Cicero as evidence : a historian's companion / Andrew Lintott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lintott, A. W. (Andrew William)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cicero, Marcus Tullius--Criticism and interpretation.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

x, 469 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008.

Summary:

This book suggests to historically minded readers of Cicero how they should read him, and guides them through his writings, showing how they can be exploited and enjoyed. Cornelius Nepos described Cicero's correspondence with Atticus as not far short of a continuous history of the period in which it was written. However, these letters form no more than half of the surviving correspondence, and we possess in addition the texts of many of Cicero's speeches and the greater part of his theoretical work. The immense quantity of these writings makes Cicero's life and the period in which he lived especially attractive for the student of history but at the same time especially difficult. Though Cicero as Evidence is neither a complete biography nor a history of the late Republic, it seeks to provide fundamental material for both. Through its concentration on primary evidence, it is a corrective to the interpretations of Cicero and the late Republic that circulated after his death, which were inevitably affected by bitterness and the exploitation of history for political purposes.

Part One discusses the problems in reading Cicero as historical evidence. This theme is developed in the following Part in relation to Cicero's forensic speeches. Parts Three and Four follow the course of the correspondence from the mid-60s BC onwards, relating it to Cicero's other writing, and are for the most part chronologically organized. In Part Four, Andrew Lintott seeks in particular to integrate Cicero's theoretical works into the other material on his life and politics, so that his intellectual biography becomes richer and more revealing.

Contents:

Part A Reading Cicero

I Reading Events 3

II The Texts of the Speeches 15

III Truth and Fiction in the Speeches 33

Part B Reading Oratory

IV Cicero's Forensic Baptism: The Pro Quinctio 43

V More Problems of Partnership: The Pro Quinto Roscio Comoedo 60

VI Property and Violence: The Pro Tullio and Pro Caecina 68

VII Cicero and the Citadel of the Allies 81

VIII The Defence of Good Men (1): The Other Side of the Quaestio de Repetundis 101

IX The Defence of Good Men (2): Treason and Other Crimes against the Roman People 111

Part C History in Speeches and Letters

X Candidature and Consulship 129

XI The Aftermath of the Consulship 149

XII The Gang of Three and Clodius 167

XIII After the Return 183

Part D History and Ideas

XIV The Search for Otium 215

XV The Governor and the Approach of Civil War 253

XVI The Mediator and the Partisans 281

XVII Living with Dictatorship 301

XVIII The Ides of March and After 339

XIX Answering the Republic's Call 374

1 The Pro Sexto Roscio 425

2 The De Imperio Gnaei Pompeii (Pro Lege Manilia) 427

3 Further Notes on the Pro Caelio 430

4 The End of Caesar's Command in Gaul 433

5 The De Legibus 436

6 The De Senectute 438

7 Events after Caesar's Murder 440

8 Antonius' Letter (CIC. Phil. 13. 22 ff.) 445.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [448]-456) and index.

ISBN:

9780199216444

0199216444

OCLC:

166255055