chapter 10 The Use of Emotion as Persuasion in Cicero’s Letters to Atticus Gabriel Evangelou Cicero’s voluminous correspondence with Atticus is unique in terms of the insight it provides into Cicero’s life. The reader can observe not only their friendship over the years, but also different aspects of Cicero’s personality. Despite the fact that none of Atticus’ letters to Cicero have survived, thus making their correspondence unidirectional, Cicero’s letters clearly show that Atticus was the only person he could confide in or rely on in a time of need. The letters from Cicero’s exile indicate that Atticus did not abandon his friend;1 on the contrary, he aided the efforts for his restoration to Rome, listened to his lamentations over his misfortune, and offered him comfort despite his con- stant negativity.2 Nevertheless, problems arose between them when Atticus did not agree to provide the kind of help that Cicero was requesting. As the correspondence reveals, Cicero could not accept Atticus’ hesitation or unwill- ingness to assist him in every way he could. The discussion that follows investi- gates Cicero’s reaction to Atticus’ stance towards him and his efforts to coerce Atticus by appealing to his emotions.3 The value that Cicero saw in the elicitation of certain emotions as a strat- egy to persuade his audience is apparent throughout his works regardless of their genre. The most extensive discussion of emotions can be found in the fourth book of his philosophical treatise, Tusculanae disputationes, as well as in De oratore, a treatise on rhetoric in which he explains in detail how the ideal orator can use emotions to his advantage (De or. 2.178–216), especially 1 While Narducci (1997) 56 n. 4 notes that the term “exile” is not ideal in reference to Cicero’s absence from Rome in 58–57 because it is “inexact from a legal and technical point of view”, Cohen (2006) 111–9 argues convincingly that, despite Cicero’s insistence, from a legal point of view Cicero was technically exiled. 2 On the mutually beneficial nature of Cicero’s friendship with Atticus: Rauh (1986) 7–12. 3 As noted in the introduction (p. 3), in the extant ancient sources the line between coercion and persuasion is rather unclear. Nevertheless, in Cicero’s letters to Atticus the excessive rep- etition of the same request suggests that Cicero was using every means possible to force Atticus to act in a way that Atticus himself considered unwise either for his personal safety or for his finances. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004412552_011 154 Evangelou when he is certain that his client is innocent (De or. 2.53.214).4 Considering his constant need to persuade different audiences, ranging from fellow sen- ators to juries,5 it follows that the orator would not be content with the first two modes of persuasion that Aristotle discusses in his Rhetoric, i.e. logos (“logical argument”) and ēthos (“speaker’s credibility”).6 He relied heavily on affecting his audience’s emotions (audientium animos movere)7 by appealing to their pathos (“emotions”) not only in his orations, his treatises and his philo- sophical works, but also in his correspondence mainly with his closest friends and members of his family. The two most common methods that he used to persuade persons with whom he had developed such an intimate bond were appeals to their pity (commiseratio) and guilt (paenitentia).8 He achieved the first by describing how devastated he was during his exile and by stressing that he was crying because of his emotional condition.9 Being well aware of his family’s and Atticus’ affection for him, he had every reason to believe that through his vivid and detailed descriptions of his emotional pain, they would experience it themselves and thus they would achieve a better understanding of his fervent desire to return to Rome. In his correspondence with Atticus, it appears that he also attempted to arouse the emotion of guilt over Atticus’ treatment before and during his exile. However, as the second part of this volume clearly demonstrates, not all attempts at persuasion were successful. Hence, while his strategy proved effective in the case of Quintus and Terentia, both of whom offered to meet him in exile and did everything in their power to aid his restoration,10 Atticus was evidently not equally moved by his strategy of eliciting emotion in order to persuade, despite his affection for him. 4 On Cicero’s rhetorical use of emotions: Hall (2010) 218–34. 5 As shown in the discussion of Steel (2001) 139, 169, in addition to the cases of his defences of men like Murena, appeal to his audience’s emotions can be found in his invectives, as evident in his closing remarks in his fourth Catilinarian speech. 6 Nonetheless, as Sander (2014) 58 observes, while in general Aristotle does consider the elicitation of emotions as a legitimate method that an orator can use to persuade the jury, he also argues against the incitement of pity, anger and envy (Rhet. 1354a24–26). 7 The relation between Arist. Rh. and Cic. De or. in terms of the control that the orator can have of audience’s emotions is explored in Solmsen (1938) esp. in 399–402. 8 Sanders (2016) 19 stresses that personal letters are also valuable source in the study of persuasion. 9 Hagen (2016) 200–3 provides a brief, but excellent discussion of Cicero’s use of tears as a method of persuasion in De oratore. 10 Terentia’s offer to meet Cicero during his banishment is attested in Fam. 14.3.5 and Fam. 14.4.3. Quintus also attempted to meet Cicero in person, but Cicero ultimately opted against it claiming that he did not want Quintus to see him in such a wretched condition (QFr. 1.3.1)..