Tacitus the Sententious Historian: A Sociology of Rhetoric in Annales 1-6Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995 - 262 pagine More than any other single rhetorical device in Latin oratory and literature, the sententia is the supreme expression of the self-image of Rome during the imperial period, the Principate. Whether one defines sententia as a generalizing maxim or a prose epigram, its importance in Roman rhetoric, literature, and public life during the early Principate indicates that it is a literary form intimately connected with the unique social code of that period. An illuminating example of the skillful use of sententiae is found in the Roman historian Tacitus's narration of the history of Emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) in Books 1-6 of the Annales. The entire narration of Tiberius's principate in Annales 1-6 could be said to be sententious, in the sense that individual episodes or agents continually serve as opportunities for Tacitus to categorize people and events in the past and to formulate general "laws" that may be applicable to events in the future. Patrick Sinclair undertakes an analysis of the sententia as a prominent and revealing rhetorical device with historically-conditioned social values, a method of investigation he calls a "sociology of rhetoric." He uses prominent examples from Tacitus's account of the reign of Tiberius to set up his sociological approach to ancient rhetoric and goes on to investigate the concept of sententia in the writings of the Greek rhetoricians Anaximenes and Aristotle, the anonymous Roman author of Rhetorica ad Herennium, Cicero, the elder Seneca, and Quintilian, among others. Sinclair argues that criticism of Tacitus's use of sententiae as extraneous to his purposes as a historian is the result of an imperfect understanding of the Greek and Roman tradition of rhetorical historiography in which Tacitus deliberately placed himself. No previous scholar has systematically analyzed the theory behind the use of maxims and epigrams that was developed by the ancient rhetoricians and applied that analysis to a historical work. |
Dall'interno del libro
Risultati 1-3 di 7
... apud priores meliora " ( " nor was everything in previous generations better " ) , and then exhorts his contemporaries to vie with their ancestors in meeting the ethical standards of their class : " Our age , too , has given our ...
... apud principia et nexus naturalium causarum ; ac tamen electionem vitae nobis relinquunt , quam ubi elegeris , certum imminentium ordinem . neque mala vel bona , quae vulgus putet : multos , qui conflictari adversis videantur , beatos ...
... apud senatum ordiendo : " fortunae quidem meae fortasse minus expediat adgnoscere crimen quam abnuere ; sed utcumque casura res est , fatebor et fuisse me Seiano amicum et ut essem expetisse et postquam adeptus eram laetatum . [ 2 ] ...
Sommario
SENTENTIAE AND THEIR AUDIENCE | 33 |
THE SENTENTIOUS PRINCEPS | 79 |
A SENTENTIOUS SOCIETY | 117 |
Copyright | |
6 sezioni non visualizzate
Altre edizioni - Visualizza tutto
Tacitus the Sententious Historian: A Sociology of Rhetoric in Annales 1-6 Patrick Sinclair Visualizzazione estratti - 1995 |
Parole e frasi comuni
Riferimenti a questo libro
Classical Rhetorics and Rhetoricians: Critical Studies and Sources Michelle Ballif,Michael G. Moran Anteprima non disponibile - 2005 |
Clio and the Poets: Augustan Poetry and the Traditions of Ancient Historiography D. S. Levene,Damien Nelis Anteprima non disponibile - 2002 |