Marcus Porcius Latro (died 4 BC) was a celebrated Roman rhetorician who is considered one of the founders of scholastic rhetoric. He was born in

Roman Spain Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

, and is mentioned often in the works of his friend and contemporary Seneca the Elder, with whom he studied under Marillius. In 17 BC, Latro declaimed before

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

. His school was one of the most frequented at Rome, with the poets

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 ...

and Abronius Silo among its students. Latro is said to have possessed an astonishing memory, and displayed the greatest energy and vehemence, not only in declamation, but also in his studies and other pursuits. He is described as being invariably occupied in speaking, or preparing to speak, and he was considered by some to be the "manliest" of declaimers. He would study constantly and work himself to the point of exhaustion, after which he would restore himself with a holiday in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

of hunting and farming, during which he never touched a book or pen. It was a peculiarity of Latro's that he would seldom, if ever, listen to his students declaim. They were there to listen and learn, to the declamations of Latro himself, or to his ironical comments on his rivals. His students therefore received the name of ''auditores'' ("listeners"), which word came gradually into use as synonymous with ''discipuli'' ("learners"). His declaiming style was against unreality, and he avoided the fantastical displays of ingenuity which tempted most speakers on unreal themes. He always tried to find some broad simple issue which would give sufficient field for eloquence instead of trying to raise as many questions as possible. But great as was the reputation of Latro, he did not escape severe criticism on the part of his contemporaries: his language was censured by Messalla, and the arrangement of his orations by other rhetoricians. Though eminent as a rhetorician, he did not excel as a practical orator; and it is related of him that, when he had on one occasion in Spain to plead in the forum the cause of a relation, he felt so embarrassed by the novelty of speaking in the open air, that he could not proceed until he had induced the judges, through his friend the

propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

of Hither Spain, to remove from the forum into the basilica. Latro died in 4 BC, as we learn from the ''

Chronicon In historiography, a ''chronicon'' is a type of chronicle or annals. Examples are: * ''Chronicon'' (Eusebius) * ''Chronicon'' (Jerome) *'' Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham'' *''Chronicon Burgense'' *'' Chronicon Ambrosianum'' *'' Chronicon Compostellan ...

'' of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

. Many modern writers suppose that Latro was the author of the Declamations of

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

against

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 ...

, and of Cicero against Sallust.Hieronym. in

, ''

'' Olymp. 194, 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latro, Marcus Porcius Porcii 1st-century BC Romans Romans from Hispania Ancient Roman rhetoricians 4 BC deaths Year of birth unknown