Chapter 2
In: The Regula as a Rhetorical Device in Roman Law
Search for other papers by Olga Tellegen-Couperus in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Jan Willem Tellegen in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
Cicero wrote Topica expressly for Trebatius Testa, who is known to us as a jurist and who may have used topoi and theseis in his responsa. To find out whether he did, we first described these two concepts. We then turned to Cicero’s Topica itself to identify its purpose and construction. While this work has nothing to do with Aristotle’s Topike, Cicero may have been inspired by another work by Aristotle, Rhetorike. In Topica, Cicero often refers to Roman law, and he does so in a knowledgeable way. Trebatius may have found this work a useful resource, for eleven of his responsa that have been preserved in the Digest contain an argument based on a topos; in one case, the argument was formulated in general terms, as a thesis (D. 2.14.10.2).