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Classical Liberal Arts Academy

Classical Humanities

Lesson 2.  Cicero, Pro Archias Ch. 1

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Note:  The study of language requires intense labor--not lazy, quiet reading.  The Lesson should be read aloud and attentively.  Latin readings should be recited aloud and dramatically to capture not only the words but the ideas and emotions of the passage.  Stand up, walk around and study with zeal.  Labor vincit omnia!  (Labor conquers all!)

I.  Prelection

Directions:  Study the following prelection carefully. It is designed to help you understand your reading assignment and complete this lesson rightly.  You should know everything in this prelection before taking your lesson exam.

1.  Argument:  To begin the Humanities course, we will study an excerpt from the speech commonly referred to as "Pro Archias".  This famous speech was delivered by Cicero, history's greatest speaker, in 62 BC on behalf of the poet Archias.  Archias was a friend of an influential Roman named Lucullus who was involved in a power struggle with other Romans.  These enemies, unable to attack Lucullus went after one of his friends.  Archias was born in the city of Antioch and had later become a Roman citizen.  However, the records in the city where he received his citizenship were destroyed in a fire.  Therefore, the enemies of Lucullus had Archias called before the praetor in Rome to give proof of his citizenship.  Knowing he could not, it was expected that he would be forced to leave Rome.  Cicero, a friend of both Lucullus and Archias, took up the case and defended Archias.  Knowing that there was no paperwork that Archias could present, Cicero brought the very men in who arranged the paperwork for proof.

However,  there was a second theme running behind the scenes that Cicero wished to address. It was a popular notion among some leaders in Rome that the study of the Humanities produced effeminate men inclined more to pleasure and luxury than to political and military action.  The study of Oratory, which was useful in the courts and on the battlefield, was considered a "manly" study, while Poetry was considered "womanly" and harmful to the Roman man.  Julius Caesar, who lived at the same time as Cicero, wrote in his history of the Gallic Wars that the Belgae were the most courageous of the Gauls because they were "farthest removed from the culture and civilization of the Province".  This is not an absurd argument, for the leaders of Rome knew (and especially the military leaders), that the easiest way for an enemy to harm Rome was by bribing the city's luxurious men who would readily betray Rome for their own pleasure.  Believing that the attack on the poet Archias was not free from this bias against literary studies, Cicero stepped away from the legal discussion to explain the value of the Humanities to the city and to offer proof that those who enjoyed literary culture were not necessarily averse to action.  In fact, Cicero argues, it is in the Humanities that active men may find rest for their minds and inspiration for their souls.  This is the reason for our interest in the speech here.  

2.  Explanation:  Use the following videos to master the assigned reading.  After each part, diligently use the daily translation worksheets until you can easily translate from Latin into Engilsh and from English into Latin without any help from notes, etc.  Print your translation worksheets using the link under Lesson Exercises below.

Explanation of Pro Archias, chapter I, Part I

Explanation of Pro Archias, chapter I, Part II

Explanation of Pro Archias, chapter I, Part III

Explanation of Pro Archias, chapter I, Part IV

3.  Rhetoric: Since this lesson provides us with an introduction to the Humanities, we'll focus on introductions. While we have not yet begun the study of Rhetoric, we will make a beginner's study of Cicero's exordium (introduction) for our own introduction to the course. 

In an oration, the goal of the exordium is to make an audience "BAD":  (1) Benevolent or favorable toward the speaker, (2) Attentive and (3) Docile, or open to learning. 

The greatest lesson to be learned here is the importance of a good life.  Cicero has no trouble preparing his audience because he was already respected for his wisdom and virtue.  With a long record of service to his people, he needed only to remind them of his deeds and show them the respect they deserved as his of fellow citizens to gain their good will.  His status in Rome as a high-ranking government official and his awesome presence in the courts was all he needs to make his audience attentive.  Nevertheless, in the exordium, we stirs their interest by asking them permission to do something that is usually not done in the courts--to speak with a little extra freedom to go beyond the details of the case at hand.  (People are always interested in something new.)  Lastly, the fame of his great learning and eloquence would make almost any audience afraid of ignoring him, yet Cicero encouraged them to listen with an open mind by praising their intelligence and good manners as educated citizens.  Cicero, then, fulfills all of the goals of an exordium and, as always, sets a good example for us. We must remember than anytime we speak or write, we are not simply expressing our own ideas, but working to express our ideas in a way that is appropriate for our audience.  We must study to understand that audience and prepare our message just for them.  This is the art of Rhetoric.

Second, Cicero uses a conditional statement to present his argument.  He says, "If you have received any benefit from my skills as a speaker, then you are indebted to Archias for he is the source of my skill."  In a conditional statement, the condition is called the protasis.  The consequence is called the apodosis.  This is simply a way of leading the audience by logic to a conclusion.  Cicero's argument looks like this:

Premise 1. We ought to honor those from whom we have received good things.
Premise 2. We have received good things from Archias and men like him.
Conclusion. Therefore, we ought to honor Archias and men like him.

Instead of presenting this argument as a dry syllogism, Cicero energizes it with rhetorical power by leaving the reasoning for the audience.  He does this because he knows that all men believe the first premise of his argument and that all men can make the conclusion for themselves if only the second premise can be shown to be true.  Therefore, Cicero devotes all of his energy and style to persuading his audience that Rome has received god things from Archian and men like him.  Assured that all men are familiar with the good Cicero's public speaking has done for Rome, Cicero simply argues that IF you have received good from me, THEN you owe Archias honor, for my good has come from him.  In this, Cicero runs past the focus of the case, which was whether Archias could prove his citizenship, and argues that even if Archias was not a citizen he deserves to be for the good he has done for Rome.

4. Erudition: 

A.  When Rome ruled the world, as it did in Cicero's day, there were four different groups of people.  The lowest group were the barbari or hostes, members of states who were not friends of Rome.  All such people were considered the enemies of Rome.  Above the barbari were the peregrini.  These were people belonging to states that had been taken over and whose nation had been completely eliminated by the Romans.  Third were the socii, who were members of states considered to be allies by Rome, who were left with some independence in their native lands. Finally, the Romani cives, or Roman citizens who, spread out through the world, lived with an amazing set of benefits. 

Roman citizens paid no taxes, enjoyed free entertainments in Rome, and could not be punished by any court outside of Rome.  Therefore if a Roman citizen was charged with murder in a foreign land, all the ruler there could do was send him back to Rome for trial.  In Rome, the state supported public games and entertainments in the Colosseum which provided the citizen with life of endless pleasure.  The work of Roman citizens was done by slaves brought in from foreign wars and the citizens paid no taxes, giving them advantages over all other men in the marketplace. 

B.  The classical liberal arts have been studied by history's greatest men, yet they have often been the enemies of tyrants and criminals who seek to enslave rather than serve men.   The liberal arts lead us to eternal and unchanging truths that lead us to true happiness and peace in our souls and throughout our lives.  Often, this is the last thing desired by a ruler who wants power and riches.  In his mind people are nothing more than votes.  Since votes bring a man power and power brings a man wealth, the more people he can draw to himself the wealthier he becomes.  Such a man prefers his followers to be stupid and worldly with all of their cares set on bodily desires.    In ancient Rome, rulers provided panem et circenses (bread and circuses) for the people to keep their minds off of religion and justice.  The more the common people thought about food and entertainment, the easier it was for the politicians to gather to themselves all of the wealth and power in the city.  We must guard ourselves against the panem et circenses offered by our own society.  This is done through the study of philosophy and theology and by working diligently to stop the people and groups that oppress the poor and ignorant to increase their own wealth and power.

2.  Reading

Directions:  Students must memorize the following passage and the vocabulary contained therein. 

PRO ARCHIAS, CHAPTER ONE

I.  "Si quid est in me ingeni, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum,
aut si qua exercitatio dicendi,  in qua  me non infitior mediocriter esse versatum, aut si  huiusce rei ratio aliqua ab optimarum artium studiis  ac disciplina profecta, a qua ego nullum confiteor aetatis meae tempus abhorruisse,  earum rerum omnium vel in primis hic A. Licinius fructum a me repetere prope suo iure debet.
 

II.  Nam  quoad  longissime potest mens mea respicere spatium praeteriti temporis, et pueritiae memoriam recordari ultimam, inde usque repetens   hunc  video mihi principem et ad suscipiendam et ad ingrediendam rationem horum studiorum exstitisse.
 

III.  Quod si haec vox, huius hortatu praeceptisque conformata, non nullis  aliquando saluti fuit, a quo id accepimus quo ceteris opitulari et alios servare possemus, huic profecto ipsi, quantum est situm in nobis, et opem et salutem ferre debemus.

IV.  Ac ne quis a nobis hoc ita dici forte miretur, quod alia quaedam in hoc facultas sit ingeni, neque haec dicendi ratio aut disciplina, ne nos      quidem huic uni studio penitus umquam dediti fuimus. Etenim omnes artes, quae ad humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione quadam inter se continentur.
 

3. Lesson Exercises

Directions:  These translation exercises should be completed daily until the lesson is completed and exam is passed. 

1.  Translation Exercises:  Using the following translation worksheet, complete your daily translation exercises. One the practice is established, these exercises can be done on regular notebook paper following the same format.

Print Daily Translation Worksheet

2. Imitation Exercise:  Copy the following passage and re-write it into the style of Cicero (in English).  Then, turn the passage into Latin, imitating Cicero's style as carefully as possible.  E-mail or fax your work to you instructor for correction and feedback.

"If there is any virtue in us, O men, which I sense how little it may be, or if any love of wisdom, or if any hope in the promises of Scripture, of all these things the Catholic Church is among the first who ought to demand the fruit by her own right."

4. Lesson Examination

Directions:  When you have completed all of your assignments above, complete your lesson exam. 

Lesson 02 Examination, Part 1  (Prelection)

Lesson 02 Examination, Part 2  (Translation)

© 2008 William C. Michael.  For use by CLAA Students only.