Title: The hand of Cicero /
Authors: Butler, Shane, 1970-
Publisher: Routledge,
Year: 2002
Subjects: Cicero, Marcus Tullius.; Cicero, Marcus Tullius Death and burial.; Antonius, Marcus,; Speeches, addresses, etc., Latin History and criticism.; Transmission of texts Rome History; Written communication Rome History; Latin language Written Latin.; Orators Rome Biography; Authors, Latin Biography; Transmission of texts Rome.; Written communication Rome.; Rome Politics and government; Rome Politics and government
Abstract: "The decapitation of Marcus Tullius Cicero has inspired horror and wonder since the event. Less attention, however, has been devoted to his second dismemberment: the severing of his right hand. But behind Mark Antony's order to bring back not only the orator's head but also the hand that had written the Phillippics lies a conflation of oratory and writing that merits explanation." "This book examines the relationship between Ciceronian oratory and the written word from several points of view. It is shown that the blurring of the distinction between writing and speech evident in Civero's violent end was, in fact, the work of Cicero himself and had begun early in his career, long before the writing of the Phillippics. The author argues that the major force behind Cicero's rise to fame as an orator was, paradoxically, his own ability to exploit Rome's growing dependence on the written word." "Framed as an investigation into the motive of Antony's crime, the book surveys Cicero's career from beginning to end and reveals, in vivid detail, a world often mired in written texts. Sure to raise questions about simplistic views of Rome as an 'oral society', Shane Butler's groundbreaking study also offers a fresh look at Cicero himself, struggling to turn skills born of his equestrian background into an enduring reputation for eloquence."--Jacket.
Contents: Machine generated contents note: Acknowledgments viii -- Abbreviations ix -- Introduction: the hand (or hands) of Cicero 1 -- 1 The young Cicero, reading 4 -- 2 Cicero takes a bath: an introduction to the prosecution of Verres 24 -- 3 Multitudo litterarum: a catalogue of the written evidence against Verres 35 -- 4 The trial of Verres 61 -- 5 Litterae manent: the publication of the Verrines 71 -- 6 December 3, 63 BCE: convincing Rome of a conspiracy 85 -- 7 The hand of a secretary: writing after the Ides of March 103 -- Notes 124 -- Selected bibliography 152 -- Index locorum 158 -- Index 161.