Pro Cluentio
Encyclopedia
Pro Cluentio is a speech by the Roman
orator Cicero
given in defense of a man named Aulus Cluentius Habitus
Minor.
Cluentius, from Larinum
in Molise
, was accused in 66 BC
by his mother of having poisoned his stepfather, Oppianicus the elder; Cluentius was very unpopular in Rome because of rumors that he had corrupted the judges in a process against this same Oppianicus; this unpopularity (Latin: invidia
) reflected on the senators, suspected to buy and sell processes. The accusers were not saints either: Cluentius' mother, Sassia, had married three times. On the first occasion she had married Aulus Cluentius Habitus, the father of her son. The son was known as Aulus Cluentius Habitus Minor. At one point she had fallen in love with her daughter's husband. She forced the daughter to divorce
the young man and then she married her former son-in-law. Cicero divides his action in two parts: in the first one, he defends Cluentius' reputation. He shows that Oppianicus' crimes were so enormous, that Cluentius had no need of corrupting the judges; actually, he ridicules Oppianicus because he was cheated by a mediator in bribes. The second part deals with the alleged poisoning, and is very brief, since Cicero considers the accusation as ludicrous.
, the three sons of Oppianicus' mother in law are believed dead, and Oppianicus becomes the heir. Then it is discovered that one of them, M. Aurius, lives in Gaul, where he has been sold as a slave; his mother begs the relatives to rescue him, then dies. Oppianicus arranges for the murder of her son, and inherits 100.000 sestertiums. A relative of the victim, A. Aurius, denounces him in Larinum; Oppianicus, taking advantage of the civil war, has him proscribed and killed. A. Aurius was, by the way, Sassia's husband; Oppianicus begins to woo her. She objects that she wouldn't marry a man with two sons; Oppianicus murders his children, and marries her. The paternal aunt of Cluentius was Oppianicus' ex-wife; Oppianicus kills her and, with the same poison, his own brother. His brother's wife is pregnant; Oppianicus poisons her before she bears, and inherits. Cn. Magius, Oppianicus' uncle, dies; in his will, he leaves everything to the son of which his sister is pregnant. Oppianicus, who is next in the line of succession, pays her a large sum, and she aborts. Then he goes to Rome, becomes intimate with a young dissolute, Asuvius, and kills him after he has signed a will in his favor.
, Cicero afterwards boasted that he had pulled the wool over the judges' eyes ("se tenebras offudisse iudicibus in causa Cluenti gloriatus est", "Institutio Oratoria" 2.17.21; the context is in discussion of orators who say false things not because they are themselves unaware of the truth, but to deceive other people).
Cicero's spirited defence in Pro Cluentio presents an insight into the life in Larinum in 66 BC, and also provides an image of a ruthless woman which has lasted for more than two thousand years.
As for the literary aftermath, Oppianicus will extend its influence into the farthest future: for instance, queen Tamora and her blackamoor Aaron in Titus Andronicus
out-Oppianicus Oppianicus; and Juliette, a novel of an author whose very name
is contrary to modesty, is clearly under Oppianicus' spell. The Italian erudite Mario Praz
has written a whole book, Romantic Agony, about Oppianical influences in nineteenth century literature.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
orator Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
given in defense of a man named Aulus Cluentius Habitus
Aulus Cluentius Habitus
Aulus Cluentius Habitus, a wealthy citizen of Larinum in Samnium, and subject of a Roman cause célèbre.In 74 BC he accused his stepfather Statius Albius Oppianicus of an attempt to poison him; had it been successful, the property of Cluentius would have fallen to his mother Sassia. Oppianicus was...
Minor.
Cluentius, from Larinum
Larino
Larino is a town and comune of approximately 8,200 inhabitants in Molise, province of Campobasso, southern Italy. It is located in the fertile valley of the Biferno River....
in Molise
Molise
Molise is a region of Southern Italy, the second smallest of the regions. It was formerly part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise and now a separate entity...
, was accused in 66 BC
66 BC
Year 66 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Tullus...
by his mother of having poisoned his stepfather, Oppianicus the elder; Cluentius was very unpopular in Rome because of rumors that he had corrupted the judges in a process against this same Oppianicus; this unpopularity (Latin: invidia
Invidia
In Latin, invidia is the sense of envy or jealousy, a "looking upon" associated with the evil eye, from invidere, "to look against, to look at in a hostile manner." Invidia is one of the Seven Deadly Sins in Christian belief....
) reflected on the senators, suspected to buy and sell processes. The accusers were not saints either: Cluentius' mother, Sassia, had married three times. On the first occasion she had married Aulus Cluentius Habitus, the father of her son. The son was known as Aulus Cluentius Habitus Minor. At one point she had fallen in love with her daughter's husband. She forced the daughter to divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
the young man and then she married her former son-in-law. Cicero divides his action in two parts: in the first one, he defends Cluentius' reputation. He shows that Oppianicus' crimes were so enormous, that Cluentius had no need of corrupting the judges; actually, he ridicules Oppianicus because he was cheated by a mediator in bribes. The second part deals with the alleged poisoning, and is very brief, since Cicero considers the accusation as ludicrous.
Oppianicus
During the turmoil of the civil warCivil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, the three sons of Oppianicus' mother in law are believed dead, and Oppianicus becomes the heir. Then it is discovered that one of them, M. Aurius, lives in Gaul, where he has been sold as a slave; his mother begs the relatives to rescue him, then dies. Oppianicus arranges for the murder of her son, and inherits 100.000 sestertiums. A relative of the victim, A. Aurius, denounces him in Larinum; Oppianicus, taking advantage of the civil war, has him proscribed and killed. A. Aurius was, by the way, Sassia's husband; Oppianicus begins to woo her. She objects that she wouldn't marry a man with two sons; Oppianicus murders his children, and marries her. The paternal aunt of Cluentius was Oppianicus' ex-wife; Oppianicus kills her and, with the same poison, his own brother. His brother's wife is pregnant; Oppianicus poisons her before she bears, and inherits. Cn. Magius, Oppianicus' uncle, dies; in his will, he leaves everything to the son of which his sister is pregnant. Oppianicus, who is next in the line of succession, pays her a large sum, and she aborts. Then he goes to Rome, becomes intimate with a young dissolute, Asuvius, and kills him after he has signed a will in his favor.
Aftermath
Cicero was so successful that the young Cluentius was absolved of the charges. In the process the reputation of Sassia was completely destroyed. According to QuintilianQuintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
, Cicero afterwards boasted that he had pulled the wool over the judges' eyes ("se tenebras offudisse iudicibus in causa Cluenti gloriatus est", "Institutio Oratoria" 2.17.21; the context is in discussion of orators who say false things not because they are themselves unaware of the truth, but to deceive other people).
Cicero's spirited defence in Pro Cluentio presents an insight into the life in Larinum in 66 BC, and also provides an image of a ruthless woman which has lasted for more than two thousand years.
As for the literary aftermath, Oppianicus will extend its influence into the farthest future: for instance, queen Tamora and her blackamoor Aaron in Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
out-Oppianicus Oppianicus; and Juliette, a novel of an author whose very name
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
is contrary to modesty, is clearly under Oppianicus' spell. The Italian erudite Mario Praz
Mario Praz
Mario Praz KBE was an Italian-born critic of art and literature, and a scholar of English literature. His best-known book, The Romantic Agony , was a comprehensive survey of the erotic and morbid themes that characterized European authors of the late 18th and 19th centuries...
has written a whole book, Romantic Agony, about Oppianical influences in nineteenth century literature.