Pliny, Panegyricus [Panegyric]

Bruce Gibson (University of Liverpool)
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Pliny’s

Panegyric

is the written version of the speech which Pliny gave in the senate on the occasion of his consulship, which he assumed on 1 September AD 100. The speech is crucial not only as a very rare surviving example of oratory from the early empire, but also for its negotiation of imperial ideology and the relationship between emperor, senate and people (see further Rees 2001, Seelentag 2004).

The text of the speech which survives is not a verbatim transcription of the utterance which Pliny delivered in the senate as consul. Certainly, oral delivery of a speech of such great length (which might be seen as a strategic feature of the text we have, and which will be discussed below) would place unusual demands on both the speaker and the audience. But it is also important to

2284 words

Citation: Gibson , Bruce. "Panegyricus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 June 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35608, accessed 22 November 2024.]

35608 Panegyricus 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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