As a former theatre geek, my approach to Cicero's orations against Catiline was strange. The speeches were written for the purpose of being spoken. When I read them I pictured how they were presented like I was preparing a scene. When he repeatedly used 'nihil' I heard him saying each one a little bit louder, a little bit faster. There are other moments when the same thing happened as he made lists. He was almost overly dramatic when he spoke as the fatherland. Only half of Cicero's effectiveness was in his actual words. The manner in which he spoke them was what truly did the damage. What we translate is a mere shadow of the actual speech given. It lacks the visual component that lent so much to the meaning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaqXlHfPrqM This video is of a girl performing the speech for her Latin class. There were several others from students. I found it interesting that this seems to be a common project amongst Latin classes.
Jennifer Hambacher
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