"In Defense of Marcus Caelius" read/acted-out as best I can in Latin. All of my Latin videos I record reading directly from thelatinlibrary.com without macron or translation aids.. ITAQUE, some parts of this speech go much smoother than others.. you can tell there are sections I am much more familiar with, and there is A LOT of repetition. & I certainly make multiple errors in pronunciation throughout-- HOWEVER, please keep in mind that this is a single continuous take of the entire speech, and I've yet to find a full recording of it anywhere else! I am also working on an english version which I will post soon. Below follows my (completely unscholarly) opinion.. YES I subscribe to the belief that Clodia was most likely "Lesbia", Publius Clodius was "Clodius Pulcher" and Marcus Caelius was "Rufus" in the poetry of Catullus. I think also (no textual evidence here, just an idea,) that Catullus himself may have been one of the 'unnamed witnesses' who hid in the baths to ambush Lucius Licinius when he had the poison. It's no secret that Cicero and Catullus didn't really like each other... could the events of this trial have been the tipping point Catullus' relationship with Lesbia? Basically in this speech all Cicero does is talk shit about everybody and it's seriously awesome. He was clearly less-concerned with actually defending Caelius (who was probably guilty of EVERYTHING) than he was with advancing his own ego/reputation by using the opportunity to publicly humiliate a well-known brother/sister pair of Patrician debaucherers-- Clodius&Clodia; of the Claudian line. These two were like the Hiltons or Kardashians of the time... think over-privileged, incestuous (they were!) yuppy nitwits and picture them in the time of the late roman republic. Clodius was known for doing things like cross-dressing as a vestal virgin to infiltrate the Saturnalia festival (yes, this actually happened); and I think there's enough evidence in this speech itself which positively identifies Clodia as 'Lesbia' from the poetry of Catullus. (Which identity Cicero subtly outs her as at various times in the speech.. calling her a 'songbird' 'poetress' and 'inventress of fables' between repeatedly calling her a profligate whore/prostitute/harlot.) Then in the Carmina Catulli, you have references to Cicero, Caelius (also called "Rufus") and Publius Clodius Pulcher. Almost all of Cicero's (successful, btw,) defense of Caelius-- a typical 'manchild' who was probably guilty of most of the charges, and who wouldn't seem out of place in 2015-- relies on attacking/humiliating Clodia. But Cicero doesn't stop with her, he also makes fun of his own client, the prosecution, the witnesses, and even the judges throughout the oration. From the very beginning of the speech, Cicero frames the whole circumstances of the trial as a comedic farce being put on for the judges, who are forced to sit watch while the rest of the city is on holiday; using dramatic personification of both real and imaginary characters as a means within itself to make his points. This is some really entertaining stuff I've really enjoyed translating/geeking out on for the past year. Here's a link with a really great (more scholarly) introduction/interpretation, and a less-wordy/ less-literal translation of the speech than mine: http://www.hoocher.com/procaeliotranslation.htm VALETE!

• published: 04 Apr 2015
• views: 11