Selections from the Writings of Cicero

Name: Selections from the Writings of Cicero
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Marcus Tullius Cicero
ISBN: 9781452671444

Author: Marcus Tullius Cicero

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Unabridged: 8 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/31/2011

Categories: Nonfiction, Philosophy, History & Surveys

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote on a wide range of subjects, from Greek philosophy to moral duty to friendship. Though he considered philosophy secondary to politics and often used his writings for explicit political ends, his work has nevertheless been widely read for over two thousand years and has influenced everything from the culture of the Renaissance to the ideals of the founding fathers of the United States.

This edition contains three of Cicero's best-known works. In "On Friendship," from his Treatises on Friendship and Old Age, Cicero examines the nature of true friendship, which he considers to be based on virtue and dependent upon honesty, truth, and trust. In De Officiis, or "On Duties," written as a letter to his son, Cicero shares his beliefs about the potential conflicts between moral obligation and expedience. Finally, "Scipio's Dream," the sixth book of On the Republic, describes a fictional dream vision of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, set two years before the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC.

About Marcus Tullius Cicero

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 Ted

I'd been needing something different from what I'd been reading for the Great Conversation, but I didn't want to stray too far from the period or themes. And due to my recurring interest in Renaissance Humanism, I found myself reading about Petrarch. I learned a little about how his translation of C......more

Goodreads review by Annie

I listened to this rather on audio book, and a great narrator can add a palpable depth to a writing if done properly. This was the case for me. How can I critique Cicero but only to say that in reading it, I, like so many others including but not limited to our great Founding Father's of the US , st......more

Goodreads review by Patrick

Amazon review: How many men and women who have lived more than 2,000 years ago have impressed us with their humanity? We tend to see the statuary, but rarely the person behind it. When you read this outstanding selection edited by the excellent classical historian Michael Grant, you see that Marcus T......more

Goodreads review by Billy

Cicero's advice on practical philosophy in this volume make his the most likely role model for Shakespeare's Polonius. This collection of statements rivals Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" in every way except that I would choose Aristotle over Cicero without a second thought. Cicero is brittle compa......more