Pro Ligario is a political speech made by Marcus Tullius Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

 in 46 BC

46 BC

Year 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lepidus . The denomination 46 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe...

 in defense of Quintus Ligarius

Quintus Ligarius

Quintus Ligarius was a Roman soldier, circa 50 BC. He was accused of treason for having opposed Julius Caesar in a war in Africa, but was defended so eloquently by Cicero that he was pardoned and allowed to return to Rome. He later conspired with Brutus in the assassination of Julius Caesar.-In...

 before Gaius Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

.

In this speech Cicero defends Ligarius, who is accused of crimes in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Ligarius' accuser is Tubero

Quintus Aelius Tubero

Quintus Aelius Tubero was a Roman consul in 11 BC. He was most likely the father of Sextus Aelius Catus, who was himself consul in 4 AD. His granddaughter was Aelia Paetina, who married future Emperor Claudius in 28. Her adopted brother was Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the Praetorian Prefect who was...

, who has himself committed crimes in Africa. Cicero attempts to use Tubero's behavior to mitigate the charges Ligarius faces. Cicero also uses captatio benevolentia, a rhetoric

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

al technique which flatters the audience (Caesar, in this case). Pro Ligario differs from Cicero's other speeches in that the refutatio and peroratio are very short.