Book Description
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FATHERLAND AND POMPEII COMES THE MOST PROVOCATIVE AND BRILLIANT NOVEL OF ANTIQUITY SINCE I, CLAUDIUS --
IMPERIUM
A CAUTIONARY TALE OF CICERO, THE GREATEST ORATOR OF ALL TIME, AND HIS EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN ROME.
When Tiro, the confidential secretary (and slave) of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually propel his master into one of the most suspenseful courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Marcus Cicero -- an ambitious young lawyer and spellbinding orator, who at the age of twenty-seven is determined to attain imperium -- supreme power in the state.
Of all the great figures of the Roman world, none was more fascinating or charismatic than Cicero. And Tiro -- the inventor of shorthand and author of numerous books, including a celebrated biography of his master (which was lost in the Dark Ages) -- was always by his side.
Compellingly written in Tiro's voice, Imperium is the re-creation of his vanished masterpiece, recounting in vivid detail the story of Cicero's quest for glory, competing with some of the most powerful and intimidating figures of his -- or any other -- age: Pompey, Caesar, Crassus, and the many other powerful Romans who changed history.
Robert Harris, the world's master of innovative historical fiction, lures us into a violent, treacherous world of Roman politics at once exotically different from and yet startlingly similar to our own -- a world of Senate intrigue and electoral corruption, special prosecutors and political adventurism -- to describe how one clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable man fought to reach the top.
Customer Reviews:
"I do not propose to die leaving one ounce of talent unspent, or one mile of energy left in my legs".......2007-10-12
When most people think about the history of Rome and fiction works based on it, a few names quickly come to mind, including Caesar, Pompey and Caligula. In terms of his influence in today's world though, there is another man that should be considered as a serious challenger to those important figures in history: Marcus Tullius Cicero. Not only he is almost unanimously considered as the top orator and politician in ancient Rome, but his speeches and ideas on government have been studied, imitated and utilized by leaders throughout history. His influence is such that even the US Constitution is based in part on Cicero's ideas on how government should be organized.
Robert Harris brings this intriguing, and sometimes contradictory, character to life by taking historic information as the skeleton of his novel and adding fictionalized dialogues and events to fill in the meat. Thus, we get a novel that is not only instructive regarding the importance of Cicero in a time when the end of the Republic was visible in the horizon, but also one that entertains the reader until its conclusion.
Harris had a great idea when he decided to use Tiro, Cicero's slave, secretary and friend, as the narrator of this story. This provides a broader view than what the author would have been able to deliver by a first person narrator, but more of an inside look than we would get from an omniscient narrator. From the start of Cicero's public life as a lawyer and politician, until his running for Consul, Tiro takes us, with his steady voice, through the events that had a crucial role in the destiny of one of the greatest civilizations in history.
This is a great novel, and those that are interested in the history of Rome will definitely have a great time reading it. And don't worry; Pompey and Caesar are part of this work, since they also had a key role in the events that unfolded at this time. I would have liked the novel to continue until the end of Cicero's life, but maybe we will get that in the next one. This is the second book Harris writes on Rome, and at this point I am convinced that with his accurate research and great ability for adding fiction without changing the facts, Harris has established himself as part of the elite in this niche.
ANCIENT ROME'S CLARENCE DARROW........2007-10-10
IMPERIUM is a fascinating book that permits the reader a view of the Rome of Cicero, the legendary Roman orator. Indeed, Cicero is the focus of this novel, but this book is more than about Cicero, since it is told through the eyes of Cicero's loyal slave-secretary Tiro.
The novel examines two period's of Cicero's life, and thereby, two periods of Roman history. Cicero's climb to fame and fortune is the first offering of this work. The well researched history affords the reader a look at the brilliance and legal artistry of Cicero. One can easily understand how this great man rose to such prominence in his world. In the process, the reader meets a variety of political characters and military leaders, and in so doing, better understands the workings of the Roman Republic and the aspirations of some of its "giants".
The second phase of the novel explores Cicero's rise to the Consulship of Rome. The inner workings of the political animal that was Roman democracy is exposed, and while this so-called democracy was flawed, it did contribute to the evolution of modern democracy. Interestingly, some of the flaws and failings of the ancient democracy are still with us today, in our allegedly enlightened and modern democracy. Some things in politics are constants, like scheming, lying, and of course, the old reliable standby, corruption. And some of the political "slogans" remain the same too.
This book is a very quick and rewarding read. Its historical backdrop is accurately depicted, the characters drawn from fact, and the story intriguing. I unhesitatingly recommend it.
Cicero's Rise to Power.......2007-10-09
I am in awe of the fictional writers of the Roman Empire: Graves, McCullough, Saylor, Harris and many others. Steeped in the history, they can envision the time and bring it alive. Each of the novels I have read by these authors has brought me more in touch with some element of the complex culture of the time.
Here, through a speculative treatment on how Cicero became a "new man", Harris shows us how elections took place and how corruption, for which this society was known, infected them. Harris also deals with issues of class and the entrenched attitudes about status. Through Cicero's rise we learn and these affected politics after Sula and the Civil War.
We also get a plausible portrait of Cicero, how he thought and what motivated him.
I highly recommend this for anyone who has interest in this historical period.
Excellent, and very different from McCullough.......2007-10-08
I love Colleen McCullough's sprawling Roman series, which is an extraordinary panorama of one of the most turbulent, fascinating and influential eras of western history, the six-decade-long Fall of the Roman Republic. She's not as polished a writer as Robert Harris, though...her books are wonderfully prolix, almost too much so, and she has certain repetitive mannerisms which can annoy. But the series certainly is a monumental achievement.
While McCullough focuses around the towering life and impact of Julius Caesar, Harris's choice of Cicero is perhaps even more revealing of the true nature of Late Republican politics. Cicero was a major player for most of this period, whose complex relationships with the various factions had immense influence on the course of events, and yet -- unlike Caesar, born to the highest aristocracy -- he was also an outsider who depended entirely on his wits to struggle and survive. Harris deftly depicts his qualities of pragmatism, idealism and political cunning as he negotiates the viper's nest of public service in ancient Rome.
Cicero hasn't aged well in most modern historical recreations. I believe most of our contemporaries accept the greatness and inevitability of Caesar, or someone very like him. Because Cicero opposed Caesar and his faction, and eventually lost his life for it, he comes across most often as a stuffy, self-serving, conniving, all-too-outspoken conservative out of step with the times. The fabulous if inaccurate TV series Rome is just the most recent example.
In fact, Cicero may have been the only sincere defender of the Roman Republic remaining by the time he was killed...and for all its flaws, it was certainly a nobler form of government than its imperial successor.
This excellent book helps to redress the character of Cicero. I can't wait for the sequel.
Cicero Rising.......2007-09-15
Although Robert Harris writes historical fiction, he is not particularly attached to any one time or place. His first novel was actually an alternate history - a what-if-the-Nazis-won-WWII tale called Fatherland. He has, in his last two novels, however, gone back to ancient Rome, first with Pompeii (which I have not read) and now with Imperium, a fictional biography of Cicero.
Narrated by Cicero's slave Tiro (who serves more as an observer than a true character), Imperium tells of the rise of Cicero to the highest position in the Roman Republic, the consulship. The first half is actually more of a courtroom thriller, with Cicero prosecuting a corrupt Sicilian governor. Actually, most of the legal system is open to bribery, making Cicero's job all the harder. At stake is Cicero's whole career: if he can somehow pull off a victory, he can start his climb in power; if he fails, he will never be more than a lowly senator. Of course, since Cicero is well-known in history and the governor, Verres, is almost forgotten, most readers know who will win, but Harris is still able to make the prosecution suspenseful.
The second half of the book deals with Cicero's political rise and the intrigues that both help him and make him enemies. His principal ally - although not always reliable - is Pompey, the great general who is at the peak of his power. On the other side is the plutocrat Crassus, whose hatred of Pompey will create an enmity with Pompey. There is the vicious Catalina who has Crassus's backing and intends on opposing Cicero for the consulship. Finally, there is the ambitious up-and-comer, Julius Caesar.
Harris has written a good novel, but there are imperfections. For all his attempts at being historically accurate, he also has anachronisms, such as referring to the months of July and August (which would not be named until decades later after Julius and Augustus Caesar had risen to the peaks of their power). The story also ends rather abruptly, leading me to think that Harris has a sequel intended. Harris does succeed at the heart of the book, however, bringing Cicero - often thought of as the greatest orator ever - to life. Fans of historical novels - particularly Roman historical novels - should enjoy Imperium.
Average customer rating:
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Cicero: Select Letters (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521295246 |
Book Description
Professor Shackleton Bailey is renowned for his major scholarly editions of Cicero’s letters already published by Cambridge University Press. This selection from the complete correspondence is designed specifically for students at universities and in the upper forms at schools, and offers them a representative introduction to one of the most varied and most important literary correspondences in any language. In choosing letters for inclusion the editor concentrates on Cicero as a man and writer and on his relationship with his contemporaries, but he has also included letters which deal with people and events of special significance in the turbulent political history of the period. The edition includes an introduction, the text of the letters with critical notes, and a commentary which gives help with linguistic problems as well as elucidating the historical and social background.
Book Description
“All ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher combined.”
—John Adams
He squared off against Caesar and was friends with young Brutus. He advised the legendary Pompey on his somewhat botched transition from military hero to politician. He lambasted Mark Antony and was master of the smear campaign, as feared for his wit as he was for exposing his opponents’ sexual peccadilloes. Brilliant, voluble, cranky, a genius of political manipulation but also a true patriot and idealist, Cicero was Rome’s most feared politician, one of the greatest lawyers and statesmen of all times. Machiavelli, Queen Elizabeth, John Adams and Winston Churchill all studied his example. No man has loomed larger in the political history of mankind.
In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life in these pages as a witty and cunning political operator.
Cicero leapt onto the public stage at twenty-six, came of age during Spartacus’ famous revolt of the gladiators and presided over Roman law and politics for almost half a century. He foiled the legendary Catiline conspiracy, advised Pompey, the victorious general who brought the Middle East under Roman rule, and fought to mobilize the Senate against Caesar. He witnessed the conquest of Gaul, the civil war that followed and Caesar’s dictatorship and assassination. Cicero was a legendary defender of freedom and a model, later, to French and American revolutionaries who saw themselves as following in his footsteps in their resistance to tyranny.
Anthony Everitt’s biography paints a caustic picture of Roman politics—where Senators were endlessly filibustering legislation, walking out, rigging the calendar and exposing one another’s sexual escapades, real or imagined, to discredit their opponents. This was a time before slander and libel laws, and the stories—about dubious pardons, campaign finance scandals, widespread corruption, buying and rigging votes, wife-swapping, and so on—make the Lewinsky affair and the U.S. Congress seem chaste.
Cicero was a wily political operator. As a lawyer, he knew no equal. Boastful, often incapable of making up his mind, emotional enough to wander through the woods weeping when his beloved daughter died in childbirth, he emerges in these pages as intensely human, yet he was also the most eloquent and astute witness to the last days of Republican Rome.
On Cicero:
“He taught us how to think."
—Voltaire
“I tasted the beauties of language, I breathed the spirit of freedom, and I imbibed from his precepts and examples the public and private sense of a man.”
—Edward Gibbon
“Who was Cicero: a great speaker or a demagogue?”
—Fidel Castro
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
History at its best.......2007-09-11
Extremely well written and informative. Cicero is truly brought alive with all his faults warts and all in addition to his magnificence as a Roman force in the republic. Bravo
Christmas shopping list.......2007-08-08
This is a stunningly good book. It's very hard to even find a cogent review of Roman history, let alone one from such a personal point of view of one of the period's main protagonists.
Cicero's lifetime takes place smack dab in the middle of much of the "cool" parts of Roman history - Pompey, Caesar, Catalina... they're all here.
Sure, you miss the founding of Rome, but let's face it, back then Greece was way cooler.
And OK, admittedly you miss the Punic Wars, but you can pick those up later.
And fine, fine, there's some interesting stuff around the launch of the marketing program known as Christianity, but still...
Point is, Everitt absolutely nails what it means to write a good biography. Robin Lane Fox wrote a similarly good one of Alexander the Great.
Trick is, IMHO, to take a few liberties with interpolating what was PROBABLY going on in the mind of the subject, using whatever materials are at hand.
OK, so Everitt had a bit easier time of it, given that Cicero wrote pretty much everything in letters to his buddy Atticus, and we happen to have most of the material still.
With Alexander you get squat - a few scraps of hand-me-down literature that survived the burning of the Library of... uh, Alexandria, actually.
Anyway, the point is, "Cicero" is a great read, great history, and a great subject.
One point of contention? Everitt should probably just admit that Cicero, like pretty well all of his contemporaries, had gay sex at some point. You don't write love poetry to a young male slave if nothing erotic ever happened between you. Everitt's protestations to the contrary ring a bit hollow.
cicero.......2007-07-10
Very impressed with the speed at which the item managed to get delivered to me here in the antipodes. Nice book, seems to be well written [havent finished reading it yet!] and very succint.
History that reads like a novel.......2007-04-28
A fun way to gain an insight into Roman history. In this book you don't get to meet just Cicero but also the likes of Caesar. You will also be introduced to Cleopatra and Mark Antony but you will have to read the author's book about Augustus to find out what happens to them.
If you only have the time to read only one popular book about Roman history I recommend "Augustus", because this one leaves you with too many important loose ends at critical point in Roman history.
Great Read.......2007-03-01
A very enjoyable and commpelling examination of an interesting man who lived in extremely interesting times. I very much enjoy reading histories and biographies and I find the VERY BEST popular histories string together the facts and dates into an insightful and compelling story, so while many reviewers took exception to the author's scholarship, it seems to me Everitt found the essense of this man and injected it into a very good narrative about both Cicero's life and the times in which he lived.
So if you want a compelling and insightful read that takes you through a towering figure in the last days of the Roman Republic, GET THIS BOOK! And if you want a more complete examination of the Roman Republic and the god-like figures who moved through these times, I suggest you keep reading, because there are many books on the subject and no one volume could adequately capture all of the amazing facets of the late Roman Republic.
Customer Reviews:
The greatest Roman of them all..........2006-03-26
First off, yes, I AM a kid, and yes, I have fully read and understood the genius of Marcus Tullius Cicero and the genius of Mr. Grant for bringing it to us. As far as the book goes, it is brilliant, and the translator's skill suffices to bring the greatest orator in history to my doorstep and unworthy mind. "Against Verres" is my favorite Ciceronian writing, because I always shake my head when I think of these noble Romans that I revere like gods stoop to the level of tabloid-like calumny!
But enough about the book! What I really wanted to share with potential customers is the enrichment that such books could bring to kids of today. All they are getting today is manure like Harry Potter and risque-teen dramas, when they should be reading the stuff of legends and the stuff of greatness. Now, I too, can be accused of reading Harry Potter, and liking it sufficiently to keep going, but I fully understand that those kind of books are NOT the kind that I will remember when I grow old.
No, indeed, I will remember the wit of Cicero, and the ambition of Herodotus, the social satires of Charles Dickens, and, of course, the poetic genius and sheer imagination that is J.R.R. Tolkien. That being said, I feel that such books (like the above) are too far undervalued in today's society because all the kids today will read is mind-corrupting filth simply becasue they wish to smother their brains. In short, they want to think as little as possible. And the escapist attitudes are also quite atrocious. Indeed, there is no greater world than this green earth (except for Middle Earth --- I would go there in a heartbeat!) and I would honor it, and honor those giants who came before us and upon whose shoulders we stand.
What is the world without the Republic, and what is the Republic without orators like Cicero and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, whose fiery opinions had kept the flame of democracy and the flame of the Senate alive for so long? I hope someday that people will come to understand this. You do not have to like Cicero, and you might find his writings a tad antiquated and boring --- but who says that they are relevant only to a certain time period or to certain people? No, I say that there are such writings that transcend time and offer us, if nothing more, a glimpse into the life of one other fellow creature who, though so different from us, is EXACTLY the same.
So, potential kid readers, I beg you to pay attention to history, and give it the respect that it deserves! And maybe you too, if only for a little while, will stand with him in the Forum, or sit beside him as he writes words that influenced the greatest giant of the Age. That giant is Rome, and that man is Marcus Tullius Cicero. Though but a Tullius of poor upbringing, he is remembered by those who care to remember as one of the greatest Romans of them all, vying only with the poetic tragedy of Julius Caesar and the military genius of Scipio Africanus and Aemilius Paullus.
So, my rant will come to an opportune end. Remember Cicero, remember Rome, and you will not be disappointed... in the mists of Time that forever encircle us, only the greatest can escape the haze and step into into the stuff of Legend. For they are remembered, and therefore, they Live. All I ask you is to let Cicero live.
A note on the translation.......2004-11-22
I don't want to summarize the content here. I only want to talk about Michael Grant's translation.
Let's admit one fact: Grant's translation is not that good. I suggest you to check out Cicero's works published by OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSCIS: P.G.Walsh and D.H.Berry are more competent than Grant, and they are fascinating indeed. Grant often unnecessarily chops up a sentence, rendering it ends up with a whole lot of commas, and this utterly destroy the fluency and lucidity of Cicero. In my opinion, D.H.Berry (who published Cicero's DEFENCE SPEECHES) is thus far the best Ciceronian translator.
So why is it still worth 3 stars? It is mainly because of the contents, such as AGAINST VERRES, THE SECOND PHILIPIC, and ON OLD AGE, which are still not translated by OXFORD. Therefore, we have no choice but to stick with Grant's translation (unless you want to buy the expensive Loeb edition). If OXFORD will release more of Cicero's titles, I will definitely throw away Michael Grant's.
Good translation, but the material..........2002-02-21
First of all I foundt this translation to be clear and readable, something that I have come to expect from Michael Grant.
But the material is what baffles me. Cicero is considered the greatest Latin orator and writer, having a concise and interesting style. Personally, I find him to be very long-winded, and I realize this is due to a shortened attention span, but nonetheless, he could have made many of his points with two examples instead of ten.
I also find it ironic that Cicero paints himself to be the epitome of Republican Roman values, a man who stood completely for the decrepit and dying Roman Republic. Yet, he was a great friend of Pompey, a man who's goal it was to acquire dictatorial power, albeit within the confines of Republic. Pompey's actions over the year also consistently undermined the strength of the Republic, whereas Caesar acted legally throughout his career, until his enemies backed him into a corner and an untenable situation.
Yet Cicero sides with Pompey over Caesar, for no especially good reason. Cicero was a brilliant orator and lawyer, but as a politician, his ambitions and sense of self-importance far, far outstripped his abilities. Cicero's allies were a self-centered lot of aristocrats, who ran Rome for their personal benefit rather than for the benefit of Rome. Quite frankly, a man with as strong a sense of justice as Cicero should have supported the more inclusive Caesarian politics; that he did not, is a shame for him.
Regardless, this reading is chiefly for people interested in ancient history, and starry-eyed idealists.
Mildly reccommended.
A Pleasure.......2002-01-15
Michael Grant has done it again with this wonderful translation of some of Cicero's finest work. Designed to give the reader an overview of this great master it shows you just how diverse a writer he really was, and why he cast such a shadow over European prose for the next thousand years.
Excellent selection.......2001-12-10
Cicero's thoughts on old age which are but one selection included here are alone worth the price of this book. The wisdom of this man is clearly reflected here and in other selections that are included. These thought provoking essays and letters contain much that is still relevant. Along with Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, Cicero's writings are a window into the ancient world that helps us to understand how human nature and the problems of living a good life transcend the ages. These are books to return to again and again. The penguin paperback editions are an excellent resource for the general reader and belong on the shelf of anyone interested in philosophy ,history or living well.
Book Description
Using scholarly historical insight and evocative storytelling that brings to life the glories of ancient Rome, Steven Saylor takes the reader from the bloody lines of clashing Roman armies to the backrooms of the Senate floor, where power-hungry politicians wrestle the Fates for control of Rome's destiny. With the consular election drawing near, Rome is fiercely divided between the conservative Cicero and the tempestuous Catilina, whose followers are rumored to be plotting a blood-thirsty siege for power if their leader fails to win office. Gordianus the Finder, retired to his Etruscan farm, is happy to be free of the intrigue and danger of the capital. But when his old friend Cicero enlists the Finder in an elaborate plot to control Catilina, Gordianus is drawn back into a familiar world. Now caught in a cloak-and-dagger political struggle for the fate of the Republic, Gordianus finds himself strangely drawn to the controversial candidate. Is Catilina really a subversive renegade, or are Cicero suspicions part of an even greater conspiracy? When a headless corpse ominously appears on his farm, Gordianus knows he must unlock the secret of Catilina's Riddle before Rome tears herself apart.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting view of a republic.......2007-06-29
I found this book quite disturbing in a thought-provoking way. The motivations of the voting public in choosing a candidate are described very pessimistically. Voters choose candidates that make them feel good about their personal choices (or perceived personal choices -- the more hypocrital the public, the more effective this campaign strategy is) over what might be good for the republic. While reading this book, I felt the tragic inevitability of republic descending into dictatorship, and then into empire.
Turn your mind off.... pour the koolade.......2007-02-15
What did the other reviewer say? "Could have done without the history lesson"?? If that is the case why would you ever read a mystery about ancient Rome when you could read Raymond Chandler and a mystery about Los Angeles ? Personally I want to learn about history as I devour the story of ROME (and Greece) No history = no good, in my perspective. So Saylor gets 5 stars if you are in a hammock or on a plane sipping a Mai Tai. That way you can fall asleep and pick up where you left off when you wake up with no real expenditure of brain power. Nothing wrong with that. At least you are reading. But, if like me, you are putting the Roman jigsaw puzzle together you can skip all of Saylor's books and proceed directly to Dando-Collins.... Michael Curtis Ford.... or Colleen McCullough.
Oh, a review of this book? THE FINDER retires to the country, Cataline stays with him once in a while before he is denounced by Cicero, there is a murder or two, THE FINDER solves the mystery...cue the Perry Mason music and take another sip of that ole' Mai Tai. See you after you read CICERO by Anthony Everett.
Would have been better without the history lesson.......2007-01-16
This was my introduction to this series and it was good enough to make me want to read others, but I hope they aren't quite so heavy on the history lessons. Huge sections of the book slow to a crawl while the author innundates us with minutae of Roman politics and history. If I *were* interested in those topics, I'd read a non-fiction book!
When the book focuses on the the main characters, it proves to be extremely interesting. I liked Gordianus the "Finder" and his family and think Saylor is a particularly fine wordsmith. I am encouraged by several of the reviews to hope that other entries in the series deal more with everyday life in Rome than with the political intriques of the day.
As a fan of historical fiction, this ranks higher than most (although for ancient Rome, I prefer the Marcus Didius Falco Mystery series by Lindsey Davis, and Kate Sedley's "Chapman" series retains its status as favorite among all historical fiction).
The Third Book in the Roma Sub Rosa series.......2006-12-18
Steven Saylor's fascination with Ancient Rome began at an early age. A history graduate and former newspaper and magazine editor, he lives in Berkeley, California. His series of books about Ancient Rome and featuring Gordianus the Finder are extremely popular both here in England and also in America. Anyone who is a fan of Lindsey Davis will love these books too. Steven Saylor brings Ancient Rome to life, so much so that the reader can lose himself in the sights and sounds of the ancient city.
Gordianus the Finder, the investigator of crimes, a man whose skill and integrity have made him much sought after by some of the most important men in Rome. Men who may need a secret to be kept, men who need to know that when Gordianus is working for them he will be discreet and not susceptible to bribery.
The year is 63 BC and Gordianus has been left every Roman's dream, a farm in the Etruscan countryside. He immediately decides to up sticks and get his family out of the city that is becoming more decadent with every passing day. He is more than happy to escape all the politics and intrigue that surround him. But is anything as simple as that?
Cicero, a man he has worked for before want to hire him to gain evidence against the popular politician Catilina. The politician is a charismatic man, but also a very dangerous one and Gordianus is no longer interested in putting himself and his family at risk, that is until the first headless corpse is found down his well . . .
A fascinating story about a fascinating man........2006-12-17
Catilina lives in Roman legends something like Richard III does in English legends. Saylor has presented a wonderful picture of the man as seen through the eyes of his hero Gordianus. This is a must-read book for Roman history buffs. The only complaint that I had with the book was the extended political monologues that appear throughout, but even in these Saylor brings his characters to life. It is interesting to meet a young Julius Caesar too. There's everything in this book - a mystery, a history lesson, a Roman battle, and lots of Roman politics and spymaking. Ssylor brings his world to life, and I absolutely love his characters. At the end of this book Gordianus is 51 years old. My only concern is that he's getting old too fast and the series will have to end long before I'm ready for it to.
Book Description
De Officiis (On Duties) is Cicero's last theoretical work and contains his analysis, in a Greek theoretical framework, of the political and ethical values of the Roman governing class in the late Republic. It has often been treated merely as a key to the Greek philosophical works that Cicero used, but this volume aims to render De Officiis, which had a profound impact upon subsequent political thinkers, more intelligible by explaining its relation to its own time and place. All the standard series features are present, including a wholly new translation, a concise introduction by a leading scholar, select bibliography, chronology, notes on vocabulary and brief biographies of the most prominent individuals mentioned in the text.
Customer Reviews:
Fatherlove.......2006-11-03
I'm not sure why we ignore our ancient wisdom. We seem to be well-fed on eastern paradox and mysticism, but we have lost the tradition of reason and cross-examination that brought stability and technology to the world. We heard the cry, "If we can send a man to the moon, why can't we . . ." Part of the reason is that the nature of a moon-shot may be different than the nature of curing breast cancer, wining the war on terrorism within the time-frame of WWII, or solving social problems.
The other part of the reason is that we have abandoned the fundamental principles of Western Civilization that brought us Galileo, Newton, and Einstein. When we left theses core truths, we undid several thousand years of progress, and have returned to a faux primitive and savagery. Emotion has supplanted, reason, mercy has robbed justice, and catchphrases have replaced fundamental platitudes. In short, we have abandoned the mind, and are left with the stomach.
In "On Duties," Cicero drives a dagger in the heart of today's ills. This book's theme is justice as it related to social duties. It is essentially pedagogical, and like Aristotle's Ethics, is written as advice to his growing son. We speak of Motherlove, but this book embodies Fatherlove, or all the good and ideal aspects of paternalism.
As with all good philosophers, he is easy to understand, once you get the feel for philosophical banter. C. S. Lewis observed "The simplest student will be able to understand, if not all, yet a very great deal of what Plato said; but hardly anyone can understand some modern books on Platonism. It has always therefore been one of my main endeavours as a teacher to persuade the young that firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire."
As you read "On Duties," you get the feel that Cicero is operating under a very different set of values. As I mentioned, the ancient world was founded upon justice and reason, and our post-modern world is founded upon mercy and emotion, with disastrous consequences. We need to be sensitive to these differences, since our assumptions are blind spots. As Lewis added, "It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones."
This book is good for understanding the ancient mind, and great for personal development. Clearly and logically, Cicero explains the interplay between duty, advantage and righteousness. You many not agree with him, but Cicero did do his homework, has a point, and when he is wrong, he is wrong for the right reasons.
Book Description
The fifth and sixth volumes of Dr Shackleton Bailey’s edition of the Atticus letters contain a revised version of the text first published in the Oxford Classical Texts in 1961. Problems of dating in this part of the correspondence are severe, and prolonged study of them has caused Dr Shackleton Bailey to depart on occasions from the traditional chronology. Like their predecessors, these two volumes contain a text and selective apparatus, a translation facing each page of text, a full commentary, and indexes.
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Political Speeches (Oxford World's Classics)
Cicero
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0192832662 |
Book Description
'Two things alone I long for: first, that when I die I may leave the Roman people free...and second, that each person's fate may reflect the way he has behaved towards his country.' Cicero (106-43 BC) was the greatest orator of the ancient world and a leading politician of the closing era of the Roman republic. This book presents nine speeches which reflect the development, variety, and drama of his political career,among them two speeches from his prosecution of Verres, a corrupt and cruel governor of Sicily; four speeches against the conspirator Catiline; and the Second Philippic, the famous denunciation of Mark Antony which cost Cicero his life. Also included are On the Command of Gnaeus Pompeius, in which he praises the military successes of Pompey, and For Marcellus, a panegyric in praise of the dictator Julius Caesar. These new translations preserve Cicero's rhetorical brilliance and achieve new standards of accuracy. A general introduction outlines Cicero's public career, and separate introductions explain the political significance of each of the speeches. Together with its companion volume, Defence Speeches, this edition provides an unparalleled sampling of Cicero's oratorical achievements.
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The Roman World of Cicero's De Oratore
Elaine Fantham
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0199263159 |
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The Roman World of Cicero's De Oratore aims to provide an accessible study of Cicero's first and fullest dialogue, on the ideal orator-statesman. It illustrates the dialogue's achievement as a reflection of a civilized way of life and a brilliantly constructed literary unity, and considers the contribution made by Cicero's recommendations to the development of rhetoric and higher education at Rome. Because Cicero deliberately set his extended conversation in the generation of his childhood teachers, a study of the dialogue in its historical setting can show how the political and cultural life of this earlier period differed from Cicero's personal experience of the collapse of senatorial government, when the overwhelming power of the `first triumvirate' forced him into political silence in the last decade of the republic. After an introductory chapter reviewing Cicero's position on return from exile, chapters include a comparative study of the careers of M. Antonius and L. Licinius Crassus, protagonists of the dialogue, a discussion of Cicero's response to Plato's criticisms of rhetoric in the Gorgias and Phaedrus, and his debt to Aristotle's Rhetoric, analysis of the dialogue's treatment of Roman civil law, existing Latin literature and historical writing, Strabo's survey of the sources and application of humour, political eloquence in senate and contio, theories of diction and style, and the techniques of oral delivery. An epilogue looks briefly at Cicero's De re publica and Tacitus' Dialogus de oratoribus as reflections on the transformation of oratory and free (if oligarchic) republican government by debate to meet the context of the new autocracy.
Customer Reviews:
it's ok.......2006-11-10
read it if you're into the subject of this era already. not great, but good.
A comment on the book........2004-07-06
If you know about Cicero's method of arousing and suppressing the emotions, than this book can teach you alot about how he used them. However, I believe it would be useless to read Cicero's 'TOPICA' and then to attempt to dissect the logic based 'common topics' in every speech, like people may vainly try to do with Aristotle's logical 'common places' in his 'On Rhetoric' book. You may see some of these 'common topics' pop up, but in the end it will make you go nuts, since it is practically impossible to accurately figure out how Cicero used them in every instance. My recommendation is not to look for any of these logical categories and not even to look for the emotions Cicero tries to express when he expresses them, but to read these speeches as prose plain and simple. I've read and skimmed over fifty percent of this book, and most of it is clean, a lot cleaner than many of the other Cicerion speeches that Michael Grant has translated over the years. My advice to everyone is to read this book with an air of caution, and not to use such rhetorical techniques for evil and irresponsible purposes.
"Necessary Darkness".......2002-10-31
In its last days, the Roman Republic was a wild and wooly place. Popular thugs like Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline) and Publius Clodius Pulcher saw in the shifting vacuums of power an opportunity to flout the law and win power and riches at the expense of their fellow countrymen. Standing squarely in their path was a Roman Senator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, who knew how to win men's minds with his powerful speeches and who had a fanatical dedication to maintaining the rule of law in the face of anarchy.
The art that Cicero practiced is not held in great repute today: We tend to distrust a man who can marshal cogent arguments and dazzling rhetoric in support of a cause. Consider, however, how remarkable it is that so many of Cicero's orations, letters, and other writings have survived today. Not only were his speeches eagerly read by his contemporaries, but early Christian monks saw in the great orator a basically moral, even if Pagan, writer whose work was worth saving in the scriptorium.
Among his own speeches, Cicero most highly rated his four blistering attacks on Catilina. My own personal favorite is "In Defence of Titus Annius Milo." In it, the wily orator shows he had a strong streak of Johnny Cochrane. The Tribune Publius Clodius Pulcher had been one of Cicero's most determined enemies and at one time had him banished for his advocacy of executing the leaders of Catiline's conspiracy. When Clodius is killed attempting to bushwhack a rival, Cicero jumped to defend the accused murderer.
In a letter, Cicero had bragged, "Let me tell you that it was I who produced the necessary darkness in the court to prevent your guilt from being visible to everyone." Where Cicero claims that Titus Annius Milo was attended at the time of the ambush with an "unwarlike retinue of maids and pages," he was actually accompanied by a large party of gladiators who were more than able to thwart the attack. While claiming that Milo had never threatened Clodius, Cicero wrote a letter to his lifelong correspondent Atticus stating the opposite, that Milo had openly threatened to kill Clodius.
Even when pulling the wool over his listeners' eyes, Cicero's political speeches in this volume provide a fascinating picture of a time and place which would otherwise be largely unknown to us.
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