M Tvlli Ciceronis Pro C Rabirio (Perdvellionis Reo) Oratio Ad Qvirites
With Notes Introduction and Appendices (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from M Tvlli Ciceronis Pro C Rabirio (Perdvellionis Reo) Oratio Ad Qvirites: With Notes Introduction and Appendices<br><br>The study of this speech and of the interesting questions connected therewith will be especially useful to students concerned with the history of the iudicia publica, to understand which some knowledge of the earlier iudicia populi is required. And addressing myself as I do to elder students I have throughout assumed that nobody will read the book who has not a fair acquaintance with the outlines of Roman history and constitutional antiquities. I have therefore made free use of technical language, which is necessary if one is to discuss intricate and obscure questions within a reasonable compass.<br><br>The merits of the speech are plain to any that will consider the position of affairs at the time of its delivery. Party hatred, fostered by desperate men, was ready to break out into violence at any moment; and the impeachment and defence of Rabirius were ominous of the coming storm. I have in my notes on the speech striven to call attention to the clever audacity of the speaker, of which there are many notable instances.<br><br>In the endeavour to make my meaning clearer I have used an elaborate system of grouping, by which I hope the questions treated in the introduction and appendices may be kept from mutually obscuring and interfering with one another. I have made a practice of giving either by way of reference or in full quotation the authorities for the statements upon which my conclusions are based. This is a very tedious business; and many a time have I wished that I could afford to say with Madvig 'berhaupt habe ich alles weggelassen, was nur zum Prunk der Gelehrsamkeit gehort'. But of course I could not do this, and can only hope that I have not overloaded the book with irrelevant matter.<br><br>To Mr J S Reid of Gonville and Caius College I owe and hereby render my heartiest thanks.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.