In Satire VI and In Catilinam I and II, Juvenal and Cicero both attack the personal conduct of their enemies to construct a Roman identity while appealing to "Roman values". Their projects are in fact very similar; both raise questions of class, expressing fear of the way wealth and luxury are changing traditional values. Yet while Juvenal predominantly uses explicit ad hominem attacks and misogyny throughout his satire, Cicero's two orations demonstrate a slightly more complex range of identity-building tactics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe logic that Juvenal follows in his satire is perhaps crystallized in his analysis of the relationship between wealth and morality: "dirty profit was what first brought among us a dissolute foreign morality, an effeminate wealth that with vile self-indulgence destroyed us over the years » (l. 298-300). The language used in this passage recalls and anticipates themes that it develops throughout the satire. still on earth" (l. 1-2)) on the assumption that there was once a golden age of customs that was supplanted by corruption. This assumption is necessary if we want to say that wealth (or anything else , after all) "first brought a foreign morality among us", since one could not distinguish a precise moment in which immorality took hold if there were no moral age to compare. importance of Juvenal's first sentence as the premise on which much of his argument is based. Furthermore, Juvenal appeals to Roman national identity in describing "dissolute morality" as "foreign", implying that if Rome were true to its traditional values, immorality would not be so rampant. This choice of words helps to subtly reinforce the audience's identification with traditional Roman values, positioning anyone who considers themselves a true Roman on the side of morality. Invoking foreignness is a tactic that initiates a cyclical process of identity construction whereby Juvenal appeals to Roman identity while simultaneously defining it. In Catiline's First Oration, Cicero seems to construct Roman identity in a somewhat similar way. "There is not a single person here outside of that conspiracy of ruined men who does not fear you, no one who does not hate you" (p. 47), he says, addressing Catiline in front of the Senate. Cicero here creates a binary opposition between Catiline's conspirators and all the other senators. Like Juvenal, who pits “true” Roman values ​​against the corrupt morality of his time, Cicero leaves no room in his platform for those who might disagree with his accusations; in Cicero's logic, if one is an honest senator, he must fear and hate Catiline, just as for Juvenal, if one has true Roman values, he will be critical of the immorality of the contemporary period. Juvenal further builds his version of The Roman Identity in defining corrupting wealth as “effeminate.” This description positions morality on the side of masculinity, underscoring the "moralist as misogynist" theme that runs throughout the satire. The text is in fact steeped in misogyny: Juvenal advocates suicide or homosexuality over marriage to a woman and details the immorality to which women are prone, including the detail of their sexual indiscretions. By using the word "effeminate" in this passage, however, Juvenal makes explicit a cyclical association between women and corruption:women are not only perverted by wealth, it seems, but also somehow inextricably associated with that contaminating force. This association therefore positions women, along with wealth, on the anti-Roman side of the binary, and Roman identity is linked to normative male identity as well as traditional values. Juvenal returns to this theme repeatedly in his text, characterizing women as immoral through the description of their alleged deviance and sexual impropriety. His account of the feast of the Bona Dea exemplifies Juvenal's positioning of women on the side of immorality: "...if they cannot even track down [the water carrier], and men are in short supply, [women] they are ready and willing to get down on all fours and prepare their dish for a donkey. I wish our ancient rituals (at least in their public observances) were not touched by such wickedness (334-7). Juvenal's bestiality demonstrates the unbridled lust of his female characters; they are so wanton and reckless that they are even willing to have sex with animals to satisfy their desires. This lack of self-control is an example of the "vile self-indulgence" that Juvenal says the wealth and luxury favored among the Roman people. Furthermore, his exclamation following the description of the immoral behavior of women ("if our ancient rituals...") reinforces the opposition between corruption and traditional Roman values. He explicitly appeals to a common Roman identity by referring to “our ancient rituals,” reminding his audience that they should identify with his critique of luxury, that they should conceive of themselves as belonging to the moral, prudent, and masculine side of the binary. Yet his personal attacks on these women and their life choices have nothing to do with the behavior of real Roman women; the women are simply characters that Juvenal constructs to appeal to and define Roman identity. It is through these overt attacks that he defends traditional Roman values. Cicero's first oration, by contrast, is significantly more reserved than Juvenal's satire in its use of ad hominem attacks and misogyny; in fact, he explicitly refuses to attack Catiline for personal reasons: «I leave aside the total ruin of your fortune that you will feel looming over you in the next Ides; I come to the events that do not concern the misfortune that fell upon you. with the scandals of your private life or with the poverty and shame of your family, but with the supreme interests of the State and the lives and security of us all" (p. 47). Here Cicero positions himself as interested in law and the well-being of the State rather than with petty personal attacks, and with this attitude he seems to distance himself from Juvenal's tactics. While Juvenal goes into detail about people's deviant sexual behavior, Cicero states that he renounces these types of attacks out of respect for the State. This statement appears to have been a wise move for Cicero when speaking before the Senate, as the senators would have been more likely to condemn Catiline for criminal behavior and conspiracy against the state than for lifestyle choices; However, this refusal to make ad hominem attacks is a rhetorical strategy, and Cicero in fact prefaces the refusal with several such attacks: "What mark of family scandal is not imprinted on your bodily life?" [...] Which young man whom you had ensnared with the flattery of your seduction did you not provide a weapon for his crime or a torch for his passion? Or again, shortly after you had made room for a new bride? by killing your ex-wife, you did not combine this act with.