The Rhetorical Function of the Participle in Titus Livy (on the Material of Book XXI of ‘Ab Urbe condita’)

This article presents an analysis of the use of the Latin participle as a means of artistic expression and rhetorical embellishment of speech. Cicero begins to use rows of participles and participial constructions defining one word in speeches of “high” style and in letters with special stylistic treatment. It is demonstrated that Cicero uses chains of homogeneous participles when he seeks to evoke an emotional response from his audience and thus achieve greater persuasiveness. He uses this rhetorical device most often in particularly emotional speeches about himself or his opponents (such as Lucius Sergius Catilina and Lucius Calpurnius Pison). Titus Livius, a follower of Cicero in terms of rhetorical trimming of language, also introduces this device into the speeches of his characters, as can be traced in Book XXI of ‘Ab Urbe condita’, which contains four lengthy speeches. Three of them contain long chains of homogeneous participles. The main focus of this paper is to compare the use of participle groups in the speeches of Cicero and in the speeches of characters in Book XXI of Titus Livy’s ‘Ab Urbe condita’. It is demonstrated that the use in speeches of consecutive rows of participles in the same case defining the same word is a special rhetorical device, which is used in describing a person or a group of people.