Sme li govornik da iskaže bes i prezir?
Is the speaker allowed to express anger and contempt?

Summary/Abstract: In antiquity an orator’s characterization of someone’s behavior and actions was expected to be in terms of virtues and vices. The aim of this study is to investigate Cicero’s portrait of Clodius in the Pro Sestio, within the framework of categories such as ‘type’ and ‘individual’. In this speech the moralizing is centered on the main ‘bad’ figure, Clodius. Despite all the rhetoric, Cicero escaped the danger of reducing Clodius’ character to a crude concatenation of virtues and vices. Cicero’s portrait of Clodius also shows some of Clodius’ rich individuality. In Clodius’ character the orator combines traits which group naturally, without furnishing any paradoxical combinations; however, the portrait of Clodius could not be regarded as a ‘type’. On the other hand, in this speech the figure of Clodius is not idiosyncratic either. Cicero’s portrait of Clodius shows a limited measure of individuality, which fundamentally belies the natural expectations of the audience.

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