“Figured Speech” in Seneca the Elder: A Glimpse of Ovid’s Rhetorical Education

Abstract:By “figured speech,” ancient rhetoricians meant the cases in which an orator resorted to ruse to disguise his intentions. Among the theoretical texts we possess on this technique, the significance of Seneca the Elder’s Controversiae and Suasoriae has not been sufficiently recognized. Seneca reveals his acquaintance with figured speech through a rich vocabulary and interesting observations. Thanks to the Controversiae and Suasoriae, we can catch a glimpse of a particular aspect of Ovid’s rhetorical education, since Ovid frequented the circles in which figured declamation was fashionable, and his master and Seneca’s best friend Porcius Latro was an expert in the field. Thus the notion of figured speech opens an avenue of research into the interpretation of Ovidian poetry.