Marcus Tullius Cicero, Orator [The Orator]

James May (Saint Olaf College)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Domains

Rhetoric and Oratory

Dates

First circulation or publication 46 - 46

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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Cicero composed his

Orator

in 46 BC, following upon the earlier publication of

Brutus

in that same year. It stands as the last major critical rhetorical work of his life. Internal references in the treatise (1, 3, 52, 174), as well as a letter to Atticus (14. 20), make it clear that it was written to comply with Marcus Brutus’ insistent requests, and, from Cicero’s point of view, perhaps even to counter the younger orator’s Atticist leanings in terms of style—an objective that Cicero subsequently admits with regret he failed to achieve (

Att.

14. 20. 3). The

Orator

, as Fantham notes (1989: 237), represents “a sort of utopian counterpart to the historical account of

Brutus

”, and while the treatise certainly searches for the ideal orator of

De Oratore

, it shifts the focus from an…

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2465 words

Citation: May, James. "Orator". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 February 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35072, accessed 22 November 2024.]