The advocates of pre‐ciceronian Rome: Cicero's standard for forensic oratory

Despite the impact of Roman advocates on such individuals as Cicero, information on those speakers who shaped the focus and standards for Latin rhetoric is virtually unknown. This study investigates both the extant fragments of these early orators and the commentary of their only real contemporarv critic. Cicero. An examination of this evidence is designed to meet a twofold need of a period which is a dark age in the history of rhetoric: first, an analysis of information on the orators who preceded Cicero; and second, a synthesis of findings which will provide insight into Cicero's standard for forensic oratory.