作者简介
Cicero(MarcusTullius,106–43BCE),Romanlawyer,orator,politicianandphilosopher,ofwhomweknowmorethanofanyotherRoman,livedthroughthestirringerawhichsawtherise,dictatorship,anddeathofJuliusCaesarinatotteringrepublic.Inhispoliticalspeechesespeciallyandinhiscorrespondenceweseetheexcitement,tensionandintrigueofpoliticsandthepartheplayedintheturmoilofthetime.Ofabout106speeches,deliveredbeforetheRomanpeopleortheSenateiftheywerepolitical,beforejurorsifjudicial,58survive(afewofthemincompletely).InthefourteenthcenturyPetrarchandotherItalianhumanistsdiscoveredmanuscriptscontainingmorethan900lettersofwhichmorethan800werewrittenbyCiceroandnearly100byotherstohim.Theseaffordarevelationofthemanallthemorestrikingbecausemostwerenotwrittenforpublication.Sixrhetoricalworkssurviveandanotherinfragments.Philosophicalworksincludesevenextantmajorcompositionsandanumberofothers;andsomelost.Thereisalsopoetry,someoriginal,someastranslationsfromtheGreek.
