Sculpture of Roman orator Marcus Cicero.
We all know that words can be dangerous weapons. Some may bring us to tears, inflict rage, or inspire change. A good orator knows exactly how to do so, drawing on morality, emotions, and eloquence.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a famous Roman philosopher and orator, among other things. He is said to have had a great influence on the Latin language through his speeches and writings that are still relevant and noticeable today. Born 106 BC, Cicero was an excellent student and later became a political leader in Rome. Some of his most famous orations are the Orations Against Lucius Catilina, through which he exposes Catilina’s plans to overthrow the Roman government. Through these speeches he uses some of the most essential aspects of oration that make his effect powerful.
Another Roman rhetorician, Marcus Fabius Quintilian gives us examples of what good rhetoric and oration entails through his Institutes of Oratory. He relays to us that a great orator must uphold moral character, appeal to the emotions of the audiences, and speak with eloquence.
Quintilian expresses the importance of how a good orator must uphold moral character. Virtue is an essential aspect of being a good orator. This can relate back to Aristotle’s idea of ethos, meaning that the audience must believe that the speaker has a credible character in order to be truly persuaded. Throughout Cicero’s speech, he clearly demonstrates his moral character. It seems that he was well known by the Romans of his time as a powerful leader, and his speech leads us to believe that he truly cares about the people of Rome, so much so that he speaks out against his government to protect the Roman nation. In his second oration, he addresses his Roman audiences to band together against the evil and to fight for the good:
For on the one side are fighting modesty, on the other wantonness; on the one chastity, on the other uncleanness; on the one honesty, on the other fraud; on the one piety, on the other wickedness; on the one consistency, on the other insanity; on the one honor, on the other baseness; on the one continence, on the other lust; in short, equity, temperance, fortitude, prudence, all the virtues contend against iniquity with luxury, against indolence, against rashness, against all the vices; lastly, abundance contends against destitution, good plans against baffled designs, wisdom against madness, well-founded hope against universal despair. In a contest and war of this sort, even if the zeal of men were to fail, will not the immortal gods compel such numerous and excessive vices to be defeated by these most eminent virtues?
While this quote from his second speech relays his moral intentions that reflect his moral character, it also shows how he is demonstrating another aspect of rhetoric: appealing to the audience’s emotions. Also known as Aristotle’s term of pathos, appealing to the emotions of an audience can be highly persuasive. Quintilian comments on this by stating, “… the orator must not only instruct his audience, but must move and delight them.” In this last passage, Cicero definitely calls on the emotions of the audience to convince them to act for the people of Rome. He uses virtues and vices to exemplify the two options the people have: to fight for good or live with the bad.
And throughout all of this, Cicero epitomizes the most important feature of rhetoric, the art of eloquence. Eloquence is speaking with fluency, elegance, and force in order to persuade. While reading his speeches, I definitely noticed how excellent his ability to persuade an audience could be. Even Quintilian comments on his ability to speak with eloquence. He also mentions, “In many passages both of his books and of his letters, Cicero remarks that the power of eloquence is to be derived from the deepest sources of wisdom, and that accordingly the same persons were for a considerable time the teachers at once of eloquence and of morality.” Cicero truly does appeal emotionally to his audience while also giving them logical explanations and reasons that exhibit his wisdom and moral character.
After reading Cicero’s speeches and understanding what makes for convincing rhetoric, I found myself comparing them to great speakers of recent history. One thing that particularly stood out to me was how each speaker tended to encompass all of these qualities, but most importantly, pathos. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. appealed to audiences’ emotions around the world with his “I Have a Dream” speech in fight for equality. President Roosevelt used the emotions of the American people to rally behind the WW2 war efforts in his speech addressing the Pearl Harbor bombing. Winston Churchill gave the British much hope and determination through his speeches in WW2 as well. These people’s words have the ability to move us to tears or inflict anger in our hearts. Whether or not we know it, rhetoric has a great effect on us, especially when it includes the previous qualities. And it all has to do with the works and words of Greek and Roman rhetoricians.
I liked how you apply the terms of pathos and ethos to Cicero’s Catiline Orations, which we also spoke about in class today. I agree with you that appealing to the audience’s emotions is what often makes a speech unforgettable. Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill are both great examples of strong leaders who used their words to empower a group of people and inspire action. In my own blog post, I discussed immoral leaders who used their oratory skills to create evil and disaster, but I like that you talk about the other side of it here. When Quintilian wrote his Institute of Oratory, these are the characters he had in mind: good men who preached the noble and honest truth.
Your reference to outside sources such as Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt were very interesting. I liked how you tied oratory into more modern references because it makes it easier to a get a grasp on good oration. I also liked how you gave some background information to Cicero it adds to the post by making it more personal to Cicero.