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Selected Works (Cicero, Marcus Tullius)

Author Marcus Tullius Cicero
Introduction by Michael Grant
Translated by Michael Grant
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Paperback
$17.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
5.05"W x 7.77"H x 0.6"D   | 7 oz | 64 per carton
On sale Sep 30, 1960 | 272 Pages | 9780140440997
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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.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman orator and statesman, was born at Arpinum of a wealthy local family. He was taken to Rome for his education with the idea of a public career and by the year 70 he had established himself as the leading barrister in Rome. In the meantime his political career was well under way and he was elected praetor for the year 66. One of the most permanent features of his political life was his attachment to Pompeii. As a politician, his greatest failing was his consistent refusal to compromise; as a statesman his ideals were more honorable and unselfish than those of his contemporaries. Cicero was the greatest of the roman orators, posessing a wide range of technique and an excpetional command of the Latin tongue. He followed the common practice of publishing his speeches, but he also produced a large number of works on the theory and practice of rhetoric, on religion, and on moral and political philosophy. He played a leading part in the development of the Latin hexameter. Perhaps the most interesting of all his works is the collection fo 900 remarkably informative letters, published posthumously. These not only contain a first-hand account of social and political life in the upper classes at Rome, but also reflect the changing personal feelings of an emotional and sensitive man. View titles by Marcus Tullius Cicero
Introduction:
1. Cicero against Tyranny by Jerome
2. How to Live: Human Cooperation by Jerome
3. Cicero as Writer and Speaker: Translator's Problems by Jerome
4. The Fame of Cicero by Jerome

Part One: Against Tyranny
1. Attack on Misgovernment: Against Verres, I
2. Cicero's Life and Letters: Selection from his Correspondence
3. Attack on an Enemy of Freedom: The Second Philippic against Antony

Part Two: How to Live
4. A Practical Code of Behaviour: On Duties, III
5. Cato the Elder on Old Age: On Old Age
Appendixes
A. List of Surviving Works of Cicero
B. Genealogical Tables
C. Key to Technical Terms
D. Maps: The Roman Empire, 51 B.C.; Central Italy; Greece and West of Asia Minor; Plan of Rome
Index of Personal Names

About

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.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Author

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman orator and statesman, was born at Arpinum of a wealthy local family. He was taken to Rome for his education with the idea of a public career and by the year 70 he had established himself as the leading barrister in Rome. In the meantime his political career was well under way and he was elected praetor for the year 66. One of the most permanent features of his political life was his attachment to Pompeii. As a politician, his greatest failing was his consistent refusal to compromise; as a statesman his ideals were more honorable and unselfish than those of his contemporaries. Cicero was the greatest of the roman orators, posessing a wide range of technique and an excpetional command of the Latin tongue. He followed the common practice of publishing his speeches, but he also produced a large number of works on the theory and practice of rhetoric, on religion, and on moral and political philosophy. He played a leading part in the development of the Latin hexameter. Perhaps the most interesting of all his works is the collection fo 900 remarkably informative letters, published posthumously. These not only contain a first-hand account of social and political life in the upper classes at Rome, but also reflect the changing personal feelings of an emotional and sensitive man. View titles by Marcus Tullius Cicero

Table of Contents

Introduction:
1. Cicero against Tyranny by Jerome
2. How to Live: Human Cooperation by Jerome
3. Cicero as Writer and Speaker: Translator's Problems by Jerome
4. The Fame of Cicero by Jerome

Part One: Against Tyranny
1. Attack on Misgovernment: Against Verres, I
2. Cicero's Life and Letters: Selection from his Correspondence
3. Attack on an Enemy of Freedom: The Second Philippic against Antony

Part Two: How to Live
4. A Practical Code of Behaviour: On Duties, III
5. Cato the Elder on Old Age: On Old Age
Appendixes
A. List of Surviving Works of Cicero
B. Genealogical Tables
C. Key to Technical Terms
D. Maps: The Roman Empire, 51 B.C.; Central Italy; Greece and West of Asia Minor; Plan of Rome
Index of Personal Names

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