Cicero, the causa Curiana, and the Origins of Competitive Oratory

Name: Cicero, the causa Curiana, and the Origins of Competitive Oratory
Brand: Edinburgh University Press
SKU: 9781399566223
Price: 994.50 HKD
Availability: PreOrder
Author: Matthew Roller
ISBN: 9781399566223

By Matthew Roller

Coming Soon Edinburgh University Press Available October 2026

Specifications

ISBN-13: 9781399566223
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Publication: October 2026
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

In his De Oratore and Brutus, the orator and statesman Cicero introduces a trial involving a contested will, dating from his youth, that he calls the causa Curiana, or "case of Curius." The orators advocating for the two litigants, Cicero says, employed contrasting approaches: one spoke plainly, focused on instructing the jury, and lost; the other spoke grandly, aimed at stirring the jury's emotions, and won. In this new study Matthew Roller examines the case and its context, addressing how Cicero presents the contrasting approaches of the orators. Roller explores the parallels between the causa Curiana and Cicero's competition with contemporary rival orators, the 'Atticists'. The book shows how the causa Curiana gives us the (mythic) origin story in which Cicero's "copious" style emerged triumphant over a plainer alternative, implying that it will triumph again. Through this, Roller explores how this trial's oratory supports Cicero's position in his political struggle with Caesar, and the Romans in their cultural rivalry with the Greeks.

Preface

Introduction

1. Competition

2. The Causa Curiana and its Ciceronian Filter

3. The Causa Curiana, the Centumviral Court and the Law

4. Competitive Dynamics in De Oratore

5. Competitive Dynamics in the Brutus

6. Plain, Grand And 'Attic:' The Competitive Dynamics of Cicero's Own Oratory

7. The Autonomy of Oratory and the Causa Curiana

8. Further Competitions: Romans Vs. Greeks, Orators Vs. Generals, and the Causa Curiana

Concluding reflections

Appendix: Cicero's knowledge of the causa Curiana Bibliography