Quintilian in the Graeco-Roman Rhetorical Tradition

Quintilian’s Institutio oratoria (c.95 ce) provides a comprehensive statement on education based on the author’s belief that the study of rhetoric was essential both for the growth of the individual and also for serving the welfare of the state through effective leadership that united wisdom with eloquence. Quintilian’s Institutio is often identified exclusively as a work of Roman rhetoric. Viewing the Institutio as uniquely Roman is understandable. In the Institutio, Quintilian often used Cicero—the pre-eminent orator and rhetorician of the Roman Republic—as a model whose career illustrated the best features of Roman rhetoric and citizenship. However, viewing Quintilian’s Institutio as exclusively Roman distorts the influence that Greek rhetoric had on Quintilian’s work. Quintilian, and even his Roman model Cicero, were both influenced by Greek rhetoric, especially the contributions of Isocrates. Quintilian’s Institutio is better understood, and appreciated, as a ratio or system that was built upon a foundation of Hellenic rhetoric and a shining example of the Graeco-Roman rhetorical tradition. This chapter reveals a spectrum of Greek contributions in Quintilian’s Institutio ranging from isolated technical concepts to an overarching philosophy of civic rhetoric predicated on the officia or ‘duties’ of good, virtuous citizens eloquently applying rhetoric for social betterment. Quintilian’s use and command of Greek rhetoric is well demonstrated and his indebtedness to Greek sources for crafting his own ‘Roman’ rhetoric is evident throughout his Institutio.

FACTORS OF «BARBARIZATION» OF THE INSTITUTION OF MONARCHY IN OSTROGOTHIC SOCIETY IN THE FIRST HALF OF 6TH CENTURY

Целью статьи является выявление и анализ факторов, способствовавших актуализации характерных для состояния «варварства» социальных практик, сопровождавших адаптивные эволюционные изменения остготского общества в условиях кризиса идентичности в первой половине VI столетия. В качестве таких факторов рассматривается дуализм унаследованной римской государственной модели и этнического принципа формирования политической элиты остготского королевства, стремившейся к сохранению культурной и политической автономии; кризис самой римской модели управления (необходимо учитывать, что формально Теодорих Амал правил в качестве римского наместника, хотя статус его королевства и порядок передачи власти в нем не был определен) и сопряженный с этим противоречивый характер публично-правовой системы, отраженный в эдикте Теодориха; кризис германской модели управления, связанной с эрозией габитуса и социальных практик остготской военной аристократии рассматриваемого периода; наконец конфессиональный кризис, связанный с системными противоречиями между арианскими и ортодоксальнымии церковными институтами, что препятствовало возможности проведения соборов для легитимации власти. В качестве основного триггера обращения остготской элиты к «варварскому» наследию рассматривается война с Византией, повлекшая общий упадок экономики и общественных связей в Италии. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the factors that contributed to the actualization of the social practices belonging to the state of «barbarism» that accompanied the adaptive evolutionary changes of the Ostrogothic society in the context of the identity crisis in the first half of the 6th century. As such factors, the author considers the dualism of the inherited Roman state model and the ethnic principle of the formation of the political elite of the Ostrogothic kingdom, striving to preserve cultural and political autonomy; the crisis of the Roman model of government itself (formally Theodoric Amal ruled as a Roman governor, although the status of his kingdom and the procedure for transferring power in it was not determined) and the associated contradictory nature of the public law system, reflected in Theodoric's edict; the crisis of the Germanic model of leadership associated with the erosion of the habitus and social practices of the Ostrogothic military aristocracy of the period under review; finally, a confessional crisis associated with systemic contradictions between the Arian and Orthodox and ecclesiastical institutions, which hindered the possibility of holding councils to legitimize power. The war with Byzantium, which led to a general decline in the economy and public relations in Italy, is considered as the main trigger for the appeal of the Ostrogothic elite to the «barbarian» heritage.

Machiavelli and republicanism in Elizabethan England

The purpose of this succinct work is to present N. Machiavelli's classic republican view from his proposition of an inevitable paradox, the founding of an expansionist republic, difficult to govern, or the founding of a stable, but small and weak republic. Such a paradox, according to Machiavelli, should direct and condition all the constitutive devices of the republic when choosing what will be its destiny as a political body. The model of republic preferred by the Florentine will be the expansionist model of Rome, leading him to assume all the devices that gave this republic its power. From this presentation of the Machiavellian proposition, we will analyse the assimilation of republican thought in England from the Elizabethan period, as well as the political-social scenario that exists there. This itinerary will allow us to understand, in general, why classical republicanism was received on English soil from the perspective of establishing a mixed, stable government, thus favouring the spread of the Venice myth as a serene republic and delaying the use, even that mitigated, of the republican presuppositions expressed in the Machiavellian work that directed towards a Roman model.

Restauratio Iustinianus. Despre reforma dezmoștenirii în dreptul succesoral român

The struggle between testamentary freedom and family protection is one of the enduring challenges in the field of succession law. This paper is exclusively concerned with the Civilian tradition, where efforts to bridge the gap between said ideals generally follow two main models. Some legal systems maintain the Roman model of allowing the testator or testatrix to lift the forced heirship in cases strictly provided by the law, whilst others prefer the Napoleonic paradigm of depriving the deceased of said power. Romanian succession law has experienced both models, with the former dominating the medieval and early modern law and the latter only introduced in the second half of the 19th century, with the legal transplant of the Code Napoléon. The present study argues that certain changes introduced in the Civil Code of 2009, specifically empowering the decedent to lift the effects of unworthiness and explicitly regulating the regime of disinheritance, foreshadow a return to the Roman paradigm.

Pandemics and Emergency Powers in Asia

This chapter looks at emergency powers under Covid-19 in Asia. The ancient Roman model of dictatorship suggests that any legal framework for responding to an emergency has two components: dealing effectively with the threat and preventing abuse. How can these goals best be secured in a pandemic? Within the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, it become readily apparent that it posed two kinds of threat. First, it posed a mortal threat to individual and public health arising from a deadly virus that could be transmitted relatively easily through everyday social activities. Second, the efforts of governments to contain its spread inevitably led to a secondary danger as social and economic life was shuttered—the danger of social and political unrest. The chapter considers two dimensions of the governmental response: the formal legal structure under which that response operates and the dynamics of expertise, trust, and responsiveness to feedback that it potentially fosters—or inhibits. It argues that the goal of returning to normal is best served when these two dimensions—the legal framework and the expertise-feedback dynamic—are aligned to enable the society to respond effectively and fairly.

Recepcija rimskog prava na glagoljici

The protocol of Petar Lazarić, who was simultaneously a domestic priest, prebendary and a notary of Mošćenice, dates back to 1621. It originated in Mošćenice and records in glagolithic script a resolution of a private dispute concerning the property division which was achieved in arbitration. Although the wording of the documents reveals the glagolithic script and is fully made in the Croatian language, if we go beyond that and explore the origins of the essential terms and expressions, we may reach a conclusion that the document substantially records Latin (or Italian) legal technical language which was slightly Croatised in the process of its adoption into the legal system of the commune of Mošćenice. Moreover, the content of the document puts forth legal principles, concepts and institutes of the extrajudicial dispute resolution which were consistently applied in Mošćenice following the model of arbitration in Roman law. All the essentials of the document at hand reflect the strong influences of the Roman legal tradition and the ius commune. The author provides an analysis in this paper which addresses all the relevant institutes that were applied in the arbitration dispute at hand referring to the procedural and substantive law at the same time. The author searches for the Roman model of these institutes, evaluates them from perspective of Roman and canon law of the Middle and New Ages and, finally, he brings this particular legal source in relation to the other two which originated in Mošćenice in the first half of the 17th century that both record significant influences of the Roman legal tradition of the time: The Statute of Mošćenice of 1637 and the boundary dispute between Lovran and Mošćenice of 1646.

Roman Model-Books as a Resource for Digital Architectural Reconstructions

Upon examination of Roman landscape paintings preserved in situ and in museums of Naples and Rome, additional evidence has been found for the additive character of creation of imaginary landscapes as well as evidence for using standardized elements and whole scene compositions in Roman painting. This attitude is compared to the modern way of creating virtual landscapes—computer game level design and the process called “kitbashing”. I propose that both these processes share the same task to create a familiar landscape using a visual language understandable to its contemporary viewer, but also a very similar method of using predefined elements.

A Shared (Graeco-Roman) Model of Mimesis in John and Paul?

This study explores whether Johannine and Pauline Christianity show a common understanding of mimesis. Discourse on mimesis began in Graeco-Roman antiquity, so I will develop a model of Graeco-Roman mimesis and use it heuristically to examine whether the Johannine and Pauline writings adhere to it. If they do, we can justifiably compare the concept of mimesis in John and Paul based on this shared model. The findings show that, although there are differences in the workings of mimesis in John and Paul, there is sufficient evidence of a shared model that corresponds to that in Graeco-Roman antiquity.

The Merovingian Polity

The royal court was the major center of political power in Merovingian Gaul. Following the late Roman model, it became an administrative center, from whence the kingdom was ruled and to which aristocrats flocked in order to serve the king, or in hope for honors and promotion. As such, the Merovingian court encompassed both the ruler’s military retinue and the kingdom’s highest bureaucrats. It also housed the meetings of the king’s royal council, which also functioned as the highest court where political and judicial conflicts were managed and resolved. As the center of political power and the stage for the administration of justice and the settlement of disputes, the Merovingian court generated a sense of authority and consensus politics that served as a symbolic unifier in an otherwise factional reality.

Nutricula causidicorum

The Roman imperial system of law, courts and jurisdiction was a sphere in which the Roman empire exercised a profound impact on the society and culture of its provinces. In Roman Africa, law and courts were central to what it meant to be and become ‘Roman’. This was the case both in the sense of adopting Roman legal forms and institutions, and also in the sense of adopting a Roman model of elite education, where training in forensic rhetoric and pleading in the courts was instrumental for the making of successful careers in politics and administration. This chapter examines the development and professionalization of legal and forensic activity in Roman Africa, from the establishment of the Principate to the age of Augustine (c.31 BCE–435 CE). Key topics that are addressed include: career structures, the typology and social profile of ‘lawyers’ (advocates, legal consultants, assessors, judges, notaries), the place of law in the rhetorical curriculum, profession and professionalization as analytical categories.