1/21/2019 www.casa-kvsa.org.za/ScholiaUpdate/2005/05-47sch.htm http://www.casa-kvsa.org.za/ScholiaUpdate/2005/05-47sch.htm 1/3 Scholia Reviews ns 14 (2005) 47. M. Schneider Cicero 'Haruspex': Political Prognostication and the Viscera of a Deceased Body Politic. Gorgias Dissertations 10: Classics 2. Piscataway, New Jersey, Gorgias Press 2004. Pp. xii + 252. ISBN 1- 593333-094-4. US$65.00. Alex Nice University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa/Reed College, USA The aim of the Gorgias Dissertations series is to disseminate outstanding doctoral dissertations in paperback and eBook formats. This presentable volume -- neither paperback nor eBook -- is a reworking of the author's D.Litt. from the University of Stellenbosch. The thesis argues that the increasing frequency of prophetic vocabulary in Cicero's correspondence from 49 BC until his death in 43 BC is suggestive of an awareness in Cicero of his own prognostic ability (p. 205). At the heart of the dissertation is the claim that the concept of haruspex can be used metaphorically 'to epitomise Cicero's role as a close examiner of the vicissitudes of the res publica' (p. 9). Almost half of this work is devoted to introductory material. Here are the standard features one would expect of a thesis: the scope of the work (Chapter 1, 'Introduction', pp. 3-16), overview of scholarship (Chapter 2, pp. 17-30), the nature of the evidence (Chapter 4, pp. 37-44), the general philosophical and historical background to the first century BC (Chapter 3 'Historical Overview' pp. 31-36, and Chapter 5 'Philosophy and politics' pp. 45-58), and relevant historiographical and philosophical concepts (Chapter 6 'The Roman concept of decline' pp. 59-72, and Chapter 7 'Theory and practice vs practice and theory' pp. 73-82). In these sections Schneider argues that, in his philosophical works the De Republica especially, Cicero attempts to bridge a traditional divide between philosophy and Roman politics. This theoretical standpoint is the springboard for the central discussion and the examination of Cicero's theories through his correspondence from 51 BC onwards. The central discussion (Chapters 8 to 10, pp. 83-170) contains much of merit. Here the thesis is at its strongest. The discussion is thorough, at times engaging and lively, with some sharp insights. The section begins with Cicero's governorship in Cilicia (Chapter 8, pp. 85-104). The particular focus here is on Cicero's correspondence with Caelius, which enables Cicero to keep abreast of events in Rome. During this period, it is argued, Cicero stops speculating about the political situation at Rome and begins to analyse affairs objectively -- indeed to predict, much as Caelius already had, the forthcoming civil war. Chapter 9 'Close Encounters' (pp. 105-50) examines Cicero's disintegrating relationship with Pompey (pp. 105-25) and his adaptation to Caesar's régime (pp. 126-50). Schneider argues that Cicero, with philosophical detachment, draws connections between the past and present political situation and it is this which allows him with clarity to present himself in his final years as 'a moralist with a political agenda' (p. 150). Finally, with the death of Caesar, (Chapter 10 'And so the end draws near' pp. 151-70), Schneider sees Cicero predicting civil war anew and being unable to reconcile his theorising about politics with the practical direction that politics at Rome was taking in 44-43 BC. Section III 'Exitus' (pp. 171-209) is, in essence, a lengthy conclusion. Schneider argues that Cicero's ability to interpret the present political circumstances in the light of the past has enabled the statesman to interpret the future. In 43 BC Cicero stops resisting the inevitable political changes and increasingly refers to the destruction of the res publica. His late period is imbued with words that denote sickness, death, and decay. Ultimately, Schneider suggests, Cicero himself is a haruspical victim; his head, hands, and tongue evidence of his own prophetic ability (p. 209). So much then for the basic outline and premises of the work. It is unfortunate that the underlying metaphor -- 'Cicero haruspex', first introduced at pp. 9-14, is flawed. There appears to be precious little evidence that Cicero views the res publica in the manner of a haruspex inspecting the entrails. He rarely (despite the author's claim, p. 11 n. 17) refers to the haruspices in a political context and, as the author herself notes, 'Cicero never refers directly to himself as 'haruspex' (p. 14). It is not clear how the image of burnt corpses in Cicero (p. 13) is relevant, even to a metaphorical analysis of the carcass of the Republic. Nor is it obvious how the comparison of Cicero to the legendary Greek prophet Amphiaraus is germane to the metaphor (pp. 163f.). When Cicero makes a 'true' prophecy he does so in the style of the Pythia (p. 182). The extent to