Ab impetu ad rationem redit (Quint. Inst. 6.1.29): Mapping Ancient Emotions onto the Roman Judge

The present paper deals with the rhetorical use of adfectus in the preparation of judicial decisions under the High Roman Empire. It proposes a new conceptual framework for understanding the emotional evaluations that the rhetorical education and Roman law were prepared to endorse on the part of the impassible judge. It seeks to explore the appeal to emotions as an argumentative strategy and oratorical performance that consists in transforming the judge's mind in such a way as to elicit rational and affective responses, which could guide him towards better decisions. Taking Quintilian's theory on the subject as its starting point, it explores broader philosophical and legal perspectives, converging around the idea that the judge's emotions were interactive forms of rational and moral judgment.