Cicero's Forensic Baptism: The Pro Quinctio

The pro Quinctio has been viewed as Cicero's first sortie into forensic oratory, made under the shadow of Sulla's domination and the proscription of his opponents. However, in the exordium to the pro Quinctio, Cicero refers to his previous cases — presumably private cases, such as Quinctius', and apparently undertaken earlier under Sulla's dictatorship. He must have performed well enough in these to impress Sulla's friend, the actor Quintus Roscius, who, as Quinctius' brother-in-law, was the intermediary in arranging that Cicero took over this case when the previous advocate M. Iunius was...

The pro Quinctio has been viewed as Cicero's first sortie into forensic oratory, made under the shadow of Sulla's domination and the proscription of his opponents. However, in the exordium to the pro Quinctio, Cicero refers to his previous cases — presumably private cases, such as Quinctius', and apparently undertaken earlier under Sulla's dictatorship. He must have performed well enough in these to impress Sulla's friend, the actor Quintus Roscius, who, as Quinctius' brother-in-law, was the intermediary in arranging that Cicero took over this case when the previous advocate M. Iunius was called away as a legatus. This chapter discusses the nature of the case, the organization of the speech, the origin of the dispute, vadimonium documents, continuation of the dispute, and the relative strengths of the cases.