Resumen de It's what you don't say: Omissio in Cicero's speeches
The rhetorical strategy omissio is used frequently by Cicero to make points which, for various reasons, the orator states that he is omitting from his speech. Of the forms omissio may take reticentia is perhaps the most “respectable” in that the speaker actually fulfills his stated intention to omit with a remark such as “His character is known to all; I will not discuss it here.” A more interesting form of omissio is occultatio, the device which enables the speaker to actually introduce assertions under pretext of leaving them out, with a prejudicial “omitting” statement such as “I will not discuss his past immoralities; the present case is sufficient.” The points Cicero brings out under occultatio are technically irrefutable because they are “left out” of the direct argument. The reasons Cicero gives (and does not give) for his “omissions” and the types, frequency, and significance of the strategy of omissio are examined in the article.
