Suasoria is an exercise in

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

: a form of

declamation Declamation (from the Latin: ''declamatio'') is an artistic form of public speaking. It is a dramatic oration designed to express through articulation, emphasis and gesture the full sense of the text being conveyed. History In Ancient Rome, decla ...

in which the student makes a speech which is the soliloquy of an

historical figure A historical figure is a significant person in history. The significance of such figures in human progress has been debated. Some think they play a crucial role, while others say they have little impact on the broad currents of thought and social ...

debating how to proceed at a critical junction in his life. As an academic exercise, the speech is delivered as if in court against an adversary and was based on the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

rhetorical doctrine and practice. The ancient Roman orator

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...

said that suasoria may call upon a student to address an individual or groups such as the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, the citizens of Rome, Greeks or barbarians. The role-playing exercise developed the student's imagination as well as their logical and rhetorical skills.

Origin

The formal introduction of suasoria as a school form is unknown. One of the earliest forms of this exercise, however, involved

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

's practice of philosophical theses, which were addressed to the self. The exercise became prevalent in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, where it was, with the ''

controversia A ''controversia'' is an exercise in rhetoric; a form of declamation in which the student speaks for one side in a notional legal case such as treason or poisoning. The facts of the matter and relevant law are presented in a persuasive manner, i ...

'', the final stage of a course in rhetoric at an

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. One famous instance was recalled by

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

in the first of his ''

Satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

'': Here Juvenal recalls his speech advising the dictator

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

to retire. Another Roman poet who recalled enjoying his suasoria was

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Surviving examples

A book of ''suasoriae'' survive from antiquity, recorded in ''Suasoria'' by

Seneca the Elder Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder (; c. 54 BC – c. 39 AD), also known as Seneca the Rhetorician, was a Roman writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Corduba, Hispania. He wrote a collection of reminiscences about the Roman schools of rheto ...

. He writes responses and analysis of responses on seven suasoriae: # Alexander debates whether to sail the ocean, # The three hundred Spartans sent against Xerxes deliberate whether they too should retreat following the flight of the contingents of three hundred sent from all over Greece, # Agamemnon deliberates whether to sacrifice Iphigenia for Calcas says otherwise sailing is impermissible, # Alexander the Great warned of danger by an augur deliberates whether to enter Babylon, # Xerxes has threatened to return unless the trophies of the Persian War are removed: the Athenians deliberate whether to do so, # Cicero deliberates whether to beg Antony’s pardon, and # Antony promises to spare Cicero's life if he burns his writings: Cicero deliberates whether to do so.

References

{{reflist Pedagogy Rhetoric

External links

Seneca, ''Suasoriae'' (translated by W.A. Edward)
at ''attalus.org''