ABSTRACT
OF ALL Roman orators none devoted so much thought and study to oratory as Cicero. He had a long period of education, was familiar with the literature of rhetoric and himself contributed to the theory of the subject. At the same time he was a practising orator, who pleaded numerous cases in the courts and took an active part in the debates of the senate. He is moreover the only Roman orator whose speeches have survived in bulk, so that in his case we have a unique opportunity of observing the interaction of rhetorical theory and oratorical practice.
