Greek philosophy, Roman conquest

Upon reading Cicero's de Oratio, I recognized several factors to it comparable to  those found in Aristotle's work Gorgias. I found myself favoring this text and analyzing it the exact same way I had done with the other. As I did so however, I recognized that there were a number of distinct separations between the two. This blog post will show you just how identical, yet separate the two cultures are, at least from a literary point.

In his work, the author mentions multiple times several famous Greek Philosophers through his characters, which he does through his personified versions of the politicians and generals of the Roman republic. Using these as his characters shows us that even before it truly became an empire, the Romans knowledge of Greek Culture was impressive. However, these same people who quote and tie in the sophists and socratics discuss them in other ways and forms that the philosophers themselves were likely to. To sample a quote, here is an excerpt from the argument between Crassus and Scaevola:

"A statesman is expected to know political theory; the orator must go further, and give spirit to these theories. The perfect orator, again, is one who can speak copiously and with variety on all subjects." (Cicero, 168)

If these two were Greek, this statement would automatically be aligned with the sophists. I mean, he is talking after all about oral rhetoric done merely for persuasion. That fits Gorgias perfectly, right? But look a little more closely on that statement. Crassus explicitly states that an orator must know the subject with which he means to persuade, wheras Gorgias and the other sophists proudly preached that they need not know a topic in order to defend it with their rhetorical powers. There is a deep cunning to Crassus's logic. It is the mark of the Roman mindset. Clever, yet crafty and powerful. He recognizes that it is a fool's error to go blatantly into rhetoric combat, unaware of what lies before him. He is instead a tactician, preparing and planning exactly what is needed in order for him to succeed.

Another politician, Antonius also later mentions that he focuses on exciting his listeners, showing the transitive shift from emphasis on insight and reflection to the Roman focus on delivery and entertainment. These and more show the change that the world has taken from the calm and airy ways of Greek philosophy to the hard, calclulating and down to earth ideals of the Romans.