The state of speech : rhetoric and political thought in Ancient Rome

321 Pages·2007·1.84 MB·English

by  Connolly

The State of Speech
This page intentionally left blank
The State of Speech
rhetoric and political
thought in ancient rome
Joy Connolly
princeton university press
princeton and oxford
Copyright © 2007 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock,
Oxfordshire OX20 1SY
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Connolly, Joy, 1970–
The state of speech : rhetoric and political thought in Ancient Rome / Joy Connolly.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-691-12364-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Cicero, Marcus Tullius—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Cicero, Marcus Tullius—
Political and social views. 3. Rome—Politics and government—265–30 B.C. 4. Latin
language—Rhetoric. 5. Rhetoric, Ancient. 6. Political science—Philosophy. I. Title.
PA6320.C66 2007
808.00937—dc22
2007007150
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Sabon
Printed on acid-free paper.
pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
For Michael, my particular friend
This page intentionally left blank
Art, great art, transformed courage, right decisions, magnificent
oratory into something different and superlative ... Neither action
nor style could have accomplished the result alone. Everything felt
the touch of his art—his appearance and gestures, the siren suit, the
indomitable V sign for victory, the cigar for imperturbability. He used
all the artifices to get his way, from wooing and cajolery through
powerful advocacy tobluff bullying; yet he never overruled the Chiefs
of Staff. What we are discussing here is not merely the direction of
great affairs, but the creation and development of personality.
—Dean Acheson, Present at the Creation, 595–96
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations used xiii
Introduction
Rhetoric and political thought 1
Chapter One
Founding the state of speech 23
Politics in public 30
Ideology and power 38
Expressions of traditional authority 47
The rhetoric of equality 56
The rationalized republic 65
Chapter Two
Naturalized citizens 77
The nature of republics 82
Introducing the problem: The Ciceronian preface 89
Rome, naturally 104
Hybridity 113
Chapter Three
The body politic 118
The problem with philosophers 121
The corporeal citizen 130
A theory of political communication 137
An alternative history of the self 148
Fragility 151
Chapter Four
The aesthetics of virtue 158
The problem of liberty 158
The republic of passions 163