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Ocr As-latin Sample 10-mark Question And Answer On Cicero`s In Verrem

OCR AS-Latin Sample 10-mark Question and Answer on Cicero`s In Verrem

Date : 11/09/2013

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Chris

Uploaded by : Chris
Uploaded on : 11/09/2013
Subject : Latin

Which aspects of Cicero's attack on Verres do you find most effective in the sections of the speech you have studied? (10)

In section 53 Cicero portrays Verres as a plunderer of the ancient city Aspendus. I think this is effective because Cicero is able to paint Verres as one of the worst criminals. For example, Cicero describes the city as 'vetus et nobile' (ancient and noble) in order to convey to the judges how shocking Verres' actions were. The adjective nobile contrasts with Verres' ignoble and criminal act of plundering the holy places of this city. The adjective 'vetus' gives the image that the city is historically valuable and should be protected, making Verres' destruction seem ten times as worse. To convey the extent of Verres' crime, Cicero uses hyperbole when he describes how 'nullum signum' (not one statue) was left in the city and 'omnia ex fanis' (everything from the shrines) was stolen.

In section 55 Cicero uses the rhetorical technique of exempla by which he shows how the proper behaviour of Rome's former military leaders exposes the immoral and shameful actions of Verres. I think this is effective because the long list of exempla gives the impression that there is no shortage of historical figures that shows how shocking Verres' behaviour was. The sentences gradually increase in length in this section which makes the passage climatic, maintaining the interest of the jury and creating suspense. The jury would know that Verres was only a quaestor when he stole the statues and put them in his home. By contrast these high ranking generals such as Lucius Scipio (consul in 190 BC) always had respect for the Republic and placed any booty on public display.

In section 56 Cicero concedes that citing historical examples of good behaviour may be irrelevant to the present and he continues to cite a contemporary example. This is effective since it means that Verres cannot use the former criticism as a defence. For example, he could have said that today's morality has changed and it is no use citing the past to judge the present. Cicero with ingenuity picks out a member of the jury as an example of good behaviour- Publius Servilius. This means that Verres' can't deny the irrelevance of this person and it also serves to flatter a member of the jury especially after describing him as a 'vir clarissimus' (a very famous man). This would surely help Cicero to get a guilty verdict returned.

In section 57 Cicero gets the jury to start perceiving Verres as an animal-like, sub-human individual. In this section Cicero describes Verres as gaining voluptas (pleasure) from his lust and desire (ex libidine et cupiditate) to steal. By contrast Publius Servilius was a general who meticulously recorded what he took as plunder in official records which Cicero gets a court secretary to read aloud. Such a portrayal of Verres helps Cicero to isolate Verres as a strange, deviant person and makes any accusation that Cicero delivers, no matter how bad, believable and convincing.

In section 59 Cicero paints a vivid scene of the foreign envoys in Rome being upset at the sight of the statues in the Roman Forum that once were in the temples of their homeland. The envoys from Asia and Achaea looked at each other crying when viewing these religious items (lacrimantes intuebatur). Such a pathetic image would get to the hearts of the jurymen and make them want to disassociate themselves from the anti-religious behaviour of Verres. Cicero gets the jury to focus on Verres as the cause of the crying. He uses the phrase casu (by chance) to describe the envoys' visit to the City in order to distract the jury from remembering the real reason why they were. Rome had imposed on the province of Asia a payment of 20,000 talents, which it couldn't pay. As a result many envoys appeared in Rome to plead for mercy.

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