Lee Kochel, a veteran student of our programs, writes to ask:

Could you give a short list (4 or 5) of Cicero's works most worth reading for someone who has never read him? Also, are there any translators (I'm sure the original Latin is better) who are better than others?

Cicero is among the very few writers who define the West. At another time, I'll post a short appreciation of his career. Cicero is more than a political intellectual: He was a leading politician in a very troubled time when unscrupulous plotters were attempting to seize power. As consul, he saved his country from the revolutionary schemes of L. Sergius Catilina. In doing so he made an enemy of P. Clodius Pulcher, who drove him into exile and incited a mob to burn down his house. In old age, he opposed the unlawful actions of M. Antonius, who, as a member of the Second Triumvirate, had him put do death.

Apart from the poetry, of which he was unduly proud, Cicero's writings consist of legal and political speeches, writings on rhetoric (such as the De Oratore), mostly popular works on philosophical themes (works on old age, friendship, and duties), and a vast collection of letters that give us an unparalleled look into the life and career of an important man in the ancient world. From the beginning of history down to the Renaissance, there is no one whom we know better than Cicero.

These facts--Cicero's important political career and the record we have of him--also make it more difficult to understand him, without studying a good deal of Roman history. Mr. Kochel has my brief account of Roman history, which could be a beginning. A high-school level book I find useful for younger students is Zoch's Ancient Rome. On a more serious level, Scullard's From the Gracchi to Nero is very readable. To understand the politics of the age, Lily Ross Taylor's Party Politics in the Age of Caesar remains a classic. There are good scholarly biographies, but on a popular level Anthony Trollope's Cicero (available online at Gutenberg.org) struck me as sensible when I read it decades ago.

The philosophical works are, perhaps, the most accessible to read for someone without much historical context. The little essays On Friendship and On Old Age are the simplest. The De Officiis (On Duties) is his best work. Though far from original, Cicero synthesizes some of the best ancient moral philosophy and contributes his own moral shrewdness.

For the speeches, you should learn a little history, then read the first two (at least) Catilinarians, and throw in Sallust's historical essay on Catiline--written from a perspective hostile to Cicero and favorable to Catiline’s friend C. Julius Caesar. His defense of M. Caelius is brilliant and witty, if you know something of the players, and his portrait of the evil Clodia (sister of the Clodius above) can be set beside the portrait of probably the same woman offered by her admiring but ultimately disenchanted lover, Catullus. Save the rhetorical works for a time when you are willing to undertake a serious study of rhetoric, but skimming through the letters can be a lot of fun and teach you more about politics than a PhD in political science

Cicero's prose style was often imitated by 18th century writers in England and France; more modern translations are much simpler, but most are reasonably accurate. Modern Language had for many years an anthology, and Penguin also has many volumes.

Dr. Thomas Fleming

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