The Hand of Cicero

ISBN-13: 9780415251495 / Angielski / Twarda / 2002 / 176 str.

Shane Butler;Butler Shane

Opis

Hundreds perished in Rome's Second Proscription, but one victim is remembered above all others. Cicero stands out, however, not only because of his fame, but also because his murder included a unique addition to the customary decapitation - his corpse was deprived not only of its head, but also of its right hand. Plutarch tells us that Mark Antony wanted the hand that wrote the Philippics, but how did it come to pass that Rome's greatest orator could be so hated for the speeches he had written? Charting a course through Cicero's celebrated career, this text examines two principal relationships between speech and writing in Roman oratory: the use of documentary evidence by orators and the publication of both delivered and undelivered speeches. The author presents the thesis that the success of Rome's greatest orator depended as much on writing as speaking; he also argues against the conventional wisdom that Rome was an oral society, in which writing was rare and served only practical, secondary purposes.

Recenzje

'[An] engaging and readable book ... I thoroughly recommend this as a refreshing look at Cicero and his society.' - JACT Review

Spis treści

Introduction; Chapter 1 The Young Cicero, Reading; Chapter 2 Cicero Takes a Bath; Chapter 3 Multitudo Litterarum; Chapter 4 The Trial of Verres; Chapter 5 Litterae Manent; Chapter 6 December 3, 63 BCE; Chapter 7 The Young Cicero, Reading;

O autorze

Authored by Butler, Shane