in defense of archias summaryaustin smith drummer
The argument itself is feeble (if rhetorically neat) and requires no further comment. Even if we had not been informed by the scholia (175 Stangl), we would, I think, have been able to tell that the praetor in question is Ciceros brother Quintus. There could therefore be as many as six Archiases, and we have no way of knowing for certain which of the epigrams in the Greek Anthology are the work of our poet.5 Cicero tells us that Archias travelled to southern Italy (he was probably doing a round of festivals),6 and was granted honorary citizenship by some of the cities he visited. Archias's defense was undertaken by a former pupil of his, the previous year's Consul, Marcus Tullius Cicero. What he does, in fact, is to base his defence upon a positive, robust view of literature (as we shall see below), and in this strategy the style of his speech, as displayed initially in the exordium, plays an integral part. (DOC) Cicero's Defense of Archias: An Analysis of Cicero's Rhetorical He starts with his trademark periodic sentence by depicting his strengths of natural talent, experience, and strategy while appearing humble and inferior to the qualities of his client. Archias had become eligible for Roman citizenship under the Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis Danda, passed in 90 BC, and the Lex Plautia Papiria de Civitate Sociis Danda, passed in 89 BC. Archiass Roman citizenship has been called into question, and through an artful display of oratory and rhetoric, Cicero reconstructs the reality of Archiass life and contributions to provide proof of his worth as a citizen. He was born in Antioch, Syria (modern Antakya, Turkey ). This paper examines Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta Oratio and the author's implicit and explicit views on how Roman cultural identity is constructed. Being Economical with the Truth: What Really Happened at Lampsacus? At Rome, Archias was accepted into the household of the Luculli. Clearly Cicero is not thinking only of poetry at this point:scriptores et Graeci et Latini (the Greek and Latin writers) would apply equally to prose historiography or biography, genres which some members of the jury may personally have considered more valuable and worthwhile, or less reprehensible, than poetry. C. largely bases his text on Clarks OCT (1911) and mentions textual problems only when absolutely necessary. 31.7). After the rebuttal Cicero presents his case for Archias citizenship. 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. But even if he has, the jury may still feel reluctant to acquit Archias, because they are prejudiced against him. Licinius Archias was born in Antioch around 120 BC and arrived in Rome in 102 BC. Macrob. The jury must be persuaded both that Archias is a Roman citizen and that he deserves to be one. 3. Commanders NFL Draft takeaways: Defense adds juice, but was the value Cicero's 'Pro Archia Poeta' The Romans seem to have found it advantageous to make use of every argument at their disposal, not merely the decisive ones: this can be observed not only in oratory but also for example in Lucretius. He starts by saying that Archias enables him to unwind after a busy day in the courts (the jury will sympathize), but he then immediately broadens the discussion from poetry to literature in general, and he will stick firmly to literature in general until 18. 12). In addition to the vocabulary at the back C. has chosen to provide a running vocabulary on the left-hand page, thus sparing pointless flipping through either this edition or a dictionary. Cicero cannot conceal or explain away Archias' occupation, and so he has no choice but to make a virtue of it. But the poem on Ciceros consulship seems never to have been written, a strange omission on Archias part, since he had a clear duty to provide it. Bringing these considerations to class can also help teachers win over the next generation of students, given the practical pressures that equate getting students into the classroom with getting resources into the department. I am grateful to Professor A. J. Woodman for drawing my attention to the Sallust passage. But there are other reasons too which should be mentioned. 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? In a possible reminiscence of this passage, Sallust tells us that Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus and the elder Scipio were said to have been spurred on to virtuous deeds by contemplating the masks of their ancestors (Jug. But the argument is nevertheless misleading because it leaves the impression, for example by the reference totechnical skill in oratory (huiusce rei (referring to exercitatio dicendi) ratio), that Archias actually taught Cicero rhetoric. Polyb. It is most likely under this law that Archias was prosecuted. 2.26; Val. Cicero was always aware of the importance of entertaining and amusing his audiences, and he won them over partly by providing them with passages they would derive pleasure from listening to. Others can more ably comment on the editions success in that regard. This was a suitable house for a member of the nobility, as Cicero now was, and it would, incidentally, have been one of the ones frequented by Archias in the 90s, having been the residence then of M. Drusus (Vell. This second part can be subdivided in several ways (MacKendrick identifies the decisive breaks), but for the most part the transitions are gradual and one point merges into the next. He was defended by Cicero in the speech known as Pro Archia, but the issue of the trial is unknown. He gracefully concedes the point, but then goes on to instance some outstanding Romans who did study literature ( 16): Ex hoc esse hunc numero quem patres nostri viderunt, divinum hominem, Africanum, ex hoc C. Laelium, L. Furium, moderatissimos homines et continentissimos, ex hoc fortissimum virum et illis temporibus doctissimum, M. Catonem illum senem; qui profecto si nihil ad percipiendam colendamque virtutem litteris adiuvarentur, numquam se ad earum studium contulissent. Cicero cannot conceal or explain away Archias occupation, and so he has no choice but to make a virtue of it. (Cic. Aulus Licinius Archias - Wikipedia 19.9.1014 (19.9.14: cf. Archias allows Cicero to remember and maintain the fact that literature is important. C. also knows when less is more. On the political aspect see further Gruen and Stockton (cited n. 12), the former making too much of and the latter too little of the trials political significance. Archias career is recounted up as far as his arrival in Rome in 102; Cicero impressively manages to connect him with both the consuls of that year, Marius and Catulus. The Pro Archia, then, is an oration with a complex network of layered meaning with broad cultural implications both for Cicero's audience and for readers today. The sententious and lyrical language in which the point is made effectively proves the point ( 16): Nam ceterae neque temporum sunt neque aetatum omnium neque locorum; at haec studia adulescentiam acuunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solacium praebent, delectant domi, non impediunt foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur. 3.15.6), and we have from Plutarch the attractive story of how Pompey and Cicero invited themselves round to Lucullus house for dinner, and how he tricked them into thinking that he dined on the most lavish scale even when eating alone (Luc. At 18 Cicero moves to the second part of the digressio. In the end of the confirmatio Cicero gives another reason for his passion for Archias: Nam quas res nos in consulatu nostro vobiscum simul pro salute huius urbis atque imperii et pro vita civium proque universa re publica gessimus, attigit hic versibus atque inchoavit: quibus auditis, quod mihi magna res et iucunda visa est, hunc ad perficiendum adhortatus sum. In 2 Cicero decides to meet head-on the objection that Archias is not a rhetor: Ac ne quis a nobis hoc ita dici forte miretur, quod alia quaedam in hoc facultas sit ingeni neque haec dicendi ratio aut disciplina, ne nos quidem huic uni studio penitus umquam dediti fuimus. 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. Pro Archia Poeta - Wikipedia After this he quickly moves on to less controversial territory. Metellus had died by the time of the trial, but Cicero talks in 26 of Metellus concern to have his achievements immortalized in verse, and it seems that Archias put his obligation to that family before his obligation to Cicero. Mr. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was detained minutes after he was handed a USB stick by a Russian acquaintance that Russia maintains contained a classified list of its security agents. The tone of the passage is philosophical; but it is popular philosophy of a straightforward nature, designed to reassure rather than intimidate the jury. Abstract. It has been conjectured that it was Archias who first brought Meleagers Garland to Rome and thus introduced the Romans to Greek epigram: we have two Latin epigrams by Catulus, one of which is a translation of an epigram of Callimachus in the Greek Anthology, and the Garland appears also to have been imitated by other contemporary Roman poets (Gel. Cicero's client is not, as so often, a prominent Roman aristocrat accused of violence, bribery, or extortion, but a Syrian poet whose claim to Roman citizenship was disputed. Mur. Manil. Clearly Cicero would not have jeopardized his relationship with such a family by refusing to defend their poet. And Purpose Of The Law - JSTOR The prosecution laid out four accusations in its case against Archias: Because of Archias' close association with Lucullus, the case was probably a political attack directed at the politician by one of his many enemies. It would have seemed entirely alien to Archias jury, who would have regarded it not just with the suspicion they directed at all intellectual subjects, but would have seen it as frivolous, effeminate, and even immoral. 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. Cicero mentions three benefits of literature: literature provides refreshment for the spirit and repose for the senses; it provides Cicero with inspiration for his daily speeches and therefore strengthens his oratorical powers; and it contains moral lessons and provides examples to contemplate and to emulate. The high stylistic level, secondly, serves to establish an atmosphere of culture and sophistication, and this too is something that was best done right from the start. 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. Inst. 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. Max. Perhaps the project was opposed by one of Archias noble patrons; or one could speculate that this may have been a commission made impossible by the enthusiasm of the client. The text which Cicero later published as his Pro Archia attracts most scholarly attention for the so-called Encomium of Literature that Cicero delivers to convince the jury that Archias has contributed more than enough to the Republic to earn his citizenship. Donald Trump's defense attorney on Monday wrapped up his cross-examination of writer E. Jean Carroll in the trial over her rape allegation against the former . First some nuts and bolts. Name: Reading guide for Cicero's Speech in Defense of the Poet Archias (on Blackboard) Note: The defendant's birth name is Archias (a Greek name), Cicero refers to him as Aulus Licinius, the name he took once he moved to Italy and attained Roman citizenship. After this, 16 closes with the argument that literature is inherently pleasant. The comparison with Ennius is a useful one for Cicero, since Ennius was Romes great national poet and would have been fully acceptable to the jury. Were it not for his study of literature, he says, he would never have stood up to Catiline. The 2023 NFL Draft is officially in the books. This is done in the briefest way possible: Cicero simply says that Greek is spoken virtually everywhere whereas Latin is not, and it is desirable that all the nations that Rome has conquered should be able to read of her glory. 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 .
