As a genre situated at the crossroad of rhetoric and fiction, declamatio offers the freedom to experiment with new forms of discourse. Placing the literariness of declamatio into the spotlight, this volume showcases declamation as a realm of genuine literary creation with its own theoretical underpinning, literary technique and generic conventions. Focusing on the oeuvre of (Ps)Quintilian, this volume demonstrates that these texts constitute a genre on their own, the rhetorical and literary framework of which remains not yet fully mapped. It is of interest to students and scholars of Rhetoric and Roman Literature.

The Major (or «longer») Declamations falsely ascribed to the Roman rhetorician Quintilian contain nineteen model speeches on fictitious court cases, more precisely termed controversiae. Composed by an unknown author or authors, perhaps in the second or third centuries A.D., these are the only extant full Latin controversiae, the practice speeches whose composition anddelivery formed the mainstay of Roman higher education. Declamation therefore had a profound effect on the literature of the Empire, and also on subsequent European literature, rhetoric, and education. This is the only full modern translation of the Major Declamations.

Mock trial--Roman style. The Lesser Declamations, dating perhaps from the second century AD and attributed to Quintilian, might more accurately be described as emanating from "the school of Quintilian." The collection--here made available for the first time in translation--represents classroom materials for budding Roman lawyers. The instructor who composed these specimen speeches for fictitious court cases adds his comments and suggestions concerning presentation and arguing tactics--thereby giving us insight into Roman law and education. A wide range of scenarios is imagined. Some evoke the plots of ancient novels and comedies: pirates, exiles, parents and children in conflict, adulterers, rapists, and wicked stepmothers abound. Other cases deal with such matters as warfare between neighboring cities, smuggling, historical (and quasi-historical) events, tyrants and tyrannicides. Two gems are the speech opposing a proposal to equalize wealth, and the case of a Cynic youth who has forsworn worldly goods but sues his father for cutting off his allowance. Of the original 388 sample cases in the collection, 145 survive. These are now added to the Loeb Classical Library in a two-volume edition, a fluent translation by D. R. Shackleton Bailey facing an updated Latin text.

The Lesser Declamations, dating perhaps from the second century CE and attributed to Quintilian, might more accurately be described as emanating from "the school of Quintilian." The collection--here made available for the first time in translation--represents classroom materials for budding Roman lawyers. The instructor who composed these specimen speeches for fictitious court cases adds his comments and suggestions concerning presentation and arguing tactics--thereby giving us insight into Roman law and education. A wide range of scenarios is imagined. Some evoke the plots of ancient novels and comedies: pirates, exiles, parents and children in conflict, adulterers, rapists, and wicked stepmothers abound. Other cases deal with such matters as warfare between neighboring cities, smuggling, historical (and quasi-historical) events, tyrants and tyrannicides. Two gems are the speech opposing a proposal to equalize wealth, and the case of a Cynic youth who has forsworn worldly goods but sues his father for cutting off his allowance. Of the original 388 sample cases in the collection, 145 survive. These are now added to the Loeb Classical Library in a two-volume edition, a fluent translation by D. R. Shackleton Bailey facing an updated Latin text.

The series publishes important new editions of and commentaries on texts from Greco-Roman antiquity, especially annotated editions of texts surviving only in fragments. Due to its programmatically wide range the series provides an essential basis for the study of ancient literature.

The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian aims to trace Quintilian's influence on the theory and practice of rhetoric and education up to the present. Chapters cover topics including Quintilian's Institutio oratoria, his views on education and literary criticism, and his reception and influence.

Ancient declamation—the practice of delivering speeches on the basis of fictitious scenarios—defies easy categorization. It stands at the crossroads of several modern disciplines. It is only within the past few decades that the full complexity of declamation, and the promise inherent in its study, have come to be recognized. This volume, which contains thirteen essays from an international team of scholars, engages with the multidisciplinary nature of declamation, focusing in particular on the various interactions in declamation between rhetoric, literature, law, and ethics. Contributions pursue a range of topics, but also complement each other. Separate essays by Brescia, Lentano, and Lupi explore social roles—their tensions and expectations—as defined through declamation. With similar emphasis on historical circumstances, Quiroga Puertas and Tomassi consider the adaptation of rhetorical material to frame contemporary realities. Schwartz draws attention to the sometimes hazy borderline between declamation and the courtroom. The relationship between laws and declamation, a topic of abiding importance, is examined in studies by Berti, Breij, and Johansson. Also with an eye to the complex interaction between laws and declamation, Pasetti offers a narratological analysis of cases of poisoning. Citti discovers the concept of natural law represented in declamatory material. While looking at a case of extreme cruelty, Huelsenbeck evaluates the nature of declamatory language, emphasizing its use as an integral instrument of performance events. Zinsmaier looks at discourse on the topic of torture in rhetorical and legal contexts.