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Cicero: Selected Works by Marcus Tullius Cicero (Author), Michael Grant (Translator, Introduction)
'Cicero: Selected Works'
By Marcus Tullius Cicero (Author), Michael Grant (Translator, Introduction)
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Description:
Collecting the most incisive and influential writings of one of Rome's finest orators, Cicero's Selected Works is translated with an introduction by Michael Grant in Penguin Classics. Lawyer, philosopher, statesman and defender of Rome's Republic, Cicero was a master of eloquence, and his pure literary and oratorical style and strict sense of morality have been a powerful influence on European literature and thought for over two thousand years in matters of politics, philosophy, and faith. This selection demonstrates the diversity of his writings, and includes letters to friends and statesmen on Roman life and politics; the vitriolic Second Philippic Against Antony; and his two most famous philosophical treatises, On Duties and On Old Age - a celebration of his own declining years. Written at a time of brutal political and social change, Cicero's lucid ethical writings formed the foundation of the Western liberal tradition in political and moral thought that continues to this day. This translation by Michael Grant conveys the elegance of Cicero's writings. His introduction describes their social and political background, while maps, genealogical charts, timelines and a glossary place the works in context. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman orator and statesman, was born at Arpinium to a wealthy local family. Having been educated in Rome, by 70 BC he had established himself as a leading barrister and was beginning a successful political career. Cicero received honours usually reserved only for the Roman aristocracy and was one of the greatest Roman orators. If you enjoyed Selected Works, you might like Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, also available in Penguin Classics.
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By Marcus Tullius Cicero (Author), Michael Grant (Translator, Introduction)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
Collecting the most incisive and influential writings of one of Rome's finest orators, Cicero's Selected Works is translated with an introduction by Michael Grant in Penguin Classics. Lawyer, philosopher, statesman and defender of Rome's Republic, Cicero was a master of eloquence, and his pure literary and oratorical style and strict sense of morality have been a powerful influence on European literature and thought for over two thousand years in matters of politics, philosophy, and faith. This selection demonstrates the diversity of his writings, and includes letters to friends and statesmen on Roman life and politics; the vitriolic Second Philippic Against Antony; and his two most famous philosophical treatises, On Duties and On Old Age - a celebration of his own declining years. Written at a time of brutal political and social change, Cicero's lucid ethical writings formed the foundation of the Western liberal tradition in political and moral thought that continues to this day. This translation by Michael Grant conveys the elegance of Cicero's writings. His introduction describes their social and political background, while maps, genealogical charts, timelines and a glossary place the works in context. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman orator and statesman, was born at Arpinium to a wealthy local family. Having been educated in Rome, by 70 BC he had established himself as a leading barrister and was beginning a successful political career. Cicero received honours usually reserved only for the Roman aristocracy and was one of the greatest Roman orators. If you enjoyed Selected Works, you might like Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, also available in Penguin Classics.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero (/ˈsɪsᵻroʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈmaːr.kʊs ˈtʊl.li.ʊs ˈkɪ.kɛ.roː]; Greek: Κικέρων, Kikerōn; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and was one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
His influence on the Latin language was so immense that the subsequent history of prose in not only Latin but European languages up to the 19th century was said to be either a reaction against or a return to his style. According to Michael Grant, "the influence of Cicero upon the history of European literature and ideas greatly exceeds that of any other prose writer in any language". Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as evidentia, humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia) distinguishing himself as a linguist, translator, and philosopher.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs, humanism, and classical Roman culture. According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, "Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the 18th-century Enlightenment, and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, David Hume, and Montesquieu was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in European culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.
Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero suppressed the revolt by executing five conspirators without due process. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Gaius Julius Caesar, Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican government. Following Julius Caesar's death Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate and consequently executed by soldiers operating on their behalf in 43 BC after having been intercepted during attempted flight from the Italian peninsula. His severed hands and head were then, as a final revenge of Mark Antony, displayed in the Roman Forum.
Note: 'Great Books of the Western World' recommends Cicero's complete works especially 'On Old Age' and 'On Duties'.
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