Cicero's Defense of Quinctius

Heinze, Richard. "Ciceros politische Anfänge," Abh. Leipzig 27 (1909) 947-1010. = Vom Geist des Römertums 3d ed. Darmstadt 1960 87-140. (cited from 1960 reprint) Heinze considers Cicero's earliest trial cases from the point of view of building a career. He cites all appropriate ancient sources and modern scholarship available to him at the time of writing (1909), and his insights into the political situation are still worth reading. He writes on p. 94 that the Quinctius trial "acquired a political aftertaste" because of the notables involved and the manner in which Cicero argued the case.

Hinard, F. "Le Pro Quinctio, un discours politique?", REA 77 (1975) 88-107. Hinard is the first fairly modern scholar to look carefully at this oration for political content. He is well versed in ancient sources and modern scholarship relating to the time of Sulla. He states (p. 93 n.7) that although the oration entailed no attack on Sulla, Cicero's defense has political overtones. His pp. 95-101 contain discussion of relevant passages on important people in the oration.

Bannon, Cynthia J. "Self-Help and Social Status in Cicero's Pro Quinctio," Clio 30 (2000) 71-94. This is a very recent article with good bibliography in the notes. Bannon's approach is somewhat different from her predecessors' as she shows how Cicero characterizes the opposition as people whom the senatorial jury ought not to want to support.

Last updated: 6 November 2004
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