[Usyd_Classics_Events] CAH Seminar 10 August Paul Roche

[Tamara Neal]

Dear Friends of Classics and Ancient History,

We are delighted to invite you to the first presentation of Semester 2, 2026 in our Classics and Ancient History research seminar series.

10th August 2026 (Monday, 12.15pm UTC+11)

V. Gordon Childe Boardroom, Madsen Building Level 2.

Zoom link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/81493879684

Chair: Anne Rogerson



Professor Paul Roche: Gratian’s debt: reciprocity, privilege and rhetoric in Ausonius’ Gratiarum actio.

Abstract: My paper examines Ausonius’ consular Gratiarum actio (late 379). This was a speech made to the emperor Gratian in thanks for Ausonius’ consulship. I interpret the speech as  a skilful piece of self-fashioning, in which Ausonius presents himself as the beneficiary of an acknowledged debt owed to him by the emperor. Self-fashioning in the speech has drawn some scholarly attention, but its complexity and prominence have not been fully appreciated. Ausonius’ privileged position, the justification for his political advancement, and Gratian’s ‘debt’ to him, all result from his role as the emperor’s former tutor in rhetoric. Ausonius repeatedly raises the notion of Gratian’s debt to him for his education: by making reciprocity a programmatic theme of the speech, by quoting and dwelling upon the emperor’s words, and by interweaving the speech with financial and accounting imagery. Ausonius’ denial of this debt only serves to focus the audience’s attention upon it. A related matter is Ausonius’ demonstration of his close familiarity with Gratian: through his intimate manner of addressing the emperor, his possession of personal letters, his own recollections and his receipt of imperial gifts. A further related issue is Ausonius’ playing the role of rhetor throughout the speech: in this, he effectively reprises and demonstrates the skills for which Gratian honours him. This can be seen in Ausonius’ citation of literary texts; through his critique of both his own and Gratian’s language; and through his exposition of the emperor’s virtues by sententia. Ausonius thus takes full advantage of his consular thanksgiving to show the value of his former service and the emperor’s abiding appreciation and affection.

Biography: MA UQ PhD Otago, FAHA

Paul researches and writes on the Latin literature of the late republic and the Roman empire, mainly in the period from the first century BCE to the first century CE, but occasionally as late as the fifth century. Within this broader field, he has a number of research interests. His main body of work is a sequence of full-scale scholarly commentaries on Lucan’s brilliant poem Civil War (or De Bello Civili in Latin (book one (Oxford University Press 2009), book seven (Cambridge University Press 2019), currently book ten (contracted to Oxford University Press). He has also undertaken a number of studies on Pliny’s Panegyricus).



We look forward to seeing you there.

Tamara

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DR TAMARA NEAL FHEA | Senior Lecturer in Ancient Greek (Education Focused) | Academic Advisor | Accredited University-wide Peer Reviewer of Teaching
President Classical Association of NSW<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Oyo2CXLW2mUqYjr2ys6fL4hWitHs?domain=classics.org.au>
Classics & Ancient History | School of Humanities | Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
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