Suasoria is an exercise in

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

: 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, decl ...

in which the student makes a speech which is the

soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin 'alone' and 'to speak', ) is a speech in drama in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage. It serves to reveal the character's inner feelings, motivations, or plans directly to ...

of an

historical figure A historical figure is a significant person in history, who may have made important cultural, social, political, scientific or technological impacts on humanity. They are often widely known for their achievements, whether favourably or unfavoura ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

rhetorical doctrine and practice. The ancient Roman orator

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

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, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

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

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, 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 ...

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

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. One famous instance was recalled by

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

in the first of his '' Satires'': Here Juvenal recalls his speech advising the dictator

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

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

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

Surviving examples

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

Seneca the Elder Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder ( ; – c. AD 39), 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 rhetoric, ...

. 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

External links

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