Cicero’s Rhetoric of Terror

Abstract

In the first three Catilinarians, Cicero defines the nebulous crisis facing the Roman state in specific and concrete terms. I argue that his description of Catiline’s activity can be understood as a “rhetoric of terror,” a term used by scholars of rhetoric to describe how modern political leaders have responded to violent crises in the twenty-first century. Cicero uses similar themes to construct an atmosphere of emergency in 63 bce. The insistent emphasis on the fear that Romans ought to have of Catiline and his fellows helps buttress Cicero’s own authority as a consul, a new man, and a saviour of the city.