Explanation: In Ancient Rome, the personal WAS political! Ancient Roman politicians not only thought little of casting personal attacks against their opponents, but regarded as normal and effective to bring their opponent’s personal lives, real or perceived, into question as a substitute for policy debate. Caesar was memorably called “Every woman’s man, and every man’s woman” by a political foe, while Cicero accused Mark Antony of ‘belonging’ to a politician “as surely as though he had put [Mark Antony] in a wedding dress”. A real rhetorical free for all!
Reminds me of that one time Cicero had a dispute with a political rival, who kept asking him “who’s your father?” because Cicero was not of noble birth. Cicero simply answered “In your case, your mother has made it difficult to answer such a question”.
absolutely barbaric LOL
I remember that incident! Also a great example!
While a great comeback, it’s insane how far Cicero went to try to ingratiate himself with conservatives who fucking hated him for being a novus homo.
