Born in 106 BC, Marcus Tullius Cicero was the member of a well connected and well to do family. His cognomen, a personal surname, is derived from the Latin word for chickpea. It is suggested that this name may have been chosen as a result of his family’s prosperity arising from the cultivation of chickpeas. His name suggests that despite being one the wealthiest men of his time he viewed himself he carried himself with humility. Educated in Latin and Greek, Cicero would rise to the highest ranks of Roman society, playing an important role as a Roman statesman in the final decades of the Roman Republic. Today he is remembered chiefly for his writings which give us great insight into both his time and his philosophy. Contained within this volume are some of his most important writings on oration, religion, and philosophy. Following the translations of C. D. Yonge, Walter Miller, and E. S. Shuckburgh, “Selected Works” will provide the student of ancient Rome a key insight into the life and time of one of its most important figures.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero. Selected Works
Against Verres: First Pleading
The Second Philippic Against Marcus Antonius
On Duties. INTRODUCTION
BOOK I. MORAL GOODNESS
BOOK II. EXPEDIENCY
BOOK III. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND THE EXPEDIENT
On Friendship
On Old Age
Selected Letters of Cicero. INTRODUCTORY NOTE
LETTERS
The Orator
A Dialogue Concerning Oratorical Partitions
The Treatise on the Best Style of Orators
The Treatise on Rhetorical Invention. BOOK I
BOOK II
The Treatise on Topics
The Nature of the Gods. BOOK I
BOOK II
BOOK III
The Tusculan Disputations. INTRODUCTION
BOOK I. ON THE CONTEMPT OF DEATH
BOOK II. ON BEARING PAIN
BOOK III. ON GRIEF OF MIND
BOOK IV. ON OTHER PERTURBATIONS OF THE MIND
BOOK V. WHETHER VIRTUE ALONE BE SUFFICIENT FOR A HAPPY LIFE
Отрывок из книги
SELECTED WORKS
By MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
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Not to mention other instances, did not arms yield to the toga, when I was at the helm of state? For never was the republic in more serious peril, never was peace more profound. Thus, as the result of my counsels and my vigilance, their weapons slipped suddenly from the hands of the most desperate traitors—dropped to the ground of their own accord! What achievement in war, then, was ever so great? What triumph can be compared with that? For I may boast to you, my son Marcus; for to you belong the inheritance of that glory of mine and the duty of imitating my deeds. And it was to me, too, that Gnaeus Pompey, a hero crowned with the honour of war, paid this tribute in the hearing of many, when he said that his third triumph would have been gained in vain, if he were not to have through my services to the state a place in which to celebrate it.
There are, therefore, instances of civic courage that are not inferior to the courage of the soldier. Nay, the former calls for even greater energy and greater devotion than the latter.
