Cicero and the Forum

Few people actually take the time to think of the origins of their interests. For me, I do find it hard to plot the epicenter of when I fell in love with Latin and the Romans; maybe it was when I met my fiancee Sarah in Rome during a Summer 2006 UF Study Abroad Program, or maybe it was when I took the chance during the Spring of 2006 at UCF in my Roman History course that led me to Rome. I have always loved history, language, and art, but when I first met Cicero's writing/speaking style, I knew I had found a beautiful harmony of all three. My plunge into the Latin language began in the Summer of 2007. In the Fall of 2007 at UCF, I took an intense Latin language course and that course began with a phrase "Vixerunt." "They have lived." The intense, religious, and formal way of saying that someone has just died/been killed. I became familiarized with Cicero's biting wit right then and there, and his ingenuity in getting his point across, and I knew I wanted to learn more about this deeply complex man. Fast-forwarding through quite a bit of my own history, we come to the Spring 2009 at USF, where I've finally enrolled in a strict, focused course on Cicero. It has been such a challenge for me, who was bombarded with so much information so fast during my acquisition of the language, to plunge myself into a daily exercise of an ancient language, and to constantly test myself and my grasp of Latin grammar. This was after almost a year off from institutional Latin. History is all about finding application in the present. Knowing Cicero and his style--especially how he created a sense of space--has given me a greater appreciation for speaking intelligently (and also learning a bit of misdirection!) Anyway, before I actually write an Epic here, I wanted to simply say that being in the Roman Forum for me personally, even though I had not yet been formally introduced to Latin or even Cicero himself, has made me now realize how Cicero's choice of verbs and nouns involving movement, action, and misdirection can re-create the (often) turbulent events he lived through. The busy and bustling Forum is represented beautifully in Cicero's oratory. Applying my knowledge about Cicero and Latin now back to nearly three years ago when I was in Rome only reaffirms my determination to "master" Latin and continue to pursue my passion for history and its application in our own turbulent and changing time. If only we could go back to see how Cicero's booming and majestic voice would have projected in the Senate House--or in the sprawling and bustling Forum; for now, we'll have to settle for the imagery he conjures with his words.