A Political Thriller (c. 63 BCE)
2/16/2017–2/23/2017
Hour 1–3
Sunday/ 5:47 / My room
This week’s reading was probably one of the most relatable readings in terms of being a leader. It gave historical information that definitely made me thing about my everyday life. We see that engaging as a leader can be characterized as a Political Thriller because it is characterized by a series of unexpected events that a leader must adapt to. Further we understand that a leader must be aware and ready at all times to silent dissent against his leadership. Cicero serves a great example as to how rhetoric and leadership can go hand in hand in establishing a great leader. Being a Leader and working under a leader are two very precarious situations. As a leader you want to decorum but also leeway to express your dissatisfaction and even push back against criticism. As the President of my fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. Alpha Chapter, I am met with a series of challenges each day. I have to balance the ideas of everyone I work with. And that’s an important distinction to make. These persons do not work for me but rather with me in the coordination of events here at Howard University. I believe that as a leader you must be willing to hear the concerns of the people who you work with and not avoid their opinions just because they conflict with yours. However, where a leader senses dissent and an impending revolt he must make every attempt to quickly resolve it. A leader that cannot resolve the issues of his followers cannot be a leader. This means that he must go to lengths against his rivals. This includes safeguarding his position by reminding his constituents why he was chosen as a leader. It will be very interesting to see how characters in antiquity would have reacted to these issues with leadership. Similarly, modern leadership is characterized by very similar issues. President Obama had to balance the levels of his public opinion that shifted constantly with the political action he wanted to achieve. Additionally, Obama was an excellent orator and whenever he made a speech, his publicity levels rose. Obama had several opponents over his two terms as President and even to guarantee a second term, his skills as a leader were tested.
2/16/2017–2/23/2017
Hour 4–7 — Review
Monday / 4:11 / COAS Honors Lounge
The importance of Rhetoric in leadership both currently and in the ancient world. I believe that it is extremely important for a leader to exhibit oratory skills that is above the norm. This is because rhetoric, as viewed by Aristotle and who’s work that Cicero developed his theories from, was the “Ability to see all available means of persuasion.” With this an orator or leader would be able to construct arguments that appeal to either ethics, logic and or emotion. This is because the most important skill that a leader must have is not being a great warrior or being the smartest of his followers but rather the most persuasive of them. With the use of ethical appeal, the speaker might aim to convince his audience that he is a person of strong moral character, fairness, and authority on the issue at hand. An emotional appeal serves to create an anecdote or personal story that will connect with the feelings and emotions of the audience. And finally with logical appeal, there might be a step-by-step comparison of two choices faced and an illustration of which is more reasonable which is very useful in convincing the audience that certain action is necessary. The art of persuasion was not only in the speech of Cicero characterized by dramatic pauses and enunciation for effect but also a series of hand gestures which have an added effect.
This is important because Cicero placed rhetoric above both law and philosophy arguing that the ideal orator would have mastered both law and philosophy and would add eloquence besides. The best orator he argued would also be the best human being, who would understand the correct way to live, act upon it by taking a leading role in politics, and instruct others in it through speeches, through the examples of his life and through making good laws.
Rise of Cicero
In his “First oration against Lucius Sergius Catiline” a speech given by Cicero during his consulship in 63 BCE, he condemned Lucius Sergius Catiline, a Roman Aristocrat, for had been discovered to be plotting a conspiracy to kill members of the Senate and overthrow the Republic. In his speech, Cicero lays out his charges against Catiline and implore him to go into exile. He further emphasizes to his fellow senators that Catiline is a danger as he is an immoral, disloyal enemy of the Roman state. This speech was very important in the way it characterized the style of Roman political oration. To achieve success, a Roman orator could not simply present and harp on a single theme or subject. Instead they had to present of a multitude of themes, draw from historical precedents to prove a point and address fellow Senators directly and indirectly. Such an approach could be heard in Cicero’s First Oration against Lucius Sergius Catiline. As Rome was a society highly concerned with morals and Roman values, Cicero’s heavy use of the theme of morality was highly emphasized in his speech.
2/16/2017–2/23/2017
Hour 8–9 — Review
Tuesday / 4:11 / COAS Honors Lounge
There are several ways in which we can compare the roles of Leaders between the two modules that we have covered in class. However we had decided to narrow it down to five components. These are time, culture, genre, theme and political organization.
Time
Cicieros’s “First Oration against Lucius Sergius Catiline” was given in 63 BCE
Culture
This module looks at Roman culture and more specifically how Roman Political Oration characterizes good leadership. The module does this by focusing on Cicero and his speeches which are highly regarded as some of the best speeches ever given. Culturally, Roman political oration was seen as a practice that was above both philosophy and the law for Roman Political Oration encompassed bioth of these subject areas.
Genre
This module is characterized by speeches made by Cicero that have been translated.
Themes
Importance of Persuasion
This module highlights the importance of persuasion as one the if not the most important tools that a leader might have. Persuasion is the weapon that a leader has when his enemies attempt to create dissent or if disapproval is present. The actions of the leader are always subject to approval of his constituients and what may be more important than his actions is the support or approval that he receives from those who follow him. Ciciero felt this because during his tenure as Consul. Whilst consul, his fellow senator, Lucius Sergius Catiline conspired a plot to kill Cicero and overthrow the Republic and Senate.
Political Organization
This module give special attention and consideration to the Roman Senate. The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political Institution in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not elected body but one whose members were appointed by the consuls and later by the censors. After a Roman Magistrate erved his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic appointment to the Senate, According to the Greek historian Plolybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of Government. Polybius noted that it was the consuls (the highest-ranking of the regular magistrates) who led the armies and the civil government in Rome, and it was the Roman assemblies which had the ultimate authority over elections, legislation, and criminal trials. However, since the Senate controlled money, administration, and the details of foreign policy, it had the most control over day-to-day life.
2/16/2017–2/23/2017
Hour 10–11 — Review
Wednesday / 7:11 / Founder’s Library
Vocab List
Ciciero — Marcus Tullius Ciciero Consul in 63 BCE. Also recognised as the greatest Roman Orator.
andreia — courage, heart , manliness
Assembly — also called the place where men win glory,
Forensic Rhetoric — legal rhetoric
Epideietic — praise or blame speech.
Invectic — character assasination
Delibrative — what should/shouldn’t we do?
Julius Cesar — died in 44 BCE
Dialetic — the way in which a society speaks
decorum — I argue that the virtue of decorum provides an external check on both speech and action rooted in humans’ rational nature. Given the roots of decorum in humans’ rational nature and the natural law, the desire to meet our audience’s approval does not involve Cicero in a sophistic approach to rhetoric. Rather, the desire to observe decorum provides the orator and his audience with standards of judgement that transcend mere taste and reflect underlying moral knowledge.