in defense of archias summary

First of all at Antioch, (for he was born there, and was of high rank there,) formerly an illustrious and wealthy city, and the seat of learned men and of . It could even be read as a sort of laudatio funebris for Archias, Cicero, and liberal learning. 4.5);25 Ciceros claim here is that works of literature, whether Greek or Latin, have the same salutary effect. 54). The notes are clear throughout and fruitfully employ the glossary explanations of key rhetorical features, such as chiasmus, hyperbaton, and hendiadys. It is for that reason that many noble Romans had a poet to write for them. The prosecution of Archias was probably undertaken, as we have seen, by a supporter of Pompey, and was directed not so much against Archias as against his patron L. Lucullus. A few problems of note (some of which have crept into the second edition): read when in for when. Cicero begins his account of Archias' life and travels through Asia and Greece during the poet's early career before his first arrival in Rome. As M. L. Clarke has pointed out, Archias was not the only one of Ciceros boyhood teachers whom he went out of his way to help: he had Diodotus to live in his house after he had become old and blind (Brut. But in case anyone is surprised to hear me say this, given that my clients talents lie not in the theory and practice of oratory but in another direction, I should point out that I have never devoted myself exclusively to this one art. Theophanes is, nevertheless, a good example for Cicero to cite, not only because he was a Greek who was given the citizenship, but because he was given it by Pompey. If Archias was Ciceros grammatikos, he would have taught him to recite Homer and other Greek poets, and the vocal training that this involved may genuinely have helped him on his way to becoming a great orator. Poets (at least good ones) were of course highly esteemed by cultured Romans such as the Catuli, the Luculli, and Cicero himself, but such men were a minority. Quam multas nobis imagines non solum ad intuendum verum etiam ad imitandum fortissimorum virorum expressas scriptores et Graeci et Latini reliquerunt! In some cases, however, the ascriptions read not justArchias butArchias the grammatikos,Archias of Macedon,Archias of Byzantium,Archias of Mytilene, and Archias the younger. 28), The measures which I, jointly with you, undertook in my consulship for the safety of the empire, the lives of our citizens, and the common weal of the state, have been taken by my client as the subject of a poem which he has begun; he read this to me, and the work struck me as at once so forcible and so interesting, that I encouraged him to complete it. Cicero and his Italian Clients in the Forensic Speeches, The Rhetoric of Character in the Roman Courts, Audience Expectations, Invective, and Proof. The digressio concludes ( 2830) with Ciceros admission that he too wishes to be immortalized in verse; as he has demonstrated, there are many honourable precedents for this. While the speech itself is the legal defense of . Among the numerous classical influences in the works of W. E. B. By this line of argument, Archias, though Greek, is turned into someone who helps to promote Roman values and bolsters Roman authority and tradition.22 He therefore has an important part to play in Roman society, and hence deserves his place within it as a Roman citizen. In his argument, Cicero discusses the benefits of literature, the intrinsic dignity or virtue of poets and the relationship of the poet to the state. Sat. Abstract. See also C. Murgias detailed review of Gotoffs book: Murgia, C. Review Article: Analyzing Ciceros Style, CP 76 (1981): 301-313. Chief among his enemies, and one who would stand to gain much by disgracing Lucullus was Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, better known as Pompey the Great. But the study of literature sharpens youth and delights old age; it enhances prosperity and provides a refuge and comfort in adversity; it gives enjoyment at home without being a hindrance in the wider world; at night, and when travelling, and on country visits, it is an unfailing companion. For a short speech defending a man of relatively little importance on a charge of no great gravity, the reader of Ciceros Pro Archia is well-served with a broad range of Latin texts, English translations, and commentaries approaching the speech from a variety of angles (literary, historical, legal, and philological). The accusation is believed to have been a political move against Lucullus through Archias. This is understandable in view of the higher social status of the Metelli. In the Fourth Verrine, for example, when he is dealing with Verres theft of art treasures, he affects to be unable to recall the name of the famous sculptor Polyclitus (Verr. 1.19.6, 1.20.3; cf. Although technically delivered in a court of law, the speech possesses the unique characteristics of a more ornamental realm of oratory, epideictic, which includes speeches such as funeral orations, or laudatio funebris. In reality Archias, if he ever wore a toga at all, which is doubtful, would not have done so until 89, by which time he had been settled in Rome for thirteen years. 1.16.15). 10.7.19, based on this passage) and to produce written compositions. In 62 B.C.E., the poet Archias, Marcus Tullius Cicero's childhood tutor, faced prosecution based on the tribunal law of Gaius Papius, which expelled non-Roman citizens from Rome. It was Metellus Pius who had enrolled him as a citizen and whose careful records provided the documentary evidence that he needed to establish his claim to citizenship. This paper examines Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta Oratio and the author's implicit and explicit views on how Roman cultural identity is constructed. Ciceros defense of his teacher, the Pro Archia, is far from the expert orators most well-known work, yet it presents fascinating questions for analysis. 3. The reason for this, Cicero continues, is that there is no one who is unwilling to have his own deeds immortalized in verse (this was indeed true in his own case, as he will later reveal). He makes it out to be not an exclusive or intellectual subject, but something practical and useful to society. But more fundamentally, Ciceros words convey the impression that Archias was already a Roman citizen. 61): Et quoniam non est nobis haec oratio habenda aut in imperita multitudine aut in aliquo conventu agrestium, audacius paulo de studiis humanitatis quae et mihi et vobis nota et iucunda sunt disputabo. Treating the jury as intellectuals also serves to reduce the apparent cultural distance separating them and Archias: during the trial, Cicero, Archias, and the jury will all be literary men together. It would appear in fact that this argument has been introduced primarily in order to provide a context for the famous names, since it is the names that carry the main persuasive force.26. First, whatever the jurors private views on poetry and culture, it is nevertheless flattering for them to be treated as intellectuals, as a select group of people who are well educated and superior to the common herd (cf. Some time later, Archias accompanied M. Lucullus on a visit to Sicily, and on their return journey Lucullus arranged for him to be granted honorary citizenship at Heraclea in Lucania. Lucullus must have helped to bring about Ciceros election to the consulship, and in July 63 Cicero in return had enabled Lucullus to celebrate his long-delayed triumph (Cic. I should like therefore to pause at this point and consider what are Ciceros reasons for including this digression, and for allowing it so to dominate the speech. After providing the jury with the legal foundations of Archiass citizenship, he proceeds to argue that even if reasonable doubt were to surround Archiass claim to be a Roman citizen, he should nevertheless be considered worthy of inclusion in the citizen body as a result of the contribution his poetry has made to the Republic. Polyb. 61, already quoted). The legal argument, that Archias is a Roman citizen, is divided into two roughly equal halves, the narratio ( 4b7) and the confirmatio ( 811). He studied at his native city, and received a liberal education. With typical rhetorical flourishes, Cicero asks the "cultivated audience and enlightened jury" 50 to allow this defense speech. The poet was originally Greek but had been living in Rome for an extended period of time. In the second part, 1830, he turns from literature to poetry and brings Archias into the discussion (Archias is not referred to at all in 1317), arguing that poetry, and a fortiori Archias, is useful to society. Inst. From every point of view, then, it would have been unthinkable for him not to take on Archias defence. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 101 N. Merion Ave., 1. We should therefore begin by asking what it was about this particular case that led Cicero to adopt such a style.17 The question is especially pertinent in the context of the exordium, since stylistic brilliance was normally to be avoided in this part of the speech (Inv. Some features of this site may not work without it. Rocks and deserts respond to the poets voice; ferocious wild animals are often turned aside by singing and stopped in their tracks: shall we, then, who have been brought up to all that is best, remain unmoved by the voice of a poet? Such silences are thoughtful exclusions rather than negligent omissions and should be considered among the editions cardinal virtues. He is therefore a poor example to cite. 1.13.6) by purchasing from Crassus a grand house on the Palatine overlooking the Forum. In Pro Archia, then, it is partly in order to minimize the political element that Cicero places so much emphasis on literary questions. defense of Archias. (one sentence). In 13 he contrasts his own study of literature with the frivolous amusements of others: if others devote their spare time to the games, to parties, and dice, why should he not devote his to a pursuit which, he repeats, enables him to defend people in court? Cicero is not, however, attempting to predate Archias acquisition of the citizenship: he is simply encouraging the jury to think of Archias in terms appropriate to a Roman citizen. 12). So much for the historical circumstances; I now turn to examine the speech itself The structure is, in its main divisions, extremely straightforward. A typical jurorone of a panel of seventy-five20would have taken an entirely different view. Readability remains the aim of the text offered to the student. Cicero says, "he furnishes me with the means to refresh my mind after the noise of the Forum" (Document 5.4: Cicero, In Defense of Archias (62 B.C.E.). Persuasion of a different kind occurs in the next section ( 6): Erat temporibus illis iucundus Q. Metello illi Numidico et eius Pio filio, audiebatur a M. Aemilio, vivebat cum Q. Catulo et patre et filio, a L. Crasso colebatur, Lucullos vero et Drusum et Octavios et Catonem et totam Hortensiorum domum devinctam consuetudine cum teneret, adficiebatur summo honore , Back in those days Archias was regarded with affection by the famous Q. Metellus Numidicus and his son Pius; his recitations were attended by M. Aemilius; he was constantly in the company of Q. Catulus and his son; his friendship was cultivated by L. Crassus; and as for the Luculli, Drusus, the Octavii, Cato, and the entire family of the Hortensii, he was on the closest terms with all of them and was treated by them with the greatest respect . A distinction is then made between those like Cicero who study literature and apply it to a useful end, such as defending people in court, and those who study it but make no practical use of it; the latter category, Cicero says, should be ashamed of themselves. In 14 he introduces a new idea, that literature inspires men to perform acts of self-sacrifice for the state. Licinius Archias was born in Antioch around 120 BC and arrived in Rome in 102 BC. Self-Reference in Ciceros Forensic Speeches, A Volscian Mafia? This chapter reviews the historical circumstances of Archias' trial, and then discusses the speech itself and some of the issues it raises, especially that of why the encomium of literature is included, and how it contributes to the defence. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. First, Archias was a literary man, a poet, and this is a factor which was potentially prejudicial to the defence. I focus here on its usefulness to an introductory/intermediate-level university class, drawing partly upon my experience with C.s first edition to teach a third-semester Latin Prose course at Yale University in the Fall of 2003 to a group of 20 undergraduate and graduate students. P. MacKendrick on the other hand, divides it into four parts, 1217a, 17b22, 237, and 2830.24 Without wishing to dispute either of these schemes, I prefer myself to divide the passage into just two basic parts.

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