The Dilemma of Cicero’s Speech for Ligarius

Abstract

Abstract This chapter assesses the strategy used by Cicero in his forensic speech for Quintus Ligarius. Because of the difficulties of this speech, that strategy is not readily apparent. Through a close reading of the text, however, it is evident that Cicero's goal was to refuse admitting his client's guilt but also to dress his speech in the language of a plea for mercy, thus catching Julius Caesar on both horns of a good dilemma. Pro Ligario is a fascinating speech, admired since Quintilian, who quotes from it copiously, and in modern times the subject of a great deal of speculation. In Pro Ligario, Cicero gives a double defence that is at once a way for his client to save face, a dilemma aimed at forcing Caesar into an acquittal, and a brilliant and independent piece of rhetoric.

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