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Abstract

Summary This article describes Cicero’s rhetorical use of character delineation in his Pro Roscio Amerino, and the consistency with which he employs this persuasive technique throughout the speech. It is argued that the resemblance of the structure of the text to the standard rhetorical rules is superficial: Cicero’s strategies in this early speech are already in basic agreement with his mature descriptions in De Oratore. His reliance on non-rational argument cannot, however, be used to suggest that Roscius was guilty, and Cicero’s version of events may well be true, even if this cannot be proven.