The philosopher-statesman on ethics and rhetoric. Cicero (Marcus Tullius, 106–43 B.C.), a Roman lawyer, orator, politician, and philosopher, of whom we know more than any other Roman, lived during the tumultuous period that saw the rise, dictatorship, and death of Julius Caesar in a declining democracy.
In his political speeches, in particular, and in his correspondence, we see the emotion, intensity, and intrigue of politics and the role he played in the chaos of the era. Of about 106 speeches delivered before the Roman people or the Senate if political, before judges if judicial, fifty-eight survive (some of these are incomplete).
In the 14th century, Petrarch and other Italian humanists discovered manuscripts containing more than 900 letters, of which more than 800 were written by Cicero and nearly 100 from others to him. These offer a revealing portrait of the man, especially since most were not written for publication.
Six rhetorical works survive and one more in fragmentary form. The philosophical works include seven major compositions and a number of others, as well as some lost ones. There is also poetry, some original and some translations from Greek. The Loeb Classical Library edition of Cicero is in twenty-nine volumes.
