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Analysis examines Cicero's use of repentinus and its implications compared to later authors.
Cicero’s use of the adjective repentinus at Brut . 242 ( C. L. Caepasii fratres … ignoti homines et repentini ) has a singularly negative and offensive meaning. Both Tertullian ( Adu. Marc. 4.7.7) and Ammianus Marcellinus (14.6.13, 21.16.3) echo Cicero, employing the same adjective in conjunction with ignotus or with its synonym incognitus , albeit without the same negative and defaming nuance.
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Nicoletta Bruno (2026) studied this question.
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