; he was

i t s fai thful servant in l i f e .

In other passages which are an expression of pat r io t -

ism he aroused the popular passion by personifying his

lc icero, In Catilinam I I , vi i : "Est mihi tant i , Quir i t es , huius invidae falsae atque iniquae tempestatem subi re , dum modo a vobis huius horr ibi l i s bel l i ac nefar i ipericulum depellatur.u

2cicero, ib id . , i i i : Hnam neque turpis mors fo r t i viropotest accidere neque immatura consulari nee misera sa

p i e n t ~ . "G. c. Richard, ££· c i t . , p. 64.



native land as she is represented crying aloud and address

ing her cit izens when Cicero makes her say that there has

now for many years been no crime committed but by Cati l ine,

who alone unpunished and unguestioned has murdered the

ci t izens , has harassed and plundered the a l l i es , that he

alone has had power not only to neglect a l l laws and in

vestigations but to overthrow and break through them. 1 Do

not such forceful statements impress the mind of a l iber ty

loving people and produce the desired effects? Cicero

aimed to kindle and keep alive the flame of l iber ty which

had been fed by every lover of his country.

We have another such outpouring, now swelling with

successive bursts of thunder, in the passage in which he

te l l s the senators tha t the ir common country, besieged by

the hands and weapons of an impious conspiracy, stretch

ed forth her hands to them as a suppliant , that she recom-

mends to them the l ives of a l l the ci t izens , the ci tadel ,

the capitol , the a l ta rs of the household gods, the eternal

and unextinguishable f i re of Vesta, a l l the temples of a l l

lc icero, In Catilinam, I , vi i : "Nullum iam al iquot

annis facinus exs t i t i t nis i per te , nullum flagitium sinete . Tibi uni multorum civium neces, t ib i vexatio direptioque sociorum impunita fu i t ac l ibera ; tu non solum ad neglegendas leges e t quaestiones verum etiam ad evertendas

perfrigendasque voluis t i ."



40

the gods, the a l ta rs , the walls and the houses of the ci ty .

Moreover, their l ives, the l ives of the i r wives and chi l -

dren, the fortunes of a l l men, the ir homes, the ir hearths

are th is day interested in their decision. 1

In addition we have Cicero painting pictures of pa

t r io t ic ci t izens , aa in the passage where he refers to Lu

cius Caesar as a thoroughly brave (fortissimo) man, and of

2the best disposit ion toward (amantissimus) the republic,

or as an excellenty o u n g ~ '

Publius Sextius,

3or that

brave (fortissimo) man, Marcus Marcellus. He comments on

Lucius Flaccus and Caius Pomptinus, the praetors, stat ing

that they deservedly (merito) and r ight ly (lure) were

praised because he has availed himself of the i r brave (for-

4t i ) and loyal (fidel!} assistance, or he speaks of Caius

Marcius, that most i l lus t r ious (clarissimo) of men, who had

1Cicero, In catilinam IV, ix : "Obsessa facibus e t

te l l s impiae-coniurationis vobis supplex manus tendit p a ~t r ia communis, vobis se, vobis vitam omnium civium, vobisarcem e t Capitellum, vobis aras Penatium, vobis illum ig nem Vestae sempiternum, vobis omnium deorum templa atquedelubra, vobis muros atque urbis tecta commendat. Pr.aeterea de vestra vita, de coniugum vestrarum atque liberorumanima de fort inus omnium, de sedibus, de focis vestr ishodierno die vobis iudicandum es t . "

2Ibid. , "vir fort issimus e t amantissimus re i publicae"3Ibid. , I , vi i : "huic adulescenti optimo P. Sestio s i

f o r ~ i s s i m o viro M. Marcello"Ibid . , I I I , v i: "Flaccus e t c . Pomptinus praetores,

quod eorum opera for t i fidel:tque usus essem merito aclure laudarus"



47

no scruples about putting to death Caius Glaucius.l He

mentions the cit izens who shed the blood of Saturninus, the

Gracchi, and Flaccus, as most noble (summi) and most famous

(clarissimi) men who not only did not s ta in their names but

even were honored for the i r acts . 2 Further on, how empha-

t ica l ly he claims that the honest (bonis} cit izens have

srea t courage (magnos animos}; thei r unanimity of feeling

(concordiwm) is great (magnam).3

At times Cicero may seem to have pursued a wavering

course but his ultimate goal, the welfare of the republic,

was foremost in his mind.4 We come in contact with such

accusations even today. The American Observer carried an

ar t ic le about Raymond Clapper, a well-known columnist,whose

comments appear dai ly in eighty-f ive newspapers, to the ef-

feet that he was accused by a reader of inconsistency.

Mr. Clapper admitted tha t the gentleman was correct and

that he switched almost completed around. He quoted col-

umns he had writ ten during the las t several years to prove

how changing world events had caused him, month by month,

to revise his own personal opinions to a great extent and,

lc icero, In Catilinam I I I , v i: "c.Mario, clarissimoviro

9non fuerat quo minus c . Glauciam"

~ I b i d . , I , xi i : "Etenim s i summi vi r i e t clarissimi elves Saturnini e t Gracchorum et Flacci et superiorum complurium sanguine non modo se non contaminarunt sed etiam honestarunt"~ I b i d . , I I , v i i i : "deinde magnos animos esse in bonisvi r i s magnam c o n c o r d i ~ "4Frank, Tenney, Cicero, p. 17.



f inal ly , concluded with these words':

" Yes, I have switched. I try to learnfrom events. Events are not consistent.Some people, once they adopt an idea,bury i t in the ground and go on the res tof their l ives defending i t , without ever

r e - e ~ i n i n g i t to see whether time andthe elements have caused i t to decay intoa worthless handful of dust. In that wayyou can be always consistent - - and oftenwrong."l

Cicero's attainment in the Catil inarians best proved

that an individual may be moved by an enthusiastic appeal

to loyalty and patr iot ism. But in addition to thiswe

~ h o u l d note that there was a sanct if icat ion of patriotiam in

Rome. This sanctif icat ion of the Roman ci t izen 's highest i

deal - embodied in the Roman rel igion. An appeal to rel igion

might easi ly weld the s ta te into a whole, as we shal l note

in the next chapter. I t might well make and hold together a

nation. Even St. Augustine, af ter four hundred years, seemed

impressed with the sp i r i t which breathed through the book of

Varro, wherein the l a t t e r exhibited the vanities and fol l ies

2of the old Roman rel igion.

Let us, therefore, now turn our investigation to the

consideration of the use which Cicero makes of religious ap-

peals in his attempt to arouse the popular emotions against

Cati l ine.

1"Price of Consistency", !!!.!. American Observer, Vol. X,

(Feb. 17, 1941),p.s.2 Cyril Bailey, The Religion of Ancient ~ ~ p. 112.



"If we wish," says Cicero, "to compare

ourselves with other nations, we may be found

in other respects equal or even in fer ior ; in

rel igion, that is in the worship of the gods,

we are far superior."

Quoted from Bailey, The Religion

of Ancient Rome, p. l l3 .



CHAPTER V

HIS INVOCATION TO THE DEITIES,PROVOCATIVE OF DESIRED END

Not the leas t important devicewhich Cicero employed

in his art of oratory to gain for it power and conviction

was his study of the affections and the in teres ts of his

audience. Following the natural bent of the i r inclinations

toward rel igion, he moved in the same direction they would

be l ikely to t ravel . Thus he seized upon what they seemed

most prone to , so that he might with greater ease draw them

af te r him. Religion was s t i l l a powerful motive force in

men's l ives, though i t was a rel igion much altered from the

rel igion of Numa. 1 In serious crises the sta te turned to

rel igion for help, and we discover that for purposes of po-

l i t i c a l and social expediency Cicero was will ing, in outward

show, to temporize with the t radi t ional re l ig ion.

We notice the frequent mention Cicero made of divin-

i t ies in his Cati l inarian speeches. Was he himself devoted

to the gods? From his W)rks we might infer that he was

1W. R. Halliday, Lectures on the History of Roman

Religion, p. 134. - - -so



not . 1 In the l e t t e r Which he addressed to his wife, Teren-

t i a , he says that he served men, while she worshipped gods.2

Yet, when Tullia died, the bereaved father intended to build

for her not a tomb (sepulchrum) but a shrine (fanum),3 and

we might note that when Cicero was an augur he was proud of

holding that posi t ion. S t i l l i t is probable that such pride

rested rather upon his natural conservatism and his respect

fo r established ins t i tu t ions than upon rel igious conviction.

He was keenly al ive, however, to the poll t i ca l value which

rel igion possessed - the value of unif icat ion of in teres t

in the various elements in the const i tut ion.

His majestic invocations to the gods, gained for him

the esteem of pious and rel igious groups. These prayers

cer tainly had a mighty influence over the minds of the men,

for pie tas , which expressed the due fulf i l lment of man's

duty to god, is the ru le and measure of a l l vir tue. 4 I t is

in these invocations that we detect tha t a speaker has not

a more advantageous way of recommending himself or of mer-

i t ing approbation than by making a s t r i c t and severe pro-

1Grant Shower.man, ~ ~ ~ Roman, pp. 292, 293.

2cicero, Ad Fam. 12, 4, 1: "Neque Dii, quos tu ca.stissime coluis t i , neque homines, quibus ego semper servivi" .~ C i c e r o , Ad. Att. XII, 12, 1.

A. De Lamartine, ~ c i t . , p. 348, 419.



fession of vi r tue . l In the masses, fu l l of superst i t ious

fancies, such a profession of personal fa i th in the deit ies

was perhaps the only means of establishing confidence in the

authority se t over them and of maintaining a bel ief in the

power of that authority to secure the good-will of the gods

and the i r favor in matters of material well-being.2 "In

part icular ," remarks Friedlander, " i t was recognized that

the crowds, by reason of their morals and lack of education,

were in need of rel igion.3 Ovid t e l l s us with cynical frank-

ness, that the existence of gods had i t s uses, and urged

men to believe in them and to continue to sacri f ice to them.4

I t was emphatically declared that those who despised the gods

were people who respected no one else, 5 for Jupiter took

his place as the supreme deity of the Roman sta te and the

personification of the greatness and majesty of Rome i t s e l f .

Carter says that even Lucretius 's at tack upon rel igion was

a display of his own intensely re l igious nature, that he is

unconsciously call ing men to worship by h is assaul ts upon

current bel iefs , in his cri t icisms of the r i tua l of worship. 6

Cicero similarly st i r red deep rel igious motives and

lT. Petersson, ~ c i t . , pp. 393, 394, 456, 460.2W. Warde Fowler, on. c i t . , p. 325.3 ~ -

L. F r i e d l a n d e r , ~ · c i t . , Vol. I I I . p. 85.4rbid.5Ibid. , p. 86.6w. F. Allen, Essays and Monographs, p. 86.



urged the Romans to propagate the adoration of the ir dei t ies ,

when he attr ibuted the world-wide victor ies of his people to

piety, rel igion, and the knowledge that everything is direc

ted by the will of the gods. In the Fourth Catil inarian he

stated that the gods have determined that he should snatch

the senators and the people from miserable slaughter, their

wives and chi ldren and the vestal virgins from most b i t t e r

dis t ress , the temples and shrines of the gods, and that most

lovely country of a l l of them, from impious flames, a l l I ta ly

from war and devastation. 1 Deus to the Romans was a person

of reverence, a supernatural being who could help or harm,

and whose re l igious sanction attended bir th , adolescence and

marriage.

Let us examine the apostrophe Cicero made in glowing

terms to the mighty Jupiter in one of his Catil inarian pero-

rat ions where he t r ied to recapture the ancient Roman charac

ter , discipline and morals upon which he perceived that

Rome's great past had been securely bui l t . In the in ternal

organization of the s ta te there was f e l t the need of re l i -

gious sanction for public morality, and Jupiter was invoked

lc icero, In Catilinam IV, i : "di immortales esse voluerunt , ut vos populumque Romanum ex caede miserrima . conjuges liberosque vestros virginesque vestales ex acerbissimavexatione, templa atque delubra, hanc pulcherrimam patriamomnium nostrum ex foedissima flamma, totam I tal iam ex belloe t vast i ta te eriperem"



as the deity of jus t ice , Jupi ter whom he pronounced conse

crated by Romulus with the same auspices as the c i ty , mom

the Romans r ight ly called the stay of the ci ty and empire.

I t is upon Jupi ter tha t he calls to repel Cati l ine and his

companions from his own al ta rs and from the other temples,

from the houses and walls of the ci ty , from the l ives and

fortunes of a l l the ci t izens , and to overwhelm a l l the ene

mies of good men, the foes of the republic, the robbers of

I ta ly , men bound together by a t reaty and infamous ~ l iance

of crimes, dead and alive, with eternal punisbments. 1

In mother select ion we find Cicero giving great thanks

to the immortal gods, and th is very Jupi ter in whose temple

they were, the most ancient protector of tha t c i ty , that they

have already so often escaped so foul , so horrible, and so

2deadly an enemy to the republic . To whom was Jupi ter not

known? What Roman had not had personal dealings with th is

1Cicero, In Catilinam, I , x i i i : "Tu Jupi ter , qui isdemquibus haec urbs, ausplci is a Romulo es consti tutus, quemStatorem huius urbis atque imperi vere nominamus, hunc e t huius socios a tu is ceterisque templis a tec t i s , urbis ac moe-

nibus, a vita fortunisque eivium arcebis e t homines bonoruminimicos host is patr iae, latrones I ta l iae scelerum foederein ter se ac nefaria societate coniunctos, aeternis , suppli-ciiA vivos mortuosque mactabis". . .

~ i d . , v: "Magna dis immortalibus habenda est atquehuic ips i Jovi Stator i , antiquissimo custodi huius urbis ,grat ia , quod hanc tam taetram, tam horribilem tamque in festam re i publicae pestem tot iens lam effugimus".



"highest and best" god? To him the Roman youth came to

make his offering when he took the dress of manhood; to him

the magistrates before entering on their year of office per

formed sacr i f ices ; before him the victorious general with

the spoils of h is v i ~ t o r y passed in procession.

Then, too, the fear of retr ibution for evi l among the

Roman was an important contribution to the character of a

disciplined sta te . We note Cicero threatening the wicked

with the statenent that the immortal gods wil l stand by and

bring aid to this invincible nation, this most i l lust r ious

empi're, thi,s most beautiful ci ty , against such wicked vio

l e r r ~ e . lIn at t r ibut ing the credit of saving Rome to himself he

would, no doubt, spel l h is downfall. The re i tera t ion of

self-praise would create for him many enemies. Is he not

shrewd, therefore, when in his hypnotic language he ascribed

his success to the interposit ion of the Gods? "And i f I were

to say that i t was I ~ h o resis ted them, I should take too

much to myself, and ought not to be to lerated. He - - he,

Jupiter, resisted them, he determined that the capitol

should be safe, he saved these temples, he saved th is c i ty ,

lc icero, In Catilinam I I , ix : "deos denioue immortaleshuic invicto populo, clar!ssimo imperio, pulcherrimae urbicontra tantam vim sceler is praesentes auxilium esse l a t u r o s ~



he saved a l l of you, "says our magnetic ora tor . l Or he

t e l l s his audience that he rel ied neither on h is prudence,

nor on human counsels, but on many and manifest intimations

of the wil l of the immortal gods, under whose guidance he

entertained this hope and th is opinion; the gods who were

defending their temples and the houses of the ci ty not far

off as they were used to , from a foreign and distant enemy,

but here on the spot by theirown divinity and their p o ~ e r . 2

The view that re l igion supplied an instrument to the

statesman might be traced in such addresses as those in

which he questioned the Romans whether there could be any

one so obstinate against the t ru th , so headstrong, so void

of sense, as to deny tha t a l l these things which they saw,

and especial ly th is ci ty , was governed by the divine author

i ty and power of the immortal Gods?3 And then, further on

Cicero, In Catilinam I I I , ix : "quibus ego s i me res t i -t i sse dicam, nimium mihi sumam e t non aim ferendus; i l l e Jupi ter r e s t i t i t ; i l l e Capitolium, i l l e cunctam urbem, i l l evos omnia salvos esse "olui t"

2Cicero, Ib id . I I , xi i i : "Quae quidem ego neque mea pru

dentis neque humanis consi l i i s fretus polliceor vobis, Quir i t e s , sed multis e t non dubiis deorum immortal-111m s ign i f i -cationibus quibus in hanc spem sententiamque sum ingressus;qui iam non procul, u t quondam solebant, ab externo hoste a tque longinque, sed hie praesentes suo nomine atque auxiliosua ~ e m p l a atque urbia tecta defendunt."

Ibid. I I I , ix : "Hie quia potest esse, Quiri tes, tam aversus a vero tam praeceps, tam mente captus, qui neget haecomnia quae videmus, praecipueque hanc urbem deorum immorta-11um nutu ac potestate administrar:i 'l "



5

he continued to emphasize the fact that the republic, and

a l l thei r lives,, thei r goods, their fortunes, their wiveS'

and children, the home of that most i l lust r ious empire,

their most fortunate and beautiful c·ity, by the great love

of the immortal gods for them were snatched from f i re and

sword, and almost from the very jaws of fate preserved and

1restored to them.

T h ~ s , we see that Cicero created a rel igious atmosphere

to give support and sanction to the achievement of his im

diate politic:al aim. Although i t was impossible for him to

recapture the ear l ier Roman rel igion and the old family vi r

tues, yet i t proved to be one of the l inks in the chain

that he was forging for the destruction of his antagonist .

Besides, a ll these.prayers and entreat ies were molded into

such hypnotic language that i t simply charmed the public as

we shall detect in our next chapter.

1Cicero, In Catilinam III , i : "Rem publicam, vitam-

que omnium vestrum, bona fortunas, conjuges liberosque vestroatque hoc domicilium clariss imi imperi, fortunatissimam pul •c h e ~ m a m q u e urbem, hodierno die deorum immortalium summo erga vos amore, - - - e flamma atque ferro ac paene ex faclbusfa t i ereptam e t vobis conservatam ac resti tutam videt is ."



Cardinal Newman in a l e t t e r to the Rev. John

Hayes written April 13th, 1869, says:

"As to patterns for imitat ion, theonly master of style I have everhad (which i s strange consideringthe differences of the languages)is Cicero. I think I owe a greatdeal to him, and as fa r as I know:

to no one else."

Quotation from J.C.RolfeCicero and His Influence,P• I59.



CHAPTER VI

HIS SKILLFUL EMPLOYMENT OF RHETORICAL DEVICES,

AMEANS TOWARD

SECURING POPULAR REACTION

I t was the practice of Cicero, While devoting him

se l f in the main to a consideration of the formal methods

conducive to the interests of his issue, to take into

account as well the delectation of his audience, and by

employing a l l the resources of an elaborate a rt of elo

quence he easi ly charmed his l i s teners . Even in his own

1time his contemporary, Caesar, paid a t r ibute to him for

h is 'copia dicendi ' (eloquence or fullness of rhetor ical

language) and for the services which the orator had render

ed to Rome by the enriChment of his native tongue. Cicero's

teacher Apollonius af te r hearing Cicero declaim, express-

ed himself to the effect that Cicero gained his praise

and admiration, whereas Greece his pity and commiseration,

since those arts and. that eloquence which were the only

glory that remained to her were to be transferred by

Cicero to Rome.2 Such an amazing mastery over both word

and thought did he possess that subsequent ages have

1cardinal newman, Historical Sketches, Vol. 1, p. 297.2A. H. Clough, ££• c i t . , Vol. IV, P• 398.



always envied him as being an undisputed model due to his

slow, deliberate, and magnificent style of speech. Quin

t i l ian , among the many glorious things which he said of

Cicero, well observed: "He was sent by the special gi f t

of providence, with such extraordinary powers that in him

eloquence might manifest a l l her resources".1

johnston

and Kingery t e l l us that Cicero raised the Latin language

to the highest plane of i t s development; Ciceronian Latin

means a l l . that is clear, direct and forcible.2

Another

author says that Cicero l i f ted a language hitherto poor

in vocabulary and s t i f f in phrase, to a level i t never

afterward surpassed.3

0

In the Orator Cicero himself clearly indicates his

preference for the Grand style, which was especially de

signed to s t i r the emotions of his hearers because of i t s

richness (amplus), i ts variety (copiosus), i t s s ta te l i -

ness (gravis), i t s use of commonplaces and amplifications,

and i t s forceful and vehement delivery. 4 Cicero believed

that men make their decisions more often under the in-

lQpintilian, XI, 109: "dono quodam providentiae genit u s ~ in quo totas vires suas eloquentia experiretur"

Harold Johnston and Kingery, Orations !E£ Letters ofCicero, P• 13.

3Library of the World Best Literature, Vol. i , PP• 2763154

Cicero, Orator, xxvii i , 97.



fluence of passion than under the influence of reason. By

employing this s tyle the orator could excite the admira-

t ion not only of the cultured few, but also of the general

publi.c, which even i f 1 t did not understand the cause,

could, a t any ra te , appreciate the effect of sublime

eloquence. Cody names him a "typical master of rhetoric-

a l s tyle , rhetor ical device, and the kind of oratory which

is entertaining as well as convincing• 1 Catullus calls

Cicero "the most eloquent of the descendants of Romulus,that are, that have been1 or that wil l be in years to

come, and the best of a l l pleaders.n2 He knew not only

how to select words, but also how to use them effect ive-

ly . He used threatening language where vehemence demanded

i t , and lofty tones in cases of great moment as in suppli-

cations. In the Orator he informs us that one style of

oratory i s not suited to every occasion, nor to every

audience. 3 For this reason he was carefUl to adopt a

lsherwin Cody, ...2!2• c i t . , p. 39.2catullus, Carmina, 49:"Disertiss1me Romuli nepotum,

Quot sunt quotque fuere,Marce Tull iQuotque post a l l i s erunt in annisGratias t ib i maximas CatullusAgit pessimus omnium poeta,Tanto pessimus omnium poetaQuanto tu optimus omnium patronus."

3cicero, Orator, xxi, 7: "Non enim omnia fortuna non om-nia honos non omnis suctori tas non omnia aetas nee vero locusaut tempus aut auditor omnia eodem aut verborum genera t rac-tandus es t aut sententiarum, semperque in omni parte ora-

t ionis u t vitae quid deceat est considerandum; quod e tin

rede qua agitur positum est e t in personis e t eorum qui dicunte t eorum u i audiunt."



variable style suited to the different parts of his speeches

Accomplished as an orator he could so well play upon

the gamut of human emotions that he succeeded in forcing

Catil ine to flee from Rome. In the hands of a master l ike

Cicero gl i t ter ing rhetoric became a weapon to accomplish

his purpose, not a mere display of f inery for public

occasions. Let us see how his rhetoric flashes out in

the f i r s t exordium against Catil ine awakening the in teres t

of his hearers with such rapier- l ike thrusts as:

"Quo usque tandem abutere, Cati l lna, patient ianostra? Quam diu etiam furor late tuus noseludet? Quem ad finem sese effrenata ~ a c t a b i taudacia?"I ·

He then presses his advantage, exciting their emotions,

f ixing thei r attention, and making a l l this their personal

concern when he cr ies :110 tempora, o moresl Senatus haec in te l legi t ,consul videt; hie tamen vivi t . Vivit? Immovero etiam in senatum venit , f i t publici cons i l l part iceps, notat e t d e s i ~ n a t oculis adcaedem unum quemque nostrum."

1ctcero, In Catilinam I , i : "In heaven's name, Catil ine,how long w i l ~ y o u abuse our patience? How long wil l thatmadness of yours mock us? To what l imit wil l your unbridledaudacity vaunt i t se l f?"

2Ibid. , "What an agel What morals! The Senate knows

these things, the consul sees them. Yet this man l ives .Lives, did I say? Nay, more, he walks into the Senate, hesingles out and marks with his glance each one of us formurder."



Final ly, he works toward a climax, such as the following:

"nobiscum versari lam diutius non fotes;non feram, non pat iar , non sinam"

t rying to sweep his hearers on by the ro l l and forward

movement of his words. In conclusion, af ter he bad raised

his audience to the highest pitch of excitement, he deliv

ered those famous perorations in which he appeals to the

gentler emotions of the soul and ends with a dignity and

serenity and sublimity fa r removed from such thunderous

beginnings. Such a peroration i s the beautiful apostrophe

to the mighty Jupiter a t the end of the f i r s t Cati l ina

rianJ2 How such variety of mood must have delighted and

thr i l led the Roman audience so fond of ornate and at t rac-

t ive styleJ Perhaps it would not have pleased the age

of Cato the Censor, because it was more luxuriant than

was agreeable to that age, which was so frugal in l i fe

and in speech. But a t this time, eloquence flourished

mightily in the popular assembly, in the senate, and in

the courts . Thera were but two roads to fame at Rome,

that of the victorious general, and that of the success

fu l lawyer and public pleader. Abili ty to speak, there-

fore, was one of the two greatest weapons in public l i f e ,

lc icero, In Catilinam I , v: "You cannot now remain withus longer; T1ii l l not bear i t , I wil l not tolerate i t , I

w i l ~ not permit i t . "

Ibid. , x i i i .



and everything was decided by debate, not by the sword,

in the senate and in the forum. Cicero's imagination

coupled with his l i terary sk i l l could depict the most vivid

pictures .l

Quintil ian praises him for the vigor (vis) ,

dignity (gravitas) , and elevation of his language (mira

sermonis) as well as for the arrangement of matter .

His eloquence i s much indebted for i t s effectiveness

to an abundance of common figures of speech and thought,

used ski l l fu l ly .2 Striking figures clar i fy things, ideas,

and experiences and often produce a singularly compelling

effect . The pleasure which they afford the hearer has ini t a l l the force of persuasion. The Roman audience be

lieved that in the f igures lay some magic power to enhance

the beauty and sublimity of oratory. The ancients claimed

that a rhetorical t raining without an exhaustive survey

of the many figures of speech was incomplete, ~ i l e an

effective use of these was one of the great glor ies of the

3speaker. The figures served to give variety (copiosus)

to s tyle , and they helped the orator to focus the at ten-

4t ion of the audience and keep i t from flagging. I t i s

impossible here to quote a l l the most br i l l i an t and high

ly wrought passages in which the Catil inarians abound.

lQuint i l ian, X, I , 105-115.

2cicero, Orator, 134, sqq.; also 82-86.

0 Ibid. 140.4Quintil ian, VIII, i i i , 5.



My desire is ra ther to discuss some of the outstanding

forms, and to give the more vivid examples of each which

have come to my notice in my research.

The following may be considered as Cicero's parade

of master-figures: Amplificatio, Accumulatio, Anaphora,

Apostrophe, Asyndeton, Hyperbole, Interrogatio, Ironiam,

Period and Climax. There are also many others, such as

Reduplicatio, Hyperbaton, Chiasmus, Polysyndeton, Zeugma,

Hysteron- Proteron, Litotes , Hendiadys, Praeterit io,oxy

moron, Personification, Homoeotoleuton and Metaphor. 1

Cicero employed a very effective means of enliven

ing his speeches and giving them vividness by a frequent

use of Amplificatio (Lat. amplus - large, spacious; anpli

care - to make larger , wider, fu l le r ) . According to him

this figure i s the greatest glory of eloquence, for it is

here that vir tue, duty, rewards and punishments are am

pl i f ied.2 Quintilian t e l l s us that in the Amplification,

3the orator reigned supreme and triumphed. In the follow-

ing i l lus t ra t ion , the amplication of the passage is en

hanced by comparison:

1cicero, Orator, 135-140.

2 Ibid . , 126, 127.

3Qu1nti1ian, VIII, iv .



"An vero v ir amplissimus, P. Scipio, Pontifexmaximus, Ti. Gracchum madiocriter labefactantam statum re i publicae privatus in te r fec i t ;

Catilinam orbem terrae caede atque incendii!vastare cupiantem nos consulas perferemus?"

66

Cicero here compares Gracchus with Cati l ine; the whole earth

with the commonwealth; slaughter, f i re , and devastation with

moderate changes; consuls with a private ci t izen. Amplifi

cation in this instance i s an exaggeration of a l l the con

st i tuent parts , and lends strength to the argument by dwell

ing upon i t . I t i s ~ f u r t h a r m o r e , a typical example of an

orator ical appeal to the prejudice of the audience, for a t

the vary thought of the nama Gracchus, the ar is tocrat ic

feeling was roused, whereas a t the time of the deed referred

to, Scipio's conduct met with severe condemnation from his

contemporaries.

Another rhetor ical device that i s suitable for Ampli-

2'fication is Interrogatio (Lat. inter-among, between,

thoroughly; rogare-to ask) a question propounded with no

intent of receiving an answer, but to presuppose the idea

that the hearers may be challenged to gainsay the affirm-

at ion. I t serves aptly to express any emotion; here anger:

1Cicero, In Catilinam I , i : "Did not that i l lust r ious

man and chier-Pontiff , Publius Scipio, in his privatecharacter, k i l l Tiberius Gr8 cchus when he was making onlymoderate changes in the commonwealth, and sha l l we consulsbear with Catil ine who i s seeking to devastate the wholeearth with f ire and sword."

2c. Mueller, Cicero's Ad Herennium, Vol. I , P• 89.



67

"How long, Cati l ine, wil l you abuse our patience? How

long will that madness of yours mock us? To what l imi t

wi l l your unbridled audacity vaunt us?"1 In a str ing of

wrathful interrogation the orator exhibited the character

i s t i cs of f i re and vigor and of fervid imagination. But

then, a certain pitch of excitement is requisi te to jus t i -

fy the boldness of th is f igure. Men scold in interrogations.

Again,

Or,

"For what, Cati l ine, can please younow in this city where there i s no one,except your fellow-conspirators - ruinedmen - who does not fear you, or who doesnot hate you? What stigma of disgraceis not branded on your private l i fe? Whatdishonor in personal relat ions does notcling to your ill fame? What lus t has notstained your eyes, what crime has not s ta in-ed your hands, what corruption has not

stained your whole body? To what youthwhom you had ensnared by the allurementsof seduction have you not furnished aweapon for his crimes or a torch for hislust? What then? When la te ly , by thedeath of your former wife, you had madeyour house empty and ready for a newbridal , did you not even add another in credible wickedness to this wickedness?"2

"Haec, s i tecum, i ta u t dixi , patr ia lo quatur, nonne impetrare debeat, etiamsi vimadhibere non possit? ••• Quid est , Cati l ina?Ecquid at tendis , ecquid animadvertis horumsilentium? ••• Quid expectas auctoritatem

1cicero, In Catilinam I , i .

2 rbid. , v i:



loquentiym, quorum voluntatem tacitorum perspicio?"

This f igure serves as a charged electr ic wire carrying to

his hearers the sign of vivid conviction. Cicero reduced

his opponent to sophist icated answers, making him make

such shif ts as these: " 'Tis so•; ' t i s not soi •11

When the orator af ter laboring under such violent

emotion, sought to give speedy release to his thoughts,,

he employed Asyndeton (Gr. a , privat ive; e r uv together;,

d'e w to bind; not connected together) . By dropping the

connective pa»ticles he produced the effect of impassioned

and rugged impetuosity. We may note it in such passages

as:

"Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Pala t i ,nihi l urbis vigi l iae , nihi l timor populi,nihi l concursus bonorum omnium, nihi l hiemunitissimus habendi senatus l ~ c u s , nihi lhorum ora vultusque moverunt? 11

In th is passage we find Asyndeton interwoven with Anaphora

8

1cicero, In cati l inam, I , vi i i : "I f our country speaksto you thus,-as I have spoken, ought she not to obtain her

request, even though she cannot use force? ••• What are youwaiting for? Do you notice a t a l l the silence of these men?••• Why do you await the spoken word when you see their wish

s i l ~ n t l y expressed?"Ibid. , i : "Is i t nothing to you that the Palatine has

i t s garrison by night , nothing to you tha t the ci ty is fu l lof patrols , nothing that the populace in panic, nothing thata l l honest men have joined forces, nothing that the senateis convened in this stronghold, is i t nothing to see thelooks on a l l the faces?"



? " ' /

(Gr. a Vll . ; again, back: o ; ~ , to bring) where repeti t ion

of nih i l with each item mentioned a t the beginning of suc

cessive clauses helps to concentrate force in that one

word which, by reason of i t s importance, holds the f i r s t

place.

Another example of this rhetor ical device is found

in· the following passage:

Or,

"Tum denique in terf ic iere , cum iam nemo tamimprobus, tam perdiius, ~ tu i simil is in - - -

venire poter i t e tc .

"illum ignem Vestae sempiternum, vobis om-nium deorum tampla atque delubra,

2vobis mu-

ros atque urbis tecta commendat."

With a gesture toward the small round Temple of Vesta,

Cicero made this repeti t ion prove i t se l f emphatic. In

t h ~ s e two extracts we see the force in each case that is

concentrated in one w o r d - - ~ and vobis. The sensations

aroused and renewed again in this same order must remain

deeply embedded in the mind of the audience. I t is used

to economize the mental energy of the l i s teners while add

ing charm and grace to speech. Thus in the following re-

lc icero, In Catilinam, I , i i : "You will be put to death,then, when there shal l be not one person possible to bef o u ~ d so wicked, so abandoned, so l ike yourself , etc."

Ib id . , IV, ix : "she commends the eternal f i re of Vesta,and a l l the temples of a l l the gods, and the al tars andthe walls and the houses of the c i ty ."



rerence, since Catil ine had several times attempted vio

lence a t the Campus Martius and the Forum, as well as

on Cicero's l i re at his residence, i t is the special

province or the anaphora 'o£ "non" coupled with the asyn

deton to emphasize the £act that such dangers exist no

longer:

llNon enim iam inter la tera nostra sica

i l l a versabitur, non in Campo, non in Foro,~ in Curia, n o n - a 8 n i ~ ~ ~ i n t r a ~ m e s t i c o sparietes p e r t i m e s c e m u s ~A £urther i l lus t ra t ion or Amplification is Accumula-

70

~ ~ (Lat. cumulus - a heap; ad - to ; accumulare - to heap

up) a heaping up or phrases or sentences more or less of the

same tenor. I ts purpose is to r ivet the thought to the

mind or the l i s tener by a ~ p l i f i c a t i o n , and to please the

ear by symmetry of construction in phrases and sentences.

An example or this £igure is round in the rollowing:

1

"O rortunatam rem publicam, s i quidemhanc sentinam urbis ejecer i t l Uno meherculeCati l ina exhausto, levata mihi e t recreatares publica videtur. Quid enim mali autsceleris £ingi aut cogitari potest , quodnon i l l e conceperit? Quif tota I ta l ia vene

£icus, quia gladiator, ~ l a t ro , quiasicarius, quil parricida, qtis testamentorumsubjector, ~ circumscrip or, ql is ganeo,quia nepos, quia adulter, quae mu ie r infamia,

Cicero, In Catilinam I I , i : "For now that dagger willno longer hover about our sides; we Shall not be arraidin the campus, in the rorum, in the senate-house,--aye,and

withinour own

private walls."



. . 9 ! ! . _ ~ corruptor juventutis , qlis corruptus, quispe:rQitus invenir i potest , qu se cum Catil inanon familiarissime vixisse fateatur? Quae caedes per hosce annos sine i l lo far ta est , quodnefarium stuprum non per illum?"

Here we have an aggregation of thoughts and words which

have the same signif icat ion, but they do not ascend step

by step. All these thoughts work together to produce one

harmonious effect . In this passage as in previous tones

which we have noted, the emphasis i s strengthened by the

use of Asyndeton and Anaphora. Although redundancy of

words may a t times be considered a defect , yet, such elo-

quent passages as th is , with their piled-up and trip-hammer

diction certainly are a source of .power and beauty.

Cicero was fond of expressing many facts in one well

balanced sentence. This was brought about by means of a• I ' /

rhetor ical form, Periodos (Gr .pe_r ' around; acf'()s way, road;

making a c i rcu i t around) - - a structure in which the

1cicero, In Catilinam I I , iv : "Happy country, could i tbe drained or-the impurit ies of th is cityJ To me the absenceof Catil ine alone seems to have given i t fresh bloom and

b e ~ u t y . Where is the vil lainy, where is the gui l t , that canenter into the heart and thought of man that did not enterinto his? In a l l I ta ly what prisoner, W2at gladiator , whatrobber, what cut- throat , what parricide, what robber, whatforger, what rascal , what ruff ian, WGat debaucher, i s therefound fdong the corrupted, among the abandoned of our country,that d not avow that he was on terms of intimacy withCatiline? What murder has been committed for years withouthim? What nefarious act of infamy tha t has not been doneby himyn--



72

completion of the sense is suspended t i l l the close. One

effect of the periodic structure i s to throw emphasis upon

the end. The following is a well-balanced period, with

ski l l fu l arrangement of words and clauses:

"Si non minus nobis jucundi atque i l lus t res Slnt i i diesquibus conservamur,quam i11i , quibus nascimur,quod salut is certa lae t i t ia es t ,nascendi incerta condi t ic, ,e t quod sine sensu nascimur,cum voluptate servamur,

profecto quoniam illum qui hanc urbem condidit ,ad deos immortales benevolentia famaque sustulimus,esse apud vos posterosque vestros in honore debebit i s ,qui eandem hanc urbem conditam amplificatamque servavi t ." l

Notice how the members of this long period go on lengthen

ing, and close with the longest. This sentence permits the

disclosure of the growth of a thought. A certain lof t iness

of imaginative thinking takes place.

Another i l lus t ra t ion of the orator ical Period may be

found in the f i r s t Catil inarian lhere Cicero exclaims:

1cicero, In Catilinam I I I , i : "And i f the days of ourpreservation-are not less joyous or less i l lus t r ious , / than

those on which we were born; / because the pleasure of del i -verance i s cer ta in , / but the condition of l i fe is precarious;/and because we are born unconscious of it,/ but we are p r e ~served with great del ight ; / ay, since him, who founded thisc i ty , / we have, by our grati tude and veneration, raised tothe immortal gods; / he ought, by you and your poster i ty,to be revered, / he, who this ci ty with a l l i t s accessions ofstrength and wealth has preserved;/ for by me were thoseflames •••• averted."



"Ut saepe homines aegri morbo gravi, cum

aestu febrique jactantur, s i aquam gelidambiberunt, primo relevari videntur, deinde multogravius vehementiusque aff l ic tantur , sic hiemorbus, qui est in re publica, relevatus i s t iu fpoena vehementius rel iquis vivis i n g r a v e s c e n t ~

Here we f ind the sense of this sentence suspended t i l l the

words "will grow much worse." We also note that Cicero

generally employed the Period in sonorous passages as well

as in calm, unimpassioned narrat ive. Such uses tend to

keep up and concentrate the l i s teners ' attention.

73

In the employment of Climax2 ( G r . k ) ~ £ 6 l a d d e r , s ta i r -

case) the ordering of thought and expression takes place

so tha t there i s evident increase in significance, or im-

portance or in tensi ty . The thought must grow, must have

progress. What could be more effect ive than the gradual

r ise in emotional appeal in the climactic period:

"cum quiescunt, probantcum patiuntur, decernuntcum tacent , clamant."3

1cicero, In Catilinam I , x i i i : "Just as often men,sick with a grievous disease and tossed about in a burningfever, drink cold water at f i r s t seem to be relieved, but

l a te r are more grievously and violently aff l ic ted, sothis disease in the state , though relieved by the punish-ment of this man, so long as the res t remain alive willgrow much worse."

2w. Thrall and A. Hibbard, A Handbook to Literature,p . 84. - --

3cicero, In Catilinam I , vi i i : "when they say nothingthey expresst 'heir approval; thei r acquiescence is a decree;by the i r silence they cry aloud."



? ..This example also includes Oxymoron ( G r . ~ ~ s sharp, point-

,.

ed k e e n ; ~ w ~ o s dul l , foolish; a remark tha t seems to contra-

dict i t se l f ) a f igure in which an epithet of contrary sig

nificat ion is added. A further example which might be

cited i s :

"s i cuncta I ta l i a , s i omnia res publicas ic loquatur:"l

Such technique enables the hearers to ~ p r e c i a t e the less

weighty as well as the weighty thoughts. This figure may

be made not only by single words, but by the connection

or the weaving together of words. In the concise and pun

gent statement:

"Nihil agis, nih i l molir is , nih i l cogitas" 2

he again begins wi th a word inf 'erior in sense "agis" (do),

and tenninated with one superior, "cogitas" ( think), r i s -

ing, as it were, by steps or degrees.

Another famous Climax made stronger by the Asyndeton

i s found in these words:

"Abiit , excessi t , evasi t , erupit ." 3

1cicero, In Catilinam I , x i: " if a l l I ta ly , i f a l l thes ta te should-speak thus"

2Ibid . , i i i ; "you do nothing, you attempt nothing, youthink nothing"

3Ibid. , I I , 1: "He has gone, he has departed, he hasescaped, he has rushed for th."



This combination of words is expressive of exultant joy.

"Abire" (to go away) gives the simple idea of departure;

"excedere", (to withdraw) adds the idea of escape; "Evadere",

(to escape) is used especially of f l ight by night or in

secret ; "erumpere", (to break away} involves the use of

violent or forcible means. This i s also a case of

pleonasm.1 The same method is employed in the following:

"non feram, non pat iar , non sinam"2

where the three synonyms form a climax as well. The f i r s t

e.x:presses simply endurance without assuming any authority;

the second endurance with authority; the third emphatical

ly , "I wil l not permit i t . " The gradual climax is height

ened by the employment of asyndeton.

Apostrophe( Gr.:.Jl" away, from; r'lc:'/4k.o turn) l ike

wise adapts i t se l f to Amplification. The term signifies. the

turning from the unemotional way of expression or di

rect ly from the th i rd p9 rson to the second. I f the object

addressed is inanimate, the figure Apostrophe involves also

Personification. In such a citat ion as the following the

orator exaggerates the s i tuat ion and makes his antagonist

appear contemptible. His aim is to disparage him by de-

pict ing his character in the darkest colors.

~ Q u i n t i l i a n IX, i i i , 46.Cicero, In Catilinam I , v: "I wi l l not bear i t , I wil l

not to le ra te - r t , I will not permit i t . "



"Quid es t enim, Cati l ina, quod tejam in hac urbe delectare possit?in qua nemo est extra istam conjurarationem perditorum hominum qui tenon metuat, nemo qui non oderi t .Quae nota domesticae turpitudinesnon inusta vitae tuae est? Quod pr i -vatarum rerum dedecus non haeret infama? Quae l ibido ab oculis , quod facinus a manibus umquam tu is , quod

f l a g i ~ u m a toto corpore afui t? Cuitu adlescentulo, quem corruptellarum i l lecebr is i r re t i sses , non autad audaciam ferrum iu t ad libidinemfacem praetul i s t i?"

76

Cicero's apostrophies or diversions of speech are made

either to his country or to the dei t ies or to his adversa

ry or opponent, and las t ly to men of rank such as his se-

nator ia l colleagues. In the direct address of the country

to Cati l ine there is an aptness for grievous complaint

when she rebukes him because there was no crime for some

years that had come into existence except through him, no

outrage without him; that he alone has kil led many ci t izens,

harried and despoiled the al l ies unpunished and free, tha t

he had been able not only to neglect the laws and the courts

but even to thwart and destroy them. She had endured the

1cicero, In Catilinam I , vi: "For what, can pleaseyou now in this ci ty where there is no one, except your fe l -low-conspirators, ruined men? Who does not fear y o u ~ no onewho does not hate you? What stigma of disgrace is not branded on your private l i fe? What dishonor in personal relat ionsdoes not cling to your i l l fame? What lus t has not stainedyour hands, what corruption has not stained your body? Towhat youth whom you had ensnared by the allurements of yourseduction have you not furnished a weapon for his crime or

torch for his lus t?"l



ear l ie r deeds patiently, although they ought not to be

borne, but now to remain in fear on account of him a one

77

- - that whatever rus t les , he should be suspected,--that no

plan should be s u s ~ c t e d , that can be undertaken against

her uninspired by his vil lainy, this she cannot bear.

Therefore she urges him to depart and free her from tha t

te r ror .1

In other instances Cicero uses apostrophe to make a

pleasant variat ion, notably in the case in which he ex

horts the cit izens to give praise to that Jupiter , the

guardian of the ci ty and to depart to thei r homes.2

The direct address3 of the country personified, ca l l

ing upon her servant Cicero to give an account of himself

1Cicero, In Catilinam, I, vi i : "Nullum jam aliquot

annis facinus-exst i t i t ni s i per te , nullum flagit ium sinete ; t ib i uni multorum civium neces, t ib i vexatio direptioque sociorum impunita fu i t ac l ibera; tu non solum adneglegendas leges e t quaestiones, verum etiam ad evertendas perfrigendasque valu is t i . Superiora i l l a , quam-quam ferenda non fuerunt, tamen, u t potui , tu l i , nuncvero me totam esse in metu propter unum te ; quicquid

increpuerit , Catilinam timer!; nullum videri contra meconsilium in i r i posse, quod a tuo scelere abhorreat,non est ferendum. Quam ob rem discede atque hunc mihitimorem eripe;"

2Ibid. I I I , xi i : "Vos, Quiri tes, quoniam jam est nox,

venerati Jovem illum, custodem huius urbis ac vestrum, investra tecta discedite e t ea, quamquam jam est periculumdepulsum tamen atque ac priore nocte custodiis vigil i isquedefendite."

3Ibid. , I , x i .



has been great ly admired. A£ter beginning with the direct

address in the apostrophe, the country employs an "accunru

la t io" as Cicero himself does. Note the opening two sen-

tences:

"Marcus Tullius, what are you doing? Thisman is a public enemy as you have discovered,he wil l be the leader of the war, as you see,he is expected to take command in the enemies'camp, as you know: head of a conspiracy, re -crui ter of slaves and criminals--and you wil lle t him go, in such a way that he will seemto be not cast out of the ci ty by you but

le t loose against the ci ty."

At th is point the country merges the "accunrulatio"

with the "interrogatio" in the question:

"Will you not command him to be cast intochains, to be punished with the greatestseverity?"

The remainder of the br i l l i an t apostrophe combines

in an in t r icate pattern the devices of " i n t ~ r r o g a t i o " ,"amplificatio", heightened in the f inal sentence by "ana-

phora" and "simile" :

What, p:-ay, hinders you? The custom ofour ancestors? But often even private c i t i -zens in this s ta te have punished with death

dangerous men. Isit

the laws which havebeen enacted regarding the punishment ofRoman ci t izens? But never in this ci tyhave those who revolted against the stateenjoyed the r ights of ci t izens. Or do youfear the odium of posterity? A fine returnyou are making to the Roman people who

have raised you, a man distinguished onlyby your own deeds, and by no achievementsof your ancestors, so early to the hghestoffice through every grade of honor, i f

because of the fear of unpopularity or any

78



danger whatever you neglect the safety ofyour fel low-cit izensl But i f there isany fear of unpopularity, the unpopularitythat comes from sternness and severity isno more greatly to be dreaded than thatwhich comes from laxness and cowardice.

Or when I ta ly shal l be devastated by war,when the ci t ies shal l be harried, whenhouses shal l be burned, do you not thinkthat then you wil l be consumed by the f i reof unpopularity?'1

I t i s small wonder that very often a great in tensi ty of

emotion was aroused in the hearers by the employment of

such rhetorical devices.

Among the more common rhetorical "white rabbits" in

the Ciceronian "bag of t r icks" may be mentioned Homoeo-

...

teleuton, (Gr.o/'a/o,s -like;JT&lt: ...w - to bring to an end or

ending) a figure consisting in the conscious and deliberate

use of a succession of words or clauses concluding with

the same sound or similar syl lable. In such sentences,

clauses f in ish in words of l ike tune by using l ike cases,

ltenses, or other points of assonance; for example:

Or,

ttnemg es t in l ~ d Q gladiatoriQ paulg ad faci -nus audacior"

"luce sunt c l a r i o r ~ nobis tua consi l ia omnia"3

- - -1J . Macbeth, Might and Mirth of Literature, (Figures

of ~ h e t o r i c ) , p. 250Cicero, In Catilinam I I , v: "there is no one in the

gla9iatorial school a l i t t l e too eager for crime"Ibid. , I , i i i : "a l l your plans are clearer than the

l igh t of day"



Or,

"summu_!!!. ~ u x i l i u m omnium g e n t i ~ " lOr,

"Quam tuorum consiliorum reprimendor!!!!!" 2

Or,

"ego non modo3

audiam sed eti!!!!_ vide,!!!! plane-que sentiam" - -

I ts use is chiefly to please the ear . The mind is delight

ed with the ease as it is rel ieved of some labor in per

ception. This anticipated similari ty makes the relat ion

of the words clearer .-'

Another common figure is Hyperbaton (Gr. v /7c:. ,/ '

over, by beyond;;&a.,;:wgo) whereby words, for reasons of

emphasis, elegance or variety, are transposed from plain

grammatical order into another handsomer and more f i t

order, as:

"rel iquis de rebus •••••• referemus"4

Or,

"cum tu discessu, ceterorum nostra tamen qui

lc icero, In Catilinam, IV, i : "the greatest protectbn ofa l l the nations"

2Ibid. , i i i : "as to thwart your plans"3Ibid. , i i i : "I do not only hear but also see and under

stand plainly"4Ibid. , I I , xi i : "the question of determining further

measures ••••• ! shall refer"



remansissemus caede contentum te esse dicebas"l

~ I

Hendiadys (Gr • .£ v d', a. J " o 1' ,...._one thing through two )

is the expression of one complex idea through the use of

two nouns connected by a conjunction, as:

Or,

"vim e t manus" - violent hands2

"vi e t minis" - by threats of violence3

"aestu febrique" -w i th the heat of fever 4

"consi l i i atque orationis meae" - gf theadvice contained in my orations

"ora vultusque" - the fac ia l expression6

"soci,tatem concordiamque" - harmonious fellow-ship

8

Cicero i s part icular ly fond of such pairs of synonyms where

a single word would have been adequate to convey the idea.

A further type of rhetorical figure used by the orator~ ; '

is Irony ( G r . £ / ~ w re. .1 ~ an ignorance purposely affected

to provoke an antagonist) . I t i s a figure which presupposes

the contrary of what is said; i t i s an edged tool which

connotes contempt for an opposing view or opinion. I ts use

is chiefly to reprove or rebuke, also to j es t and move to

Cicero, In Catilinam, I , i i i : "But you said that , inspi te of the departure of the others, you WJuld s t i l l be

c o n ~ e n t with ki l l ing us who had remained"

3Ibid . , vi i i .Ibid . , I I , v i i .

4Ibid. , I, x i i i .5Ibid. , II , vi i .6Ibid. , I , i .7Ibid. , IV, vi i .



mirth by the opposing of contrar ies. 1

I t is not di f f icul t for us to feel the real force of

this figure as Cicero employed i t when he exclaims:

"Etenim, credo, Manlius i s te centurio quiin agro Faesulano castra posuit bellum populoRomano suo nomine indixi t , e t i l la castra nuncnon Catilinam ducem exspectant, e t i l l e ejectusin exsilium se M a s s i l ~ a m , u t aiunt , non inhaec castra confert ."

This whole sentence i s strongly i ronical , as i f Cicero had

said, " I t i s absurd to suppose that Manlius, tha t petty

centurion, has declared war against Rome on his own account,

and that i t i s not Cati l ine, thei r r e a ~ leader, that they

are waiting for ."

Again speaking to the people of Rome and reporting

his previous acts in the senate and crying out:

"Ego vehemens i l l e c o ~ s u l qui verbo elvesin exsilium ej ic io" .

he speaks i ronically of himself as "that violent consul

who could drive cit izens into exile by the very breath of

my mouth". In fact , he is defending himself while leading

1J . F. Genung, The Working Princinles of Rhetoric, p. 100.

2cicero, In Catilinam, I I , vi: "And I suppose that Manlius,that centurion who has pitched a camp in the dis t r ic t ofFaesulae, has prepared war against the Roman people on hisown account; and that camp does not now await Catil ine asi t s leader; and he, driven forsooth into exile , wil l go toMarseil les, as they say, and not to the camp."

3Ibid. , v i.



the populace with him to take par t in that accusation

which he intends to bring against the chief conspirators

who are l e f t in the ci ty . Dmnediately thereaft·er he

heightens the effect of the previous figure by turning the

sword of his irony from himself to Cati l ine, when he says:

"Homo enim videlicet timidus aut etiam permodestus vocem consulis terre non potui t ;simul atque i re in exsilium iussus es t , paru i t , iv i t . "

This sounds as i f the orator were quoting or parodying a

statement of one of Catil ine 1s defenders. The rhetor ical

effect is supported by Asyndeton. We see that Irony, in

i t s extensive use, is an instrument of offense and defense

that he could use masterfully.

Another powerful weapon in the hands of the orator who

wished to discredi t his opponent and exal t his own cause

I )"'is Hyperbole, (Gr. l.l/i&[over, beyond_ys., 7tbrowing) -- the

common human tendency to exaggerate. The orator amplifies

the greatness or smallness of a thing by exceeding the

l imits of verisimili tude. He employs it for praise as well

as censure. At times he depicts, in f la t impossibil i ty,

a thing beyond the t ru th that we may descend to find the

t ru th . In the address to the people we have hyperbole

employed to engender hatred, where Cicero intensif ied and

lc icero, In Catilinam, I I ,man, so timin-ana even m o d e s ~the consulS As soon as he washe obeyed, he went."

v i: "And I suppose that thiscould not endure the reproach of

bidden to go forth into exile



84

even created bad quali t ies in the persons hated. What a

swift succession of almost incredible exaggerations do we

find in these l ines: He speaks1

of Catil ine as a misbegot

ten monster who wil l no longer plunge a dagger into their

sides , a monster who, af ter his departure, turns his eyes

back toward the ci ty and mourns that it has been snatched

from his jaws. There the hyperbole i s heightened by meta

phor which he carries along to the next exaggeration--that

ci ty rejoices because i t has spewed out that pestilence

and cast it for th . Cicero continues to keep up the hyper

bole in relat ing to the populace how ut ter ly he despises

that army of ruined old men, of boorish high-livers, of rus

t ic spendthrifts , and of those who prefer to forfe i t their

bai l ra ther than to desert his army. Further on he enum-

erates 2 the intimate associates of C a t i l i n e ~ a m e l y , poi

soners, forgers of wills , cheat gamesters, spendthrifts ,

adulterers, infamous women:--so Cicero continues. Thus,

we find whole paragraphs throughout the Second Catil inarian

dealing largely with passages which contain superlative

adjectives. No doubt the bigger and mare monstrous Catil ine

could be made to appear, the greater would be the honor of

having driven him out of the c i ty . Thls certainly i s a

language of abuse ra ther than of indignation. This annihi-

lc icero, In Catilinam, I I , i .2Ibid. iv .



tso

lat ing torrent of denunciation may be considered one of the

drast ic performances both in history and in l i tera ture .

But the use of such sharp ra i l lery against opponents seems

1allowable rhetoric a t this period. This bi t te r and coarse

personality in Which Cicero so frequently indulged was a

legitimate weapon of oratory.2

In fact , i t was sure to be

highly relished by a mixed audience.3

Cicero launched his

invective a t times most unscrupulously. His personal i t ies

and redundance of such ra i l lery would not be tolerated in

a modern court , but what we disl ike today met with no ob

ject ion in ancient times.

An i l lus t ra t ion of an instance in which Cicero used

hyperbole for praise is found in the passage where he s ta t -

ed that Pompey fixed the borders of the Roman empire not

by l imits of the earth, but by the l imits of the sky.4

However, it is mentioned not without some basis; for Pompey

had fought with Sartorius in the extreme west, and Mithri-

dates in the extreme eas t .

5Again the passage "persaepe •••m.ultarun" wherein

1A.H. Clough, op.ci t . p. 420.2cicero, Orator, xxxviii , 128-129.~ . Forsyth, The Life of Cicero, p. 227.4cicero, Orator I I I , xi: "quorum al ter f inis vest r i

impgri non terrae sed cael i regionibus terminaret"Ckero, In Catilinam I , x i: "At ~ rsaepe ~ i a m privat i in

hac re publiCa perniciosos civis morte multarunt."One incident previously stated was that of Scipio, ibid. I , i .



86

Cicero relates that even private cit izens "frequently"

have punished the men with death, we have rhetorical exag-

geration for the orator has cited previously only one case

of the kind.

A figure tha t lays powerful hold on the imagination

and the emotions of the audience is one which has been

mentioned in connection with hyperbole. I t i s the metaphor

(_, J /

Gr.jte. , ...one to mother , change of p l a c e s ; , . ~ : ; o ~ t o carry;

a transferring of one word to the sense of another). Here

the orator t e l l s us not what a thing i s l ike, but what i t

i s .1

Metaphors (1) aid the understanding, (2) deepen the

impression on the feel ings, and (3) give an agreeable

surprise. They are also forcible in augmenting persuasion

and they are more easi ly remembered because of the i r picto-

r i a l quali ty. From Cicero's application of the figure we

may assume that he knew the value of the extended metaphor

in controll ing the emotions and influencing the conduct of

his hearers.

Thus, when he speaks of the conspiracy as being

"in the veins ~ n d in the vita ls of thebody poli t ic"

by a metaphor drawn from nature he represents the state

~ C i c e r o , Orator, xxi i i , 81, 82.Ibid. , I , xi i i : "in venia atque in visceribus re i

publicae"



as a human body.

Or,

"s i quidem hanc sentinam urbis e iecer i t lUno mehercule Catil ina exhausto, levatamihi a t recrea ta r as publica videtur .1

The figure is drawn from a ship (the s ta te) free of sentina

(bilge water). The sentina consists of Catil ine and his

followers. Cicero's wish is tha t this ent i re sentina be

pumped out (exhausto) and got r id of.

87

Another interest ing figure is Chiasmus (planning

crosswise, from the Greek l e t te r X) which consists in chang-

ing the re la t ive order of words in two ant i thet ical phrases,

as:

"industriae subsidia atque instruments vir tut is"2

The power of endurance referred to in "frigore e t fame •••

perferendi", 3which might have been so useful in an active

(industriae) and virtuous (vir tu t is ) l i f e , he was ut te r ly

wasting in debauchery and crime.

Again, Litotes is the e ~ e s s i o n of an idea by the

4denial of i t s opposite, a euphemism, as :

1cicero, In Catilinam, I I , iv : " i f it can cast forththese dregs OI" the s ta ta l Even now, when Catil:tne alone isgot2r id of, the s ta te seems to be relieved and refreshed."

3Ibid . , v; "aids of industry and means of virtue"

4!b td . , I, ix : "abi l i ty to endure hunger, cold"

c. Coppens, English Rhetoric, p. 83.



"non multa" - fewl

I t may be employed ei ther for praise or blame, and that in

a modest form or manner.

Our master's method of driving home a t ruth by repeat-

ing i t , and that , too in exactly the same or closely syno-

nymous words is very noticeable and effect ive. By means

of th is figure which i s termed Reduplicatio he emphasizes

a part icular concept and implants i t firmly in the minds of

his l i s teners . These couplets and t r ip le t s most of the

time are synonymous, as:

"cum tua peste ac pe rnicie" - with your ru i jand destruction

"notat e t designat oculls" - he singles outand marks with his glance3

This means employed f ixes the meaning of a term; it brings

the same idea again and again to l ight . In the second

i l lus t ra t ion Cicero conceives Catil ine as glancing about

among the senators and s i lent ly marking them for assassi-

nation, though a metaphor - "branding" or "stamping" - may

also be marked in "notat", since the verb carries that

connotation from i t s use for the dating and stamping of

wine kegs.

88

lc icero, In Catilinam, I, vi: "not many have been committeds i n c e ~ ' C!cerorefers here to Cat i l ine 's crimes.

2Ibid. , x i i i .

3Ibid. , i.



89

Among those rhetor ical devices which appear more spar

ingly in the Catil inarians are: ( l) Hysteron-Proteron

which is an inversion of the natural o ~ d e r of events, as:

"Africam redire , I ta l ia decedere" 1

Hannibal's withdrawal from I ta ly naturally preceded his

return to Africa.

Or,

"interfectum esse L. Catilinam e t gravissimo supplicio adfectum lam pridem opor

tebat"2

The punishment certainly precedes the ki l l ing, t h ~ ·.:>ugh this

may be viewed as Reduplicatio - i f the punishment and

kil l ing are considered synonymous.

(2) Polysyndetop (Gr•7' '"/ v'often, repeated; r ~ . - " ' v with;

c:fe ~ to bind;) i s a figure by which the speaker uni tea

the different parts of his speech by many conjunctions.

They render what i s said more vivacious and energetic .

Example:

"turpem e t infirmam e t abjectam" 3

Note the repeti t ion of the conjunction which is the less

usual and so more emphatic form of enumeration. Polysyn

deton i s always attended by a retarded m ~ e m e n t in the

1cicero, In Catilinam, IV, x.2Ibid. , I I , 11: "cat i l ine ought to have been put to ..

d e a ~ h and to have suffered the most ter r ib le punishment.,Ibid. , IV, x: "base and powerless and abject"



90

sentence. I t demands special and deliberate attention

to each separate word and clause introduced. I t may be

c a l ~ d the chain of speech, as every chain has a conjunction

of matter and a dis t inct ion of l inks .

(3) Zeugme. (Gr " ...Y v u 1 - to join, l ink together;

~ e ( ) y o ~ - a n y pair or c o u p l e ; J " ~ ~ Y f i 4 . - b a n d ) i s a rhetor ical

form in which one verb is made to stand for two, as:

"omnia hie locus acervis c£rporum e t civium sanguine redundavit"

Redundavit construed by zeugma with acervis and t ranslated

"was choked"; with sanguine, "overflowed".

Not the leas t important rhetorical t r ick of Cicero

was an old one he borrowed from the Greeks. I t was the

old-fashioned but always effective Paraleipsis or prae

t e r i t io (Lat. a passing over) in which Cicero, while

professedly "passing over" the incident referred to 1

real ly impresses i t effectively on the minds of his au-

dience.

I l lust ra t ion:

Or,

"! l la nimis antiqua praetereo" - I 2passover as too ancient the fact that

"Nam u t i l l a omittam" - for not to speakof these portents 3

Cicero, In Catilinam I I I , x: "All this placeheaps of bodies and overflowed with blood ofIbid. , I, i .

Ib id . , I I I , v i i i .

was chokedcit izens"



91

and then Cicero enumerates them, thus implanting the ideas

more impressively. I t is a rhetorical trick that the mo-

dern lawyer copies when he asks the witness a question,

receives the answer and then hears the judge say "The jury

will disregard that statement". But does the jury real ly

forget?

Many t r ibutes were paid to Cicero both in his own and

succeding ages for his wit and humor in which he was con

sidered the superior of Demosthenes. 1 Furthermore according

to Cicero, Grand style required i t s seasoning of wit and

humor. 2We know that af ter the Verrine orations Cicero

accepted his destiny as dean of Roman wits ,3

and henceforth

he labored so well tha t each sharp saying which fe l l from

his l ips was hailed in Rome with spontaneous delight .

Collectors of jokes jot ted them down for the enjoyment and

wonder of posteri ty. Jul ius Caesar himself could t e l l by

the ring, as it were, whether any new joke that reached his

4ears was genuine Ciceronian coinage. Plutarch says of him,

1Quintilian X, i , 107: "Salibus certe e t commiseratione,qui duo plurimum in adfectibus valent, vincimus".

2cicero, Orator, XXV, 87-90: "Huic generi orationis aspergentur etiam sales , qui in dicendo nimium quantum valent .Quorum duo genera sunt, unum facetiarum alterum dicaci ta t is"

3H. Bennett, "The Wit's Progress," Classical Journal, Vol.30,4p. 197.

R. s. Rogers, "Augustus the Man", Class:ical Journal, Vol.36, P• 450.



92

that "he was by nature framed for mirth and jes ts , and his

countenance expressed smiles and sunshine."1

Cato also

2labels Cicero as an amusing consul. Cicero displayed this

t r a i t to a considerable extent in the Pro Murena and Pro

Caelio. However, in the Cati l inarians , I have detected only

one i l lus t ra t ion along this l ine . In the second speech he

remarked that some of the men from the colonies established

by Sulla "have fa l len so deeply in debt tha t i f they

would be solvent they must ca l l Sulla back to them from the3

infernal regions." The most important pol i t ica l figures,

Cato, Crassus, and Pompey, except Caesar, seem to have

disliked Cicero for his cleverness.4

Cicero's speeches fa i r ly teem with sk i l l fu l and un-

obtrusive use of ornaments, such as figures and prose-rhythm.

He devotes a large space to set t ing out a l l the means that

could adorn a speech, and convert i t from a merely color-

less medium for conveying ideas into an instrument of ima

ginative and emotional power. Addressed to the senate we

find i t authori tat ive; to the people it i s dignif ied. Yet

12

Quoted from J . L. Strachan-Davidson, op. c i t . , p. 362.H. Bennett, ~ · c i t . , p. 198.

3cicero, In Catilinam, II , ix : "in tantum aes alienuminciderunt u t , s i salvi esse vel int , Sulla s i t e is ab

i n f ~ r i s excitandus."

A. H. Clough, QP• ~ . , p. 421.



these s ~ e c h e s are supposed to have been unpremeditated and

to have been given forth on the spur of the moment.

How much charm i s los t in that we can only read the

great orator instead of l is tening t ~ him! Gesture and

action were looked upon as essent ia l elements of the orator 's

1power. One appeals to the eye and the other to the ear,

the two senses by which a l l emotion reaches the soul . And

yet we find, in spi te of th is passionate and glowing elo

quence, Cicero is branded with the stigma of Asianism,3

which in the eyes of many was a synonym for oratory that

was faul ty and corrupt. His Interrogatio and Apostrophe,

perhaps, are the rhetor ical forms of which his contempo

rar ies complained when they labeled him as Asiatic in his

style, f lorid and redundant. 3 Nothing in th is world being

absolutely perfect , it follows that no man has ever existed

in whom the cr i t ic sees nothing a t a l l to reprehend. There

was also a tendency in the orator to employ neologisms,

archaisms, and words from vulgar Latin. But s t i l l the

balance sheet of his talents and eloquence cal ls for nothing

but congratulations. His Cati l inar ian speeches produced a

powerful effect . This thunder of eloquence was the means

1Cicero, Orator, 55-60.2Quintilian, XII, x, xi i .

3william Forsyth, L i f e ~ Cicero, Vol. I I , p. 326-327.



94

of driving Catil ine from Rome and of saving the common-

wealth from ut te r ruin. Lack of figurative e ~ e s s i o n may

often times make a speech dull and tiresome, whereas with

thei r employment a re la t ively drab subject becomes intense-

ly interest ing. The very fac t tha t his throat was la ter

cut by a representative of the new order and his head and

hands sent to the triumvirs in witness that there was no

longer a single l iving and formidable tongue to p1ead for

the old virtue, the ancient l iber ty , is a t r ibute to our 1orator, and it was a glorious end, the death of a patr io t .

He sealed his devotion with his blood.

lAnthony Trollope, qp. ~ . , Vol. I I , p. 244.



MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO

Against conspiracy strong adject ives;A lean man stands before the mob and fl ingsProud words, proud nmmes, proud deeds into the ai r ,

To beat against sharp swords with valiant wings.

\Vhen dying freedom fa l l s before the greedOf men who seek renown and wealth alone,He st·ands before them, in the i r faces f l ingsAll of the scandal, a l l the f i l th in Rome.

Of course they k i l l him, for the t ruth stabs deep;But through the ages bright , untouched by rus t ,

The t r a i l words s t i l l wil l shine in free men's heartWhen their proud nmmes are los t , when Rome i s dust.

Power leaves only cold and broken stones;Yet buried under rubble, debris , sods,Liberty sings, unconquered through the years,In a dead tongue, s t i l l cal l ing on dead gods.

Quoted from Mary E. Sergent 's"Marcus Tullius Cicero", The

Classical Outlook, Vol. XV!!,P• 85. -



CHAPTER VII

In the foregoing chapters an effor t has been made

to demonstrate the fact that Cicero se t for himself the

task to r id the country of i t s audacious and a r r o ~ a n t ene

my by wielding the weapon of clever tact ics alone. In the

Catil inarians he stands forth as the true patr io t , with

a l l his lof ty pol i t ica l ideals - as the supreme master of

rhetoric and f ierce invective. When the l i fe of the repub

l ic was endangered by such desperate men as Catil ine, Ci

cero 's imperious personal leadership and unselfish cour

age were always unfail ing even unto his death. As a guard

ian of his s ta te he played the game with such craf t and

boldness that Catil ine was driven from Rome without b l o o ~shed, leaving behind him a h e a d l e ~ s and i rresolute g r o u ~who planned. the i r own destruction. We have seen that Cice

ro employed the feelings which prompt men to action, by

s t i r r ing them to affection for the gods, the s ta te , se t t -

ing before them instances of glorious deeds formerly ac

complished in behalf of the i r country. This appeal to pa

tr iotism was one of the most successful attempts to ac

count for the obtaining of his object - Cati l ine 's banish

ment. Cicero deliberately undertook to drive Catil ine from

Rome by his speeches and he su·ceeeded. The essentia l ele-



97

ment of oratory, the abi l i ty to talk to the heart of his

Roman audience, plus his renowned reputation made a l l his

undertakings turn out in his favor. His rhetor ical per-

suasion included not only the choice and presentation of

the thought but also the arrangement and management of

words as well. Yet a l l these devices were woven so ski l -

ful ly into the texture of his speeches that every part i -

cular passage became exactly a part of the set oration.

I t was not my intention to exhibit the personage of

_Cicero as faul t less . He was much too human to be perfect .

However, compared to other men in his time he was sincere

and honest; he joined Pompey in Macedonia from a sense of

sheer duty; he defied Antony when to defy the l a t t e r was

probable death. Although Cicero was banished, yet upon

his return he was greeted with such an ovation as no other

man ever received. Certainly i t i s a proof that the peo-

ple could not have thought i l l of his conduct. Thus we

see he could appeal to h is hearers and be heard. Such a

splendid record of his personal l i fe together with his

sweeping, keen and progressive detai ls of the Rhetorical

Art aided him in swaying and dominating his time. I con-

clude this work with a quotation of Titus Livius,

" I f one weighs his faults against h ismerits, he was a great man, of highsp i r i t , worthy of remembrance; to



s:ound his praise would reqyire aCicero for h is eulogis t ."

Quoted from J. Rolfe, QP• c i t . , p. 63.



SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Cicero, De Oratore, 0hase & Stuart ' s New Classical-Se r i e s , Noble and Noble Publishers, New

York, 192'7.

Cicero, In Catllina:m, I-IV, Louis E. T.Jord, Harvard-un ivers i ty Press, Cambridge, Mass. 193'7.

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99



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Fowler, w. Warde, Social Life a t Rome, (In the Ageof Cicero), 'ffie1ra'CmiTli'il"C'ompany, NewYork, 1933.

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Harsha, David A., The Most ~ i n e n t Orators andStatesmen--of :R:ncien€ and Modern 1'imes,The johri ~ ~ C o m p a n y , Ufiicago,1854.

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MINOR IMPORTANCE

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Duff, J . Wight, The Writers of Rome, OxfordUniversity Press, London-!925.

Forsyth, William, Life of Marcus Tullius Cicero,Vol. I , I ~ c F i b n e r s , New York, 1966.

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Company, London, 1860.

PERIODICALS

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Bennet, H., "The Wit's Progress" Classical Journal,Vol. XXX, PP• 197, 198.

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on the Legio Martis, Classical Journal,Vol. XXXVI, (Feb. l941J, PP• 279, 280.

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"Price of Consistency", The American Observer,Vol. X (Feb. 17;-!941), P• 8.

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The thesis,"Cicero's Emotional Appeal in the

Catilinarians", written by Sister Mary Alvina Jaracz,

has been accepted by the Graduate School with reference

to form, and by the readers whose names appear below,

with reference to content. I t is , therefore, accepted

in part ial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Master of Arts.

D. Herbert Abel, Ph.D.

Rev. James J. Mertz, S.J . , A.M.

Rev. William J. Millor, S.J . , Ph.D.

October 27, 1941

November 16, 1941

November 17, 1941

ciceros catilinarian orations. a study in emotional appeal

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