SPEECH AND SILENCE IN CICERO’S FINAL DAYS

Abstract

Composed in spring of 46 BC, Cicero’s Brutus emphasizes oratorical silence, in stark contrast with the prominence of the speech act found in the Pro Marcello and first Philippic. Yet in the face of those difficult times and amidst the silence that such times engender, Cicero ironically finds his voice. This paper will demonstrate Cicero’s acute awareness, in his final days, of the need to employ his rediscovered voice in light of eloquence’s changed role in Rome’s new political climate.