Suasoria is an exercise in rhetoric: 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 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 rhetorical doctrine and practice. The ancient Roman orator Quintilian said that suasoria may call upon a student to address an individual or groups such as the Senate, 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 esta ...

'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 BC ...

, where it was, with the '' controversia'', 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 philosop ...

. 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'': Here Juvenal recalls his speech advising the dictator Sulla 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. 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''