Griseldaonline (Dec 2019)
«Ira initium insaniae». La collera attraverso le citazioni poetiche nel quarto libro delle «Tusculanae disputationes» di Cicerone
Abstract
The paper deals with the poetic quotations referred to anger in Cicero’s Tusculanae disputationes, book 4. It aims to investigate their function and influence on Cicero’s prose. Poetic quotations emphasize some turning points of Cicero’s argumentation. Sometimes they belittle the rival thesis, sometimes they are self-quotations, establishing an intertextual relationship between the Tusculanae and the De oratore. The analysis highlights Cicero’s tendency to neglect the physic signs and the symptomatology of anger, coherently with the Stoic philosophy. Besides, the paper shows Cicero’s peculiar interest in verbal expression of anger, closely connected with his oratorical theory and practice.
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