Cicerone cambia opinione? Ad familiares 7.21 e l'apparente ripensamento dei Topica

It was probably late in the spring of the year 44 BC when Cicero wrote to his friend Trebatius Testa a commendotary letter adressed to Publius Silius (ad fam. 7.21). The writing of the short work topica, inspired by Trebatius himself, is to be placed in the same year: however these sources, which are almost contemporary, seem to contain two of the rhetor’s views of the same theme (a woman’s testamenti factio) which prima facie appear to be totally antithetic: nevertheless the apparent contrast probably arises from causes both of juridical and political nature, which are dealt with in this work.