Michael Lu

  

Volume 8 | Issue II | June 2024

Groton School ’24 | Massachusetts, USA

Stanford University ’28

  

Upon first translating Cicero’s first Catilinarian in a Latin class three years ago, I was immediately struck by the forcefulness of his language and the narrative that he spun against his rival Cataline. After taking that class, I knew I wanted to better understand how rhetoric could be used in a political context, especially in light of the fall of the late Roman Republic. Last summer, I had the opportunity to write a research paper on the evolution of the Latin language and the use of rhetoric by politicians like Cicero and Caesar. By reading both ancient sources and modern literature on the significant role of rhetoric in the politics of ancient Rome, I was able to write a 5000-word paper on Cicero’s Rhodian style of oration and Caesar’s literary strategy in De Bello Gallico. The journey from first creating my rough outline to my final paper took months. The editing process with The Schola also taught me about content organization and objective examination of my views and arguments. In addition to Latin and ancient Roman history, I’m interested in physics and archaeology and write and edit for both the school newspaper and literary magazine. Outside academics, I play tennis in the spring and run cross-country in the fall.