Cicero's 'De Inventione''

Oxford students discuss roman senator Cicero. In 43BC, a year after the assassination of Julius Caesar, a man's severed head and hands were nailed to the speaker's podium of the Roman Senate. They had belonged to Marcus Tullius Cicero, who had risen from humble origins to become one of the most significant political figures in Rome. A lawyer by training, master orator, his name has become a byword for rhetorical skill and eloquence. He lived a remarkable life in the dying days of the Roman Republic, but also wrote extensively, on rhetorical theory, religion, and philosophy. The legacy of his writings, on Western education and thought in the Middle Ages, was immense.In this podcast we focus on his earliest surviving work. 'De Inventione' – meaning 'invention' or 'discovery' – is a treatise on rhetoric written by Cicero as a young man. Host: Aled Walker, 2nd year Mathematics DPhil student at Magdalen College Guests: Thierry Hirsch, recent Classics DPhil graduate of Lincoln College Alice Harberd, a third year undergraduate Classics student at Corpus Christi College Andrew Sillett, a lecturer in Classical languages and literature at Brasenose College.