Servius Sulpicius to Cicero - Essay Example

? WEEK 9 IAL READINGS Week 9 ial Readings Servius Sulpicius to Cicero: an analysis piece Servius Sulpicius’ consolation letter to Cicero is believed to be the one of very few letters that shows as strong rhetorical talent as Cicero’s own correspondence (Tyrrell, 1891, p. 45). For a modern historian of literature, this is a challenging example of the intricate combination of rhetoric figures and personal appeal that resists one-sided interpretation. Was the author’s mentioning of the declining glory of Rome a personal concern of both participants of this correspondence, or a public language pattern? Though there were serious reasons for Servius to solace his friend as a private person, his letter is also remarkable for a certain set of rhetoric strategies that clearly belong to the standards of public discourse and represent the accepted ethical value of the time. The following text is the analysis of two parallel dimensions of the letter: the emotional, personal account of the event and of human mortality, and the rhetorical strategy of the political writing of Cicero’s times. To begin with, there is an appealing emotional background of this letter. The author aims to share his thoughts about death and loss to empathize with his friend’s sorrow. It is known that this sorrow was really deep: Cicero showed adoration to Tullia both in his letters and in real private life; she died of childbirth at the really young age of 31, and her husband was unpopular in Cicero’s circles for his Bohemian carelessness and less intellectual brightness than that of Tullia (Tyrrell, 1891, p. 44). Tyrrell even goes as far as to state that Cicero loved her daughter passionately and more that his own wife, that is, with certain eroticism (46). Anyway, Cicero’s loss really had to provoke serious emotional breakdown, which is reflected in Servius Sulpicius’ consolation letter: “If you have become the poorer by the frail spirit of one poor girl, are you agitated thus violently?” (n. d., par. 3). There is also the description of Servius’s own feelings about his friend’s loss, and it is remarkable how he uses the rhetorical commonplace of self-humiliation: That kind of consolation involves much distress and pain, because the relations and friends, whose part it is to offer it, are themselves overcome by an equal sorrow. They cannot attempt it without many tears, so that they seem to require consolation themselves rather than to be able to afford it to others. (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par. 1) In this passage, Servius writes in the third person and apologizes for his inability to support his friend in sorrow – just to write consolatory remarks later. Hence, the phrase oscillates between the account of personal pain and the figure of speech. Personal feelings find one more expression that seems to be comparatively untouched by the public rhetorical standards: namely, the theme of human smallness in comparison with the scales and rhythms of Universe. The intimacy of the thought is indicated by the fact that author addresses this philosophical observation first to himself and only then to Cicero: “Hah! Do we manikins feel rebellious if one of us perishes or is killed—we whose life ought to be still shorter—when the corpses of so many towns lie in helpless ruin? Will you please, Servius, restrain yourself and recollect that you are born a mortal man?” (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.3) The overall feeling of fragility in this paragraph, also emphasized by the remark that the observation of ruins gives not comfort but awareness (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par. 3), also affect individual feelings and appeals to the personal dimension of pathos. At the same time, a lot of the letter’s phrases strictly belong to the political domain and certain “school”, publicly approved rhetorical tradition. The first of the signs of public discourse of the letter is its constant mourning for Rome’s decline: “do not allow anyone to think that you are not mourning so much for your daughter as for the state of public affairs and the victory of others” (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.4). Servius clearly states that personal mourning should not distract a noble man from the problems of the community: “Reflect that we have had snatched from us what ought to be no less dear to human beings than their children—country, honour, rank, every political distinction” (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.2). The problems aforementioned were so acute that the letter’s author even positions Tullia’s death in the background of public state of affairs: “Now what was there at such an epoch that could greatly tempt her to live?” (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.2). The text is fully in line with the ethics of privileging public interest, the ethics which Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy attributes to Romanian stoicism: “The Stoic enters politics not for public approval, wealth, or power (which are meaningless) but in order to improve the communities of which they are a part” (“Cicero”, 2005). The appeal to Stoic ethics is even more evident in the end of paragraph 4 (“now is the time for you to convince us that you are able to bear bad fortune equally well…”). Thus, Servius’s letter is an example of larger discourse than merely personal; it is engaged ethically and politically. Besides this Stoic ethical engagement, the letter is also written in line with the demands of persuasive public speaking, which is rather strange for a part of personal correspondence. In paragraph 2, Servius amplifies rhetorical questions with the use of anaphora: “What additional wound to your feelings could be inflicted by this particular loss? What scope, what hope, what heart’s solace?” (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.2). He frequently uses imperative sentences to re-direct the thoughts of his friend to the brighter future and work for the country: Grant this to her—your lost one! Grant it to your friends and comrades who mourn with you in your sorrow! Grant it to your country, that if the need arises she may have the use of your services and advice. (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.3) In this passage, the author proceeds from the statement of the need to show personal attachment (private sphere) to the call for loyalty to the state (public sphere). In fact, it seems that the features that textual characteristics that bring publicity to Servius’s writing dominate over the personal consolation. Why it is so is an intriguing question for the researchers of Cicero’s life. Could this letter be a warning? The following passage sounds like this: “do not allow anyone to think that you are not mourning so much for your daughter as for the state of public affairs and the victory of others. I am ashamed to say any more to you on this subject, lest I should appear to distrust your wisdom” (Servius Sulpicius, n. d., par.4). Whatever implications the letter has, it definitely expresses both personal feelings and the values of a certain political group. Outline Thesis: Servius Sulpicius’s letter to Cicero on the occasion of the death of the latter’s daughter is believed to be a deeply personal mourning account. However, biographic data, rhetorical techniques, and certain themes of the text indicate that it is could be read as an open message with public political and ethical engagement. Supporting Point #1: Servius Sulpicius was no less educated in rhetoric than Cicero and decided to use this knowledge Evidence: 1. Biographical evidence (they were studying together) 2. The author of the letter uses such typical rhetorical strategies as parallelism, amplification, and rhetorical questions with anaphora: “What additional wound to your feelings could be inflicted by this particular loss? What scope, what hope, what heart’s solace?” (par.2). 3. The letter is composed like a persuasive speech, ending with strong imperatives: Grant this to her—your lost one! Grant it to your friends and comrades who mourn with you in your sorrow! Grant it to your country, that if the need arises she may have the use of your services and advice. (par.3). Supporting Point #2: Servius Sulpicius often makes open Stoic claims about the need to serve the state. Evidence: 1. He connects personal loss with the loss of Rome: “Now what was there at such an epoch that could greatly tempt her to live?” (par.2). 2. He contrasts the importance of private bounds to the individual’s connection with the community: “But, it will be said, after all it is an evil to lose one’s children. Yes, it is: only it is a worse one to endure and submit to the present state of things” (par.2). 3. He provides a comparison of patience and strong will in good circumstances and in the circumstances of loss to favor the latter: “We have seen you on many occasions bear good fortune with a noble dignity which greatly enhanced your fame: now is the time for you to convince us that you are able to bear bad fortune equally well, and that it does not appear to you to be a heavier burden than you ought to think it” (par.4). Supporting Point #3: Servius Sulpicius returns to the theme of Rome throughout his entire letter Evidence: 1. He parallels human existence and the existence of state with regard to Greeks, the precursors of Rome: “Behind me was ?gina, in front Megara, on the right Pir?us, on my left Corinth: towns which at one time were most flourishing, but now lay before my eyes in ruin and decay” (par.3). 2. The author reminds Cicero of his place in the society: “In fine, do not forget that you are Cicero, and a man accustomed to instruct and advise others; and do not imitate bad physicians, who in the diseases of others profess to understand the art of healing, but are unable to prescribe for themselves” (par.3). 3. He parallels Tullia’s life and the life of the Republic: “that her life outlasted that of the Republic” (par.3). Translation Cited: Shuckburgh, E. S. “Servius Sulpicius to Cicero (at astura), Athens (March)”. Perseus Digital Library. 31 Oct 2012 http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=PerseusLatinTexts&getid=1&. Works Cited. “Cicero” (2005). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 31 Oct 2012. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/cicero/#H5. Shuckburgh, E. S. “Servius Sulpicius to Cicero (at astura), Athens (March)”. Perseus Digital Library. 31 Oct 2012 Retrieved from http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseuscgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=PerseusLatinTexts&getid=1&. Tyrrell, R. Y. ed. (1891). Cicero in His Letters. London: Macmillan. Read More