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Cicero: On the Commonwealth and on the Laws
Cicero's On the Commonwealth and On the Laws are his most important works of political philosophy. The present volume offers a scholarly reconstruction of the fragments of On the Commonwealth and a masterly translation of both dialogues. The texts are supported by a helpful, concise introduction, notes and other aids. Students in politics, philosophy, ancient history, law...more
Paperback, 258 pages
Published
December 28th 1999
by Cambridge University Press
(first published 1928)
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I must admit to quite a bit of skimming. I wanted to see the basis for Cicero's arguments more than I cared about the arguments or examples themselves. And skimming felt somewhat justified given the (frustrating!) fragmentation of the available text.
The whole using-dialogues-to-address-the-reader thing became kind of annoying when the speakers started blending together. They weren't really offering (counter-)arguments, so it became kind of self-promoting. Or something.
Cicero's good ol'-fashioned...more
The whole using-dialogues-to-address-the-reader thing became kind of annoying when the speakers started blending together. They weren't really offering (counter-)arguments, so it became kind of self-promoting. Or something.
Cicero's good ol'-fashioned...more
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Jan 21, 2010
Scott Zuke
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fairly serious Classics students and hardcore hobbyists.
I felt a little sorry for Cicero in these books. He was really trying to imitate the style of the Platonic dialogue, but...Romans just didn't have the personality to pull off such a feat--it just wasn't in their blood. As a result, rather than getting a timeless discussion of philosophy and the nature of the world and humanity, we get two self-serving, overly-long discourses on the wisdom of the *soon-to-be-overthrown* Roman republic.
The "overly-long" part would refer to the dialogues had they s...more
The "overly-long" part would refer to the dialogues had they s...more
It is terribly difficult to judge fragments, and especially to compare them with complete works such as Plato's Republic. That being said, Cicero clearly takes a much different approach than does Plato. He proposes that philosophy must be intermixed with pragmatism and experience to produce the optimal leaders and laws. In this sense, Cicero's Republic and Laws pays attention to more practical concerns than does Plato, who lacked any degree of actual involvement with real-world affairs when comp...more
I wish I could rate this work higher, but due to the extremely fragmentary nature of the text I can only give it 3/5. Hell, 3/5 of the work is missing! It seemed like every time Cicero was about to expound on a point of contention, I would find in place of his writings an editorial note along the lines of "[six leaves have been lost; the gist of what Cicero is trying to say here, according to (insert other source here), blablablabla]". It's difficult to rate a book when so much is missing, thoug...more
I really enjoyed Cicero's writing and insight into politics and government, but too much of Cicero's Republic is missing to make it a compelling read. What parts do exist are reminiscent of Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, and Polybius's Histories and Cicero certainly built upon those sources. It is interesting to read what this great man who fought against Cataline, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian/Octavius/Augustus has to say on the topic. I certainly recommend Cicero's Republic...more
It is amazing how much influence Cicero had in the development of the US constitution and government. There were so many things that reminded me of The Declaration of Independence and the three branches of government that we have. I agreed with a lot of what Cicero presents and some of it just made me think. He was a very honest man in his views and how he felt about things. It, unfortunately cost him his life as he was killed by Mark Antony and Octavian (later Augustus Caesar) for his words.
I...more
I...more
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Cicero takes much from Plato in these two works. The major difference, aside from Cicero's wonderful wording, is that Cicero argues that philosophy alone will not suffice, one must also have experience. This is a rather consistent theme in his works, undoubtedly due to his own lifestyle. Unfortunately, both of these works are incomplete, The Laws more so than The Republic, and, at times, this makes reading them difficult. While both of these works are seminal in expressing the best of Western Th...more
Una obra clásica en la filosofía política de su tiempo y uno de los trabajos de Marco Tulio Cicerón que aun sobreviven; se pueden observar en el una clara y profunda influencia de la filosofia griega no solo de Platon con quien se le asocia con regularidad, si no también con otros como Aristoteles, Anaximandro, Pitagoras etc.. Para los interesados en conocer sobre el sistema político y el derecho romano es un libro clave pues retrata con gran elocuencia la composición de las magistraturas y dife...more
This one is a bit frustrating, because so much of the text is missing (especially from the Republic). There are significant gaps in which the editor and translator have to guess about what was said. This is nobody's fault, obviously— it's two thousand years old, and stuff gets lost. But it does make it hard to follow the arguments.
Nov 29, 2011
john boyack
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
guidos
Recommended to john by:
buttons mcgee
Indeed, what matters it if the men who come after you will have your name upon their lips when the men who lived before you never mentioned you?
there were so many important parts missing that it was hard to understand what he was trying to say sometimes but it made the book shorter :)
Another excellent book from the classical period that grows ever more pertinent given the sorry state of our republic.
Very good presentaton of classic natural law teaching in the form of a Platonic dialogue.
I liked this because it was half as long as Aristotle's books, mostly because a lot of Cicero's writing was lost to the ages. Way to go, ages!
Cicero's more down with wealth than Aristotle & Plato, but basically takes a lot of their ideas and condenses them very sweetly into small paragraphs. He's influenced by the Stoics, so he adds a belief about the world and everything being connected to the divine and humanity being bound together or whatever by natural law, but then in the Laws he sugg...more
Cicero's more down with wealth than Aristotle & Plato, but basically takes a lot of their ideas and condenses them very sweetly into small paragraphs. He's influenced by the Stoics, so he adds a belief about the world and everything being connected to the divine and humanity being bound together or whatever by natural law, but then in the Laws he sugg...more
Have this book, need to read
Read as part of a summer institute on political and constitutional theory. I've been wanting to read Cicero for a while as the Founders drew inspiration from his writings. He is interesting, and like Aristotle he makes some interesting comments on politics and society, but doesn't always seem to point in one direction. For something really different, trying reading his "Scipio's Dream". Now that is far out!
Feb 17, 2011
Carolyne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
assorted-essay-criticism
Still haven't found a good bio about cicero and I will NEVER read anything Anthony Everett writes again...but you can't get any better than what the person wrote themselves. A great read for anyone who loves Ancient Rome as much as I do. It wasn't easy but who doesn't love a challenge?
This book is very important to understanding how our country was set up and some of the logic behind the ideas. It is also very helpful to understanding the method Cicero took in fighting for the Roman Republic
Cicero inspired me to never loose "SELF!" Even though we conform to identifies that aligns with cultural, religious, and educvational beliefs, as an individual, preserve individual uniqueness...
Nov 28, 2007
M
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
philosophy,
authors-of-classical-antiquity
when in rome, do as the romans do: take what is greek and make it roman. this is not a work of originality -- this man has obviously read plato. but it is a tremendous pleasure to read.
Mar 21, 2007
William Prueter
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Any one interested in Natural Law
Shelves:
ancientromans
Go to; prueter.org. Click my Latin page. Click on books read. Scroll to Marcus Tullius Cicero- it is in there. There is a better translation than the Loeb edition listed here. It is reviewed also.
Required reading for anyone interested in the history of ethics, jurisprudence, or political theory. Absolutely necessary for understanding St. Thomas.
Mar 15, 2007
Angela
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Philosophers
Of all the philosophers I've read, I enjoyed reading Cicero the most and I thought his views were the most fascinating. Fun for discussion purposes.
Cicero was probably cool and all, but how good can any book be when it's a bunch of sentence fragments dug up somewhere?
The Republic and The Laws (Oxford World's Classics) by Cicero (2009)
Read it in Latin... good stuff, even if he was kind of insane.
Bilingual edition preferred.
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January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC
A Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
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A Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
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“True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions.”
—
6 people liked it
“In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power.”
—
6 people liked it
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