Controversiae, books 7-10 ; Suasoriae
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Controversiae, books 7-10 ; Suasoriae
（The Loeb classical library, 464 . The elder Seneca declamations in two volumes / translated by M. Winterbottom ; 2）
Harvard University Press , W. Heinemann, 1974
- : us
- : uk
- Other Title
-
Oratorum et rhetorum sententiae, divisiones, colores
Suasoriae
Available at / 34 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
Latin and English on opposite pages
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Roman secondary education aimed principally at training future lawyers and politicians. Under the late Republic and the Empire, the main instrument was an import from Greece: declamation, the making of practice speeches on imaginary subjects. There were two types of such speeches: controversiae on law-court themes, suasoriae on deliberative topics. On both types a prime source of our knowledge is the work of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a Spaniard from Cordoba, father of the distinguished philosopher. Towards the end of his long life (?55 BCE ?40 CE) he collected together ten books devoted to controversiae (some only preserved in excerpt) and at least one (surviving) of suasoriae. These books contained his memories of the famous rhetorical teachers and practitioners of his day: their lines of argument, their methods of approach, their idiosyncrasies, and above all their epigrams. The extracts from the declaimers, though scrappy, throw invaluable light on the influences that coloured the styles of most pagan (and many Christian) writers of the Empire. Unity is provided by Seneca's own contribution, the lively prefaces, engaging anecdote about speakers, writers and politicians, and brisk criticism of declamatory excess.
by "Nielsen BookData"