his enmity to the Republic by being an opponent of Cicero.
II. Explanatio. (Willmann: "Linguistic and logical.") Quonam meo fato. This may have a double meaning; either: to what misfortune shall I say that I have been born; to what destiny of mine is it owing, by what fate of mine does it come to pass, that on me alone light all the arrows with which our enemies try to harm the country; or: what a happy and enviable lot that all who attack the Republic believe they must become my enemies. Either meaning is apt to gain the good will of the audience. – His annis viginti, i. e. from the beginning of his consulship, the year 690 A. U. C. – Nec vero etc. Cicero points to men like Catiline, Clodius, Piso, etc. ... Tuam a me alienationem commendationem tibi ad impios cives fore putavisti. Construe: Putavisti alienationem tuam a me fore tibi commendationem [gloriae] ad impios; literally: You thought your alienation from me would be a recommendation for you to the wicked, i. e.: You thought to gain in the estimation of the destructionists, if you turned away from me and became my enemy.
III. Rhetorica. Attention is called to all that pertains to rhetoric in the highest class, to poetry in the next, to grammar, syntax in the other classes. For the class of Rhetoric this explanation may run as follows: This is the exordium of an excellent oration. The exordium or introduction has to prepare the audience for the coming speech. It has to gain their good will, and to make them attentive and docile. Let us see how Cicero complies with these three requirements of the exordium.
Good will may be gained in three ways. First, by
