Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic

$32.99

This book provides a deep dive into Roman history and classical literature through the letters of Cicero, supporting studies in social studies and language arts.

Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic
Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic
$32.99

[wpforms id=”1190″ title=”true” description=”Request a call back”]

Cicero in Letters is a guide to the first extensive correspondence that survives from the Greco-Roman world. The more than eight hundred letters of Cicero that are its core provided literary models for subsequent letter writers from Pliny to Petrarch to Samuel Johnson and beyond. The collection also includes some one hundred letters by Cicero’s contemporaries. The letters they exchanged provide unique insight into the experience of the Roman political class at the turning point between Republican and imperial rule.

The first part of this study analyzes effects of the milieu in which the letters were written. The lack of an organized postal system limited the correspondence that Cicero and his contemporaries could conduct and influenced what they were willing to write about. Their chief motive for exchanging letters was to protect political relationships until they could resume their customary, face-to-face association in Rome. Romans did not normally sign letters, much less write them in their own hand. Their correspondence was handled by agents who drafted, expedited, and interpreted it. Yet every letter advertised the level of intimacy that bound the writer and the addressee. Finally, the published letters were not drawn at random from the archives that Cicero left. An editor selected and arranged them in order to impress on readers a particular view of Cicero as a public personality. The second half of the book explores the significance of leading themes in the letters. It shows how, in a time of deepening crisis, Cicero and his correspondents drew on their knowledge of literature, the habit of consultation, and the rhetoric of government in an effort to improve cooperation and to maintain the political culture which they shared. The result is a revealing look at Cicero’s epistolary practices and also the world of elite social intercourse in the late Republic.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic

$39.26

This book offers a deep dive into Roman history and classical literature through the analysis of Cicero’s personal letters.

Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic
Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic
$39.26

[wpforms id=”1190″ title=”true” description=”Request a call back”]

Cicero in Letters is a guide to the first extensive correspondence that survives from the Greco-Roman world. The more than eight hundred letters of Cicero that are its core provided literary models for subsequent letter writers from Pliny to Petrarch to Samuel Johnson and beyond. The collection also includes some one hundred letters by Cicero’s contemporaries. The letters they exchanged provide unique insight into the experience of the Roman political class at the turning point between Republican and imperial rule. The first part of this study analyzes effects of the milieu in which the letters were written. The lack of an organized postal system limited the correspondence that Cicero and his contemporaries could conduct and influenced what they were willing to write about. Their chief motive for exchanging letters was to protect political relationships until they could resume their customary, face-to-face association in Rome. Romans did not normally sign letters, much less write them in their own hand. Their correspondence was handled by agents who drafted, expedited, and interpreted it. Yet every letter advertised the level of intimacy that bound the writer and the addressee. Finally, the published letters were not drawn at random from the archives that Cicero left. An editor selected and arranged them in order to impress on readers a particular view of Cicero as a public personality. The second half of the book explores the significance of leading themes in the letters. It shows how, in a time of deepening crisis, Cicero and his correspondents drew on their knowledge of literature, the habit of consultation, and the rhetoric of government in an effort to improve cooperation and to maintain the political culture which they shared. The result is a revealing look at Cicero’s epistolary practices and also the world of elite social intercourse in the late Republic.

Additional information

Weight 0.363 lbs
Dimensions 15.6 × 1.4 × 23.4 in

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *