Methodology

Repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses (the "Quo usque tandem…" style buildup).

"Nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas quod ego non modo non audiam, sed etiam non videam."

"You do nothing, you plot nothing, you think nothing which I do not hear, indeed see."

Repetition at the end of successive clauses — the mirror of anaphora.

"…poenas rei publicae graves, graves civibus, graves sociis."

"…penalties heavy upon the republic, heavy upon the citizens, heavy upon the allies."

Doubling a word for emotional emphasis.

"Vivit? immo vero etiam in senatum venit."

"He lives? — yes, more than that, he even comes into the senate."

Piling up near-synonyms to amplify a point — very Ciceronian (he rarely uses one word when three will do).

"Abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit."

"He has departed, withdrawn, escaped, broken away."

A series of three parallel members, often climactic.

"Veni, vidi, vici."

"I came, I saw, I conquered."

Constantly positioning the speaker as the reasonable, patriotic Roman against his opponents.

"Ego consul video; ego provideo; ego denique hoc senatus consulto…"

"I as consul see it; I foresee it; I, finally, by this decree of the senate…"

"I won't even mention…" — then mentioning it anyway.

"Non dicam te peculatum fecisse, non aerarium expilasse…"

"I will not say that you embezzled, that you plundered the treasury…"

Rhetorical question used to implicate the audience or corner an opponent.

"Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?"

"How long, Catiline, will you abuse our patience?"

Transfer of a word from its proper sense to an analogous one.

"Patria est communis omnium nostrum parens."

"The fatherland is the common parent of us all."

Rhythmic prose endings (cursus planus, velox, tardus) — Cicero was meticulous about cadence.

"esse videátur."

"…would seem to be. (the canonical cursus velox close)"

Inverted parallel structure (A-B / B-A).

"Non ut edam vivo, sed ut vivam edo."

"I do not live that I may eat, but eat that I may live."

Dramatic exaggeration, especially in the Verrine Orations and the Philippics.

"Os, oculos, vultum denique totum…"

"His mouth, his eyes, his whole face…"

Striking departure from normal word order for emphasis.

"Magna di curant, parva neglegunt."

"The great things the gods care for; the small they neglect."

A suspended sentence whose meaning lands only at its close.

"Si, quemadmodum saepe iam dictum est, omnia honesta…"

"If, as has often been said, all honorable things…"

Omission of conjunctions to accelerate and intensify.

"Abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit."

"He left, withdrew, escaped, burst forth."

Deliberate repetition of conjunctions for weight and accumulation.

"Et te et patriam et fortunas tuas perdere conatus es."

"You sought to ruin yourself and your country and your fortunes."

Building up the gravity of a situation for emotional effect.

"Quanta vis, quanta gravitas, quanta dignitas…"

"How great the force, how great the weight, how great the dignity…"

Suddenly addressing an absent person or abstract concept for dramatic effect (e.g. addressing the res publica directly).

"O di immortales! ubinam gentium sumus?"

"O immortal gods! where on earth are we?"

An emotionally charged outcry breaking from the argument.

"O tempora, o mores!"

"O the times! O the customs!"

Breaking off mid-sentence, leaving the threat or thought unfinished.

"Quos ego—! sed motos praestat componere fluctus."

"Whom I—! but better to calm the troubled waves."

Step-by-step ascent in which each clause builds upon the last.

"Africano industria virtutem, virtus gloriam, gloria aemulos comparavit."

"Industry gave Africanus virtue, virtue glory, glory rivals."