The life of Marcus Fabius Qintilianus followed closely with the interesting events during the second half of the first century, a troubled time for the Roman Empire.

"No one can be a perfect orator who does not both understand the language of honour and have the courage to use it"

- Quintilian

Rome during the first century A.D. was quite a chaotic place in which to exist. While the first half of the century saw the rise and fall of only four Emperors (making their average reigns more than ten years, which is actually quite remarkable) – Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius – the empire was truly never at peace.

Rulers in Rome had always had a tendency to die off rather frequently and often violently ever since the highest points of the Roman Republic, whether killed by a man desiring to become the successor (as may have been the case with Claudius, being killed by order of Caligula), or assassinated by his own police force (as happened to Caligula and Julius Caesar before him), or even killed by way of poison (also Claudius). Peaceful successions were even less common in ancient Rome than they are today.

Quintilian Comes to Rome

After the death of Claudius, a new emperor, the infamous Nero rose to power in Rome, where he would reign for a remarkable fourteen years. And it is during this period, sometime around A.D. 50, that Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (from here on referred to by the English translation of his name - Quintilian) first arrived in Rome to study the subject of the famed Roman orator Domitius Afer (who later died, according to the historian Jerome, of massive over-indulgence of food), and to follow in the footsteps of such famed orators as the great Cicero.

Quintilian studied the art of rhetoric and oratory for more than ten years during the rule of Nero, until A.D. 68 when, having finished his studies in Rome, returned to his home in Spain in order to practice law in the courts of his hometown.

Rome During the Civil War

While Quintilian was away from Rome, the emperor (a cruel, sadistic madman in many respects, but a genius in others) committed suicide and the Roman Empire was thrown into turmoil as it entered into the worst succession crisis yet. Eventually, the throne was given to Galba, who called Quintilian back to Rome, in hopes that he would serve as an advisor. His two titles under Galba were “Pleader” (lawyer) and “Teacher of Eloquence,”

Fortunately for Quintilian, he never got too close to Galba, who was assassinated less than a year after taking the throne, in June of A.D. 69, thus beginning what will forever be known as 'The Year of Four Emperors' and a great Roman Civil War (one of many – there had been more than a dozen already prior to this time throughout this history of the Republic and Empire).

The Quintilian School

The fact that Quintilian had no real affiliation with Galba helped keep him alive after the Emperor’s death (as he might have been executed as well, as had many who held close ties to the fallen Emperor). It was during this year, when Emperors Otho (reign: 3 months – cause of death: suicide), Vitellius (reign: 3 months – cause of death: assassination by the forces of Vespasian), and then finally Vespasian, whose reign would last almost ten years, that Quintilian left politics and started his own school on rhetoric amidst the Roman chaos.

It is this school, and the writings he performed while there, that would become Quintilian’s greatest legacy. He became the teacher to such legendary students as Pliny the Younger and Tacitus before being named a consul to Vespasian, which allowed him more monetary resources to devote to the school, from which he finally retired in A.D. 88, during the reign of Domitian (son of Vespasian). In retirement, Quintilian became the author of some important works of Roman rhetoric and transcripts of his orations, which are studied to this day.

Lessons from Quintilian

Now, this period of Roman history can be admittedly rather confusing, as all of these names and dates tend to blend together. In addition, one might make the mistake of confusing Quintilian with the similarly-named number (a quintillion with two l’s is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 – a one with eighteen zeros).

But there is a point to all of this, and that is the following:

Human accomplishment can thrive even under the most inhospitable conditions. Quintilian found success, and quite a legacy of achievement, despite living in one of the most chaotic cities at one of the most chaotic times the world has ever seen. He survived six emperors and countless wars and battles fought practically on his doorstep.

There is something inspirational about the story of Quintilian.

References:

“Quintilian’s Institutes of Oratory.”

Quintilian. “Institutio Oratoria.” A.D. 95.