This book offers an examination of Cicero's speech, the "Pro Balbo," which was delivered during a momentous period of Roman history, in defence of a highly influential political advisor of Caesar who was charged under the "lex Papia" for an illegal grant of citizenship. The first detailed study of the speech, this study analyzes the work according to the ancient rhetorical categories: types of arguments ("inventio": ethos, pathos and logos), the arrangement of these arguments ("dispositio"), and the use of style ("elocutio"). Kimberly Barber takes a thorough look at Cicero's technique, providing an understanding of the speech and illuminating the rhetorical issues raised by its legal context.

This book offers an examination of Cicero's speech, the Pro Balbo, which was delivered during a momentous period of Roman history, in defence of a highly influential political advisor of Caesar who was charged under the lexPapia for an illegal grant of citizenship.