SPCM 201 1st Edition Lecture 9Cicero: Rhetoric in the Roman Republic Macedonian Empire  Athens Rome  Roman Republic Spain Gaul Italy—Rome  Asia Minor Syria—Carthage  Macedonia  Greece  The Romans are known for… Organization (military, government, law, etc.)  Engineering (aqueducts, roadways, coliseum, etc.)  Borrowing from other cultures (taking other people’s ideas)  Consider the Roman Gods… The same is true RHETORIC  Who is Cicero?  Marcus Tullius Cicero 106 B.C.E.—43 B.C.E. Middle class boy who received elite education because of father Earned fame as a lawyer  Gifted orator Pivoted career to politics  Roman Senate Represents the return of Teacher/Practitioner Model Triple threat—lover, teacher, practitioner of rhetoric Famous  Really cares about how you style your speech; artful, beautiful; passionate Eloquence  Rhetor vs. Orator vs. Eloquence  Cicero prefers the world eloquence and oratory to rhetoric Essentially the same thing But emphasizes style of speech  De Oratore begins… A letter he writes to his brother  With Cicero pinning for the good days when he won’t need to be in charge…These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. He yearns for the days when “the state was at its best” Wishes to return to his study of rhetoric with his brother Wishes to retire and continue his studies on rhetoric What do Cicero and his brother disagree about? Cicero’s Brother Rhetoric (a good orator) depends on “a natural talent and on practice.” Cicero Rhetoric (a good orator) is “dependent upon the trained skill of highly educated men.” Cicero thus begins to recount what the educations of a good orator should look like… What is the state of oratory?  Rhetoric is Cicero’s Time There are few good orators (vs. generals) This is sad given Rome’s great rhetorical heritage  Romans incorporating others into their society  However, Romans still adore great orators… It is simply harder to do great than most people think It demands “a knowledge of very many matters [that] must be grasped, without which oratory is but an empty and ridiculous swirl of verbiage.” You must know what you’re taking about - Plato What makes a good orator? The Canons of Rhetoric (1) Invention  Coming up with something to say Find something and come up with arguments  (2) Arrangement/Organization We have to organize our creative inventions - Intro, body, conclusion  (3) Style How you then invent and organize a speech to make it beautiful  (4) Memory  You must know what you’re talking about Remember what you’re going to say  (5) Delivery  How to use your body to get the message across Gestures  Ideas are not new or ground breaking We can see within these five other philosophers, Gorgias (style), Socrates (organization), Plato (memory)  Knowledge  Even with the five canons, you must have knowledge in order to succeed So as not to be “childlike”  To prove his point, Cicero takes a page from Plato and sets up dialogue to explain what he means Cicero’s Dialogue: Two Main Characters Crassus A great leader of Rome; Cicero’s mentor; the voice od Cicero in the dialogue  Scaevola  A competitor of Crassus; a doubter of rhetoric  Crassus on the value of rhetoric “There is to my mind no more excellent thing…than rhetoric.” Invoked the idea of free nation; peace and tranquility Rhetoric ensures these concepts  Rhetoric is something that separates us from the “brutes” Rhetoric matters not just for personal use but for our society as well But Scaevola is doubtful… Our society is based off “wise counsel” not rhetoric Key to success The excessive use of rhetoric but truly messes things up If rhetoric is good at anything it is good at: Political, judicial, and ceremonial speeches, but no more! Crassus defends rhetoric… Essentially says “shut up Scaevola” Crassus has traveled to Greece and studied rhetoric He’s heard these points before and still doubts them  He is particularly critical of Plato When making fun of other orators, you then being an orator which then makes you a hypocrite Why? Because even if you grant excellence to Dialectic, it still fails to move people without Rhetoric - Impossible to move people without rhetoric- You must use rhetoric to bash rhetoric All Knowledge requires some STYLE… Wisdom may be granted to others, but style (“ the elegance of diction”) must always be creditedto rhetoric Knowledge is still important (else we face the “hollow thundering of words”) But STYLE makes all the difference- The way you communicate your knowledge Therefore, Cicero’s claim:- Don’t fight with Philosophers over who knows Truth- …But argue to the death that knowing Truth is only valuable when it can be given the “oratorical treatment” The End of the Republic and the Rise of EMPIRE  Important place for speech  Courts  Generals challenge authority Cesar  Cicero views Cesar as a threat  Cicero is put to death in brutal way - As a sign that he and anyone else who questions Cesar will be