this issue
previous article in this issuenext article in this issue

Document Details :

Title: Self-Help and Social Status in Cicero's Pro Quinctio
Author(s): BANNON, Cynthia J.
Journal: Ancient Society
Volume: 30    Date: 2000   
Pages: 71-94
DOI: 10.2143/AS.30.0.565559

Abstract :
The Pro Quinctio, Cicero’s earliest surviving speech, has received little scholarly attention2, perhaps because its rhetoric is less sparkling than his later works, or because legal technicalities dominate its argument. Quinctius’ was a tough case; his first advocate dropped it shortly before the trial and Cicero took over. It seems unlikely that he won the case, because if he had, he probably wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity of boasting that he had so early in his career bested Hortensius, who led the team of influential orators representing C. Naevius, Quinctius’ opponent in the suit. This paper offers a new reading of the Pro Quinctioas an early contribution of Cicero’s to the ongoing dialogue about the role of law in Roman society.

Download article