Cicero: Brutus and OratorCicero's Brutus and Orator constitute his final major statements on the history of Roman oratory and the nature of the ideal orator. In the Brutus he traces the development of political and judicial speech over the span of 150 years, from the early second century to 46 BCE, when both of these treatises were written. In an immensely detailed account of some 200 speakers from the past he dispenses an expert's praise and criticism, provides an unparalleled resource for the study of Roman rhetoric, and engages delicately with the fraught political circumstances of the day, when the dominance of Julius Caesar was assured and the future of Rome's political institutions was thrown into question. The Orator written several months later, describes the form of oratory that Cicero most admired, even though he insists that neither he nor any other orator has been able to achieve it. At the same time, he defends his views against critics the so-called Atticists who found Cicero's style overwrought. In this volume, the first English translation of both works in more than eighty years, Robert Kaster provides faithful and eminently readable renderings, along with a detailed introduction that places the works in their historical and cultural context and explains the key stylistic concepts and terminology that Cicero uses in his analyses. Extensive notes accompany the translations, helping readers at every step contend with unfamiliar names, terms, and concepts from Roman culture and history. |
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Contents
| 5 | |
3 Orator | 17 |
4 Outlines of Brutus and Orator | 32 |
5 Translation Notes Text | 34 |
6 Further Reading | 36 |
Abbreviations | 37 |
Ancient Authors and Works Cited | 39 |
Brutus | 49 |
Glossary of Roman Political Terms | 257 |
On the Best Kind of Orator | 269 |
Variant Readings | 277 |
| 283 | |
| 287 | |
| 299 | |
| 301 | |
| 305 | |
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Common terms and phrases
achieved advocate already Antonius appear arguments Athens Atticus Brutus Caesar called Cambridge Cato cause Cicero common consul contemporary court Crassus critic death defended Demosthenes discussion distinction effect elaboration eloquence fact father figures force fragments FRHist Friends Gaius Gracchus Greek Hortensius Ideal Orator important included Italy judge kind known lacked Latin latter learned less lived Lucius Marcus mean mentioned mind nature noted oratory ORF4 perhaps period Plautus poet political practice praise produced prose prosecution Quintilian Quintus refers remarks respectively rhetoric rhythm rhythmical Roman Rome seems senate sentence Servius short skill sort speak speaker speech spoke standing style Sulpicius Sumner syllable term thing thought TLRR topic Trans translation trial tribune verse writing written
Bibliographic information
| Title | Cicero: Brutus and Orator |
| Author | Robert A. Kaster |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, 2020 |
| ISBN | 0190857870, 9780190857875 |
| Length | 360 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Ancient / General Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical Poetry / Ancient & Classical |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |