Servius Sulpicius Rufus

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Servius Sulpicius Rufus (* around 106 BC; † 43 BC ) was a Roman politician, speaker and pre-classical jurist , who was the most important pioneer of classical jurisprudence .

Life and offices

Together with Cicero he studied rhetoric and accompanied him in 78 BC. To Rhodes . Believing that he could never match Cicero's qualities as a speaker, he gave up rhetoric and became a lawyer. His legal teacher was Gaius Aquilius Gallus . 75 or 74 BC He was quaestor and 65 BC BC Praetor . 63 BC He ran for the consulate the following year, but was beaten by Lucius Licinius Murena , whom he then unsuccessfully accused of bribery. Not until 51 BC He was successful with a renewed application after he had led the election of Pompey as sole consul as Interrex the year before . In the civil war he stood - after considerable hesitation - on the side of Gaius Julius Caesar , who gave him 46 BC. Chr. To proconsul of Achaea made. He died in 43 BC On a Senate mission to Mutina to see Marcus Antonius due to illness. In a Senate speech, which was later published as the ninth "Philippine Speech", Cicero applied for a state honor for him in the form of a statue in front of the Rostra . In contrast to the gilded equestrian statues with which emissaries who were killed on their mission were usually honored, a bronze standing statue and a public burial were granted to him because he died during the embassy but was not killed by direct enemy action had been.

Sulpicius had a son of the same name, who is mentioned several times in Cicero, among other things as a possible husband for his daughter Tullia . From this, however, no public offices have come down to us. Daughter or granddaughter of Sulpicius was the poet Sulpicia the elder .

Meaning and style

Cicero has handed down two extraordinary examples of Sulpicius' style. Quintilian speaks of three speeches by Sulpicius that have survived. One was the speech against Murena, another Pro or Contra Aufidium from which, however, nothing is known. In addition, he is said to have been the author of erotic poems.

First and foremost, however, Sulpicius was honored as a lawyer. The first commentary on the praetoric edict is part of his extensive work . In addition, he left a large number of treatises and is often quoted in the Digest (collection of expert opinions), especially by his pupil Publius Alfenus Varus ; on the other hand, no texts originating from himself have been found. The main qualities of his work are clarity, close familiarity with the principles of civil and natural law, and unmatched expressiveness. Cicero praised Sulpicius expressly for having turned law into an art (“ars iuris”) by creating facts that could be subsumed (“postremo habere regulam, qua vera et falsa iudicarentur”). He had learned the methodology for this from the Greek philosophers . According to a minority opinion, which was partly represented in connection with Okko Behrends , Sulpicius had thus founded the “specifically classical” jurisprudence, which by emphasizing strict rules differs from the pre-classical jurisprudence of the “veteres” in which - again based on Cicero's testimony - the weighing up of principles played a central role.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c Jan Dirk Harke : Roman law. From the classical period to the modern codifications . Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-57405-4 ( floor plans of the law ), § 1 no. 10 (p. 9 f.).
  2. ↑ Cicero, Brutus 41.
  3. ↑ Pomponius, D (igesta) 1,2,2,43.
  4. ↑ Cicero, Ad Familiares 4, 5 and 12.
  5. ↑ Quintilian, Institutio oratoria 10,1,1,6.
  6. ↑ Cicero, Brutus 41.152.
personal data
SURNAME Sulpicius Rufus, Servius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rufus, Servius Sulpicius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman politician, speaker and lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH around 106 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 43 BC Chr.