Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Rhetoric Assignment

Using Cicero’s introductory defense of his right to defend Murena from the speech Pro Murena, and using the narrative of David and Saul from 1 Samuel, defend Jonathan’s right to support David against the following hypothetical accusations from the Court of Saul:

1)     Jonathan is wrong to support David because David is a traitor to the crown;
2)    Jonathan is wrong to support David even if David is not a traitor, because Jonathan owes loyalty to his father, Saul, over his friend, David; and
3)     Jonathan is wrong to support David because Jonathan should be supporting his own claim to follow Saul as King, and not David’s.
You should imitate Cicero’s attempts to maintain high ethos with his opponents; in other words, you want Jonathan to maintain a good reputation and good relations with the Court of Saul. You should also imitate Cicero’s argumentation insofar as it is analogous to the types of arguments Jonathan can make in response to the Court of Saul; for example, Cicero’s position as former Proconsul is somewhat analogous to Jonathan’s position as Crown Prince. Prior to the test you should read the narrative of David and Saul, beginning as far back as 1 Samuel 8 to get the context of Saul’s rise to Kingship. You should also read and make use of Cicero’s introductory remarks in Pro Murena. You may use your Bible and Pro Murena as you write your defense. You may speak as Jonathan himself, or as a counselor defending Jonathan. Use the following outline:

1.      Introduction
2.     Division of points
3.     Confirmation & Refutation
a.     “Some say that Jonathan is wrong to. . .” but to this I respond. . .
b.    “Some say that Jonathan is wrong to. . .” but to this I respond. . .
c.     “Some say that Jonathan is wrong to. . .” but to this I respond. . .
4.     Conclusion


You will be graded on your ability to imitate Cicero and your ability to answer the arguments using claims that are strong, relevant to the Biblical text, and analogous to Cicero’s defense of his right to defend Murena.

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