Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 25, 2026

Pro Caecina

The Pro Caecina is a public speech made by Marcus Tullius Cicero on behalf of his friend Aulus Caecina sometime between 71 BC and 69 BC. The speech was delivered in the third hearing of a lawsuit where Caecina averred that he had been unlawfully dispossessed of a farm by use of force. Known for its refinement and scathing characterisations of the opposing parties, the speech is a good study in how rhetorical advocacy can occlude legal argument.

Last revised
Jun 25, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
242 w
Citations
3
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Cover of William Lambarde's Archeion (1635), which quotes from Pro Caecina: "All judicial proceedings have been devised either for the sake of putting an end to disputes, or of punishing crimes." source ↗

The Pro Caecina is a public speech made by Marcus Tullius Cicero on behalf of his friend Aulus Caecina sometime between 71 BC and 69 BC.1 The speech was delivered in the third hearing of a lawsuit where Caecina averred that he had been unlawfully dispossessed of a farm by use of force.2 Known for its refinement and scathing characterisations of the opposing parties, the speech is a good study in how rhetorical advocacy can occlude legal argument.3

References

References

  1. Frier, Bruce W. (1983). "Urban Praetors and Rural Violence: The Legal Background of Cicero's Pro Caecina". Transactions of the American Philological Association. 113: 221–241. doi:10.2307/284012. ISSN 0360-5949. JSTOR 284012.
  2. Frier, Bruce W., 1943- (1985). The rise of the Roman jurists : studies in Cicero's Pro Caecina. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-691-03578-4. OCLC 11399889.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Frier, Bruce W., 1943- (1985). The rise of the Roman jurists : studies in Cicero's Pro Caecina. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 133–4. ISBN 0-691-03578-4. OCLC 11399889.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
External links