Select Orations of M. Tullius Cicero: With Notes, for the Use of Schools and Colleges

by Marcus Tullius Cicero

Excerpt from Select Orations of M. Tullius Cicero: With Notes, for the Use of Schools and Colleges
Tms volume of Select Orations of Cicero is intended to form one of the series of Classical Books published by the Messrs. Appleton, and was prepared at their request. After the pur pose was formed to issue such a volume, there appeared in England, edited by T. K. Arnold, a small volume containing the fourth book of the impeachment of Verres, the four speeches against Catiline, and the Speech for the poet Archias. It was the desire of the publishers that that volume should be made the basis of their edition, and accordingly, so far as it coincided with the selection usually read in the preparatory schools of our country, it has been incorporated in the present work. The Verrine oration, which is given in the English edition, has been omitted in the present, as it is the intention of the editor to issue it in some other form.
The present volume will be found to contain those orations, which in this country usually go under the name of select orations. They are the same, and given in the same order as in the Boston edition, with the exception of the second Philip pic, which is omitted in the present volume.
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461 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1842

About the author

Born 3 January 106 BC, Arpinum, Italy
Died 7 December 43 BC (aged 63), Formia, Italy

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

Alternate profiles:
Cicéron
Marco Tullio Cicerone


Note: All editions should have Marcus Tullius Cicero as primary author. Editions with another name on the cover should have that name added as secondary author.

Reviews

[Ken Ryu]

This review is of the Gutenberg book. The book has two primary sections. The 14 Philippic against Marcus Antonius and Cicero's orations on dialectics.

First the Philippics. Wow. These 14 speeches by Cicero to the Roman Senate took place in the year after the murder of Julius Caesar. Cicero was an unabashed backer and apologist for his good friend Brutus. He took it upon himself to denounce Marcus Antonius and champion Brutus. Although he did not trust the youthful Octavius Caesar, he sided with the ambitious adopted son of Julius against his hated rival Marcus Antonius. These 14 speeches are full of vitriol. He pulls no punches and denounces Marcus Antonius as a drunkard, a philander, a murderer, a fool, a thief, a corrupt politician and an enemy of the state. He continues his attack on Antonius through the chaos as Octavius, Antonius and Brutus vie for control following the power vacuum following Julius Caesar's assassination. Cicero realizes that he was risking his life with his antagonistic behavior, and he is correct. Cicero was beheaded by Antonius' loyalists and his decapitated head was presented to a gleeful Antonius.

The second half of the book are Cicero's instructions and thoughts on public speaking. He advises on how to deliver and craft a powerful speech. He is meticulous in breaking down exact phrasing and cadence. He is carrying on the works of Plato and especially Aristotle who literally wrote the book on these subjects. He also delves into legalistic philosophy and strategy to win an argument. He offers ways to use superior delivery, thoughtfully ordering the key points, preparing with facts, past cases, historical events, and legal policy knowledge, and manipulating language with synonyms, antonyms and phrasing to win challenging cases and arguments. A bit dry and a continuation of Aristotle's work, but certainly a brilliant thinker, orator, legal mind, and political tactician.

The Phillipics are more entertaining due to the intensity and historical backdrop than the dialectics. If you are looking for the source of Cicero's inspiration on that topic, start with Aristotle and you can skip this more loquacious and detailed variation of that theme.

[Maurice Halton]

My Grandfather's copy. Cicero's most important orations.