-
A Contract on Ameria: Law and Legality in Cicero’s Pro Roscio Amerino
- American Journal of Philology
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 134, Number 3 (Whole Number 535), Fall 2013
- pp. 425-444
- 10.1353/ajp.2013.0035
- Article
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
Cicero’s first criminal speech, Pro Roscio Amerino, gained acquittal for his client but also presented Cicero himself as an advocate of legality at a time of great political turmoil and uncertainty. He emphasizes the importance of good-faith contracts to the maintenance of civil society, while demonstrating that his opponents have abused the contracts of societas and mandatum in persecuting Roscius. Cicero’s positive model is his teacher Scaevola—murdered during the civil war and advocate of good-faith contracts and of the broader ideal of vitae societas, a metaphorical contract that embodies the values of civil society which Cicero shares.