Audience and image in ciceronian Rome: Creation and constraints of the Vir Bonus personality

Although the study of Roman oratory persistently has occupied the interests of classical rhetoricians, little research has been done to try to understand the speeches as they were actually delivered and the influence which listeners had upon speakers. Focusing on Cicero, this study investigates his views and relationship with listeners who frequently filled the Forum to evaluate rhetorical skills. The results of this research indicate that the audience became such a dominant force that many orators, in an effort to gain recognition, were encouraged to stress histrionics and the appearance of virtue over the realities of a sincere moral commitment to a cause. Consequently, individuals such as Cicero were strongly tempted to concentrate on the appearance of a virtuous public image and not the morality which it implied.