For the requirements of this short paper see the instructions.
1.
(due Thursday, June
28) DRP 1.1-13 comprise the final
section of the preface to the work, in which Cicero addresses his brother
Quintus and sets out the topic of the narrative proper which begins at Chapter
14. In these chapters (1-13)
Cicero makes a number of statements about the nature of virtus, patriotism,
etc. Identify one such statement
(amounting to no more than a sentence or a part of a sentence) that you believe
to be either manifestly true or manifestly false, and discuss the reasons for
your view.
For example (and only for example – there
are many such statements in this passage) Cicero asserts at 1.1.4 that
‘tantam esse necessitatem virtutis generi hominum a natura tantumque
amorem ad communem salutem defendendam datum, ut ea vis omnia blandimenta
voluptatis otique vicerit’.
‘So great is the compulsion virtue naturally imposes on people and
so great is our passion for defending the common welfare that the force of this
compulsion overcomes all the enticements of pleasure and leisure.’ Would you think that is true or false?
2.
(due Tuesday, July
17) According to his own logic, Scipio believes that the terms of any debate
must be agreed upon before the debate begins and in particular the 'meaning'
('quid declaretur') of the 'term' ('nomen') must be clearly understood
(1.38). One 'term' that is used
with some regularity – but whose meaning is not explicitly determined
– is libertas and its
various cognates (e.g., liberi,
illiberaliter). Basing your argument primarily on what
you've read thus far of Scipio's speech beginning at chap. 39 (rather than on a
dictionary definition), deduce from what he says a working definition of libertas.
What, that is, appear to be its essential elements and what is
importance of libertas in
society as Scipio imagines it?
Attentive readers of the commentary may have observed Zetzel at 1.9.2
(but how helpful is that?); cf. his remarks at 1.47.2.
3.
(due Thursday, July
26) DRP 2.1-9 introduces us to 'Scipio the historian' and the portion of the
DRP devoted to a narrative of Roman history. As does any historian, good or bad, consciously or
unconsciously, Scipio attempts to 'establish his authority' – to provide
grounds for why his reader ought to trust or believe him. Identify one (or more, if you wish)
such passage in 2.1-9, and discuss whether in your view he thereby succeeds or
fails in rendering himself a credible historian.
4.
(due Thursday, Aug.
2) Throughout their history the Romans had a love/hate relationship with the
Greeks. Toward the latter part of
the Republic, those feelings became particularly acute as politically and
culturally Rome was becoming the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The DRP in large part seems to reflect
that ambivalence. Basing your
views on what you’ve read thus far in the DRP (and esp. in this
week’s reading in Book 2), summarize your impression of Cicero’s
attitude toward Greeks thus far and cite one aspect of the ‘Greeks’
he (or the interlocutors of the DRP) seems particularly to respect and one he
seems to disparage.
5.
(due Thursday, Aug.
9) Read the Somnium Scipionis (=
the extant portion of Book 6 of the DRP) in English (available online here),
and discuss what you believe to be its relevance and/or contribution to the
rest of the DRP.