The date of composition of Cicero’s De inventione

Authors

  • Thierry Hirsch Independent Scholar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13135/2532-5353/11642

Abstract

There has been major disagreement among scholars about the date of composition of the De inventione. Proposed dates range from the late 90s to the early 70s BC. Based on primary sources such as the De inventione and the Brutus, this article provides a detailed reassessment of the question and shows that there are strong reasons to believe that 87 BC is a plausible terminus post quem, that 86-84 BC is the main period of composition, and that the end of composition can be dated to late 84 / early 83 BC.

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Author Biography

Thierry Hirsch, Independent Scholar

Thierry Hirsch is an independent scholar focusing on Classical judicial rhetoric. He holds Academic Visitor status in the Classics Faculty of the University of Oxford, from which he earned his PhD. His book publications include a German bilingual edition of rhet. Her. with introduction and notes (Reclam Verlag, 2019). He is working on a general introduction to inv. cum commentary on inv. 1 for Oxford University Press as well as on a revised version of the Loeb Classical Library volume comprising inv., opt. gen., and top. for Harvard University Press. He serves as a Council member of the International Society for the History of Rhetoric and as a member of Luxembourg’s Human Rights Commission, and works as a lawyer in Luxembourg.

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Published

2024-12-31

How to Cite

Hirsch, T. (2024). The date of composition of Cicero’s De inventione. Ciceroniana On Line, 8(2), 401–437. https://doi.org/10.13135/2532-5353/11642

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2024): “Lecturae Ciceronis I, 2024. Le De inuentione entre philosophie, droit et rhétorique” Proceedings edited by Charles GUÉRIN and Veronica REVELLO

Section

Papers

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