Cassius Severus

Cassius Severus († around 32 AD) was a Roman orator .

Cassius Severus came from a humble background. Despite - or perhaps because of - his vicious way of life and his almost proverbial failure as a litigator, he became famous. He was considered very well read. His negative traits, however, were that he was sometimes uncontrollably aggressive and cynical in his speeches and did not shy away from insults. As a defense attorney, he only appeared on his own behalf, which obviously gave him a lot of pleasure.

He is still known today through the judgments that have been passed down by Quintilian , Seneca and Tacitus about his speeches. The assessment of both authors is ambivalent: he is considered talented and witty, but some critics consider him too passionate and therefore often excessive and ridiculous. In his dialogue about the speakers, Tacitus has one of his interlocutors, Cassius Severus, declared to be the “boundary stone” between the eloquence of the republican era and that of the principate .

Cassius Severus was eventually indicted himself through unrestrained remarks and diatribes. A first accusation was suppressed by Augustus . After the second indictment, he was first banished to Crete by a Senate decision, then held captive on Seriphos under Tiberius , as he did not remain silent on Crete and wrote further abuse. On Seriphos he lived and died in misery. His writings were banned. They were republished under Caligula . Although Quintilian made it compulsory reading, the court speeches have survived today only in fragments.

literature

• Steven H. Rutledge: Imperial Inquisitions. Prosecutors and informants from Tiberius to Domitian . Routledge, London 2001, ISBN 0-415-23700-9 , pp. 209-212 .