How to Tell a Joke, Marcus Tullis Ciccero
How to Tell a Joke, Marcus Tullis Ciccero
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How to Tell a Joke
An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor

Author: Marcus Tullis Ciccero, Michael Fontaine

Narrator: Roger Clark

Unabridged: 2 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/30/2021


Synopsis

Can jokes win a hostile room, a hopeless argument, or even an election? You bet they can, according to Cicero, and he knew what he was talking about. One of Rome's greatest politicians, speakers, and lawyers, Cicero was also reputedly one of antiquity's funniest people. After he was elected commander-in-chief and head of state, his enemies even started calling him "the stand-up Consul." How to Tell a Joke provides a lively new translation of Cicero's essential writing on humor alongside that of the later Roman orator and educator Quintilian. The result is a timeless practical guide to how a well-timed joke can win over any audience.

As powerful as jokes can be, they are also hugely risky. The line between a witty joke and an offensive one isn't always clear. Cross it and you'll look like a clown, or worse. Here, Cicero and Quintilian explore every aspect of telling jokes—while avoiding costly mistakes. Presenting the sections on humor in Cicero's On the Ideal Orator and Quintilian's On the Orator's Education, How to Tell a Joke examines the risks and rewards of humor and analyzes basic types that listeners can use to write their own jokes.

Filled with insight, wit, and examples, including more than a few lawyer jokes, How to Tell a Joke will appeal to anyone interested in humor or the art of public speaking.

About Marcus Tullis Ciccero

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), commonly known as Cicero, was a Roman statesman, philosopher, orator, and lawyer. Born into an aristocratic family, he studied law and served a term as consul in 63 BC. As a member of the Senate, he witnessed the rise to prominence of Julius Caesar, whose followers forced him into exile and out of politics. Following the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC, to which he was a witness, he argued in front of the Senate for the restoration of the republic, but was unsuccessful. In 43 BC, he was murdered on the orders of Mark Antony. Cicero's works include philosophic writings, speeches made as a lawyer and a senator, and letters. His best-known writings include On the Orator, On the Republic, Hortensius, On the Nature of the Gods, On Duties, and Treatises on Friendship and Old Age.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Massimo

How to Tell a Joke is actually two books in one. The first part is based on Cicero's treatment of the subject matter, which is part of his On the Ideal Orator (specifically, book 2.216-290). The second part is from Quintilian's The Education of the Orator (book 6.3). So you get two ways of looking a......more

Goodreads review by George

Having read both Cicero and Quintilian in the Loeb Classical Library, I found this book a disappointment. It is more paraphrase than translation, and the translator went overboard trying to put the works in modern vernacular. The text abounds with words wholly unsuited to the subject matter and comp......more

Goodreads review by Dan

This brief book has all you need to know about comedy. Well, all the Romans knew about it. Some advice is shockingly prescient. Some advice is odd and a few quips are untranslatable. I love to get to a footnote that says “no one knows what this means.” I bet it was funny at the time. Pretty good obs......more

Goodreads review by Sahand

I have never rated a book 3 stars but here we go! I love my Greek philosophers/orators, especially Marcus. But there is some unnerving unattractiveness about this one. From the start I got the characters very mixed up and the way the book was printed was funny to me more than the contents were at tim......more