...The imperial age of Rome begins with the death of Augustus and continues arguably until the fall of the western empire. The speeches of Seneca the Elder in Controversies attempt to argue both sides of a complicated legal question, often citing the opinions of famous rhetoricians...

.... The best evidence for declamation comes from the first and early second centuries ad. The chapter considers especially the evidence left by two great literary figures of the early empire. Seneca the Elder left a record of the virtuoso treatments of professional teachers and (higher-status...