How to Understand Cicero’s Idea of loci in his Topica

Abstract

There are not many studies examining the particular meaning of the Topica and loci of Cicero. Most studies deal with them in connection with Aristotle’s Topica, with the implication that it is most important to examine the influence of Aristotle’s Topica on the Topica of Cicero and to explore the differences between them. But it is highly unlikely that he would not evolve his thoughts while translating, studying, and writing so large a number of books. And over so long a period of lifetime for writing works, it was more likely that Cicero would discover a different meaning of topos from that of Aristotle. Besides, the concept of locus, which appears so often in other works of Cicero, is too momentous to regard as just an imitation of Aristotle’s topos. Especially in Topica, Cicero seems to want to show the different meaning of topos from Aristotle’s. Above all, we can see that point as illustrated through the examples given in each chapter. The first example, which is from the definition of civil law (ius civile), is presented in paragraph 9, from where a full-scale discussion of loci starts. As Cicero began to present his loci, he would have kept an idea like this in mind. That is, the loci start with the definition, and the civil law provides the first demonstration of the legal process. The next example is about a freeman. Fundamentally, the legal person in Roman law was a freeman (liber). Accordingly, when arguing about some act in the civil law, the subject of the act must be a freeman. Therefore it is only natural that a freeman is mentioned after the definition of the civil law. Within the boundaries of the civil law and the freeman, like this, we may use various kinds of legal example based on the civil law. After that, Cicero gives a good many legal examples. With these examples, perhaps, he wants to show that if one uses the system of general loci, it is possible that new legal sentences, though which are not yet described as actual legal sentences, have the same power as actual legal sentences. In addition, he also presents that legal sentences can increase their own extent gradually. Besides, Cicero gives loci and legal examples together, showing locus first and quaestio afterwards. That is to say, he describes an example sentence as a locus for the answer to a propositum before the discussion of quaestio. With this, he provides an opportunity for orators to make their arguments extensive. That is, Cicero is used to show a legal sentence which would be a premise, afterward to present a new sentence which is derived from the premise. Besides he would make an effort to make the base of loci used in quaestio, especially propositum, solid and firm, by demonstrating that quaestio were established on the foundation of loci. By presenting different types of quaestio after the description of loci, Cicero grants a significant implication to the system of loci. In De inventione, Partitiones Oratoriae et cetera, Cicero dealt with the loci in the aspect of Stasis-doctrine, but in this Topica, he designs the upper leveled loci in which loci in Stasis-doctrine is also involved. That is, even though Cicero has enumerated so many kinds of locus, another system of loci, of a lower level, or of a different aspect, may come up because locus could be a place for the invention of an argument, a topic, a subject-matter indicator, an argument scheme, or a ready-made argument. So to say, Cicero tried to mix those functions to create one system. Therefore, depending on where the loci which form an independent system are used, necessary parts of the system are applied to proper places. In the process of illustrating loci through legal examples, Cicero revealed that the legal examples – naturally, most of them are short sentences - can act as loci communes, or ready-made arguments. In cases like this, the legal examples come to act not only as examples, but as provisions of the law. In Topica, Cicero intends to explain what is meant by loci. Such an intention is shown not only in the earlier sections, but also after paragraph 80, where the topic does not seem to be directly connected with loci. This may show that Cicero seems to think that not only the classification of loci but also the division of quaestio relate to the development of arguments. Cicero did not simply deliver the topos of Aristotle to Trebatius, but redefined the system of loci, which he had learned previously, and intended to apply to civil law. Through this redefinition perhaps he wanted to say that not only could loci serve in an argument, in an abstract system like Aristotle’s, but they could also be utilized as a locus and furthermore, even his own Topica could also act as a locus for legal arguments.