First Catilinarian Oration

by Karl Frerichs

Cicero's First Catilinarian speech is now available in a practical and inexpensive annotated edition for third-year Latin students. In light of existing textbooks, Karl Frerichs' edition has several important and distinguishing strengths: -- Clear, tripartite page layout for text, vocabulary and notes on facing pages

-- Running vocabulary separate from notes and complete vocabulary at the end

-- Introduction and Glossary of Terms and Figures of Speech provide basic biographical, historical, and rhetorical background

-- Maps and illustrations

Genres: Nonfiction, History

62 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 64

Reviews

[Luke McNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful oration that makes me mourn how bland all speechmaking has become in the modern world.

Yes, I am reaching by Goodreads challenge by citing my prescribed texts, don't hate on me.

[Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

After scripture, Cicero’s speeches may be some of the most fine-tuned pieces of literature I have ever read. Every word, meaning, implication, consonant, and vowel are considered by this genius speech writer and are placed exactly so as to creat a particular effect in the minds of his hearers. What precision!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't read this edition -- I just picked something that represented the First Catilinarian Oration because I wanted it and the Second to be separate to bump up my book count.

Historical fun fact: Cicero was not Catiline's biggest fan, folks.

Also fun fact: there's a reason no one speaks Latin anymore guys. It's frustrating as frack and I'm 2+ years into Latin and I am /still/ not sure what an ablative absolute is.
I know like six words for "not good person" though, thanks to Cicero calling Catiline every name in the book.
Literally.
Every insult in my dictionary.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

i will pass over (wink wink) the fact that Cicero never fails to lose me in translation to just say that, even with full clarity, this guy needs to get to the action (and the verb) for once and STOP EDGING US!! perhaps one of the most overrated orators in history: long-winded, repetitive (swap out lines from Pro Archia with this and you won't suspect a thing in either), and circuitous. only his sass and self-consciousness really salvage him. while he packs a punch with the imaginative capacities of his prose, he compromises it with his verbosity. in every section he manages to bring up an aside, go on a tangent about it, and cutely "quae cum ita sint" his way out of it (non sequitur much?) in front of his audience. well, on paper, it gets pretty banal: i started hallucinating things on my reader at one point.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly, there are a number of ironically and satirically funny passages. Read in Dr. Jeff Hunt's class at Baylor. Finished reading through it again on August 13 and August 14 in preparation for the final.

[Steven Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good notes, but can miss some explanation (i.e. rarely identifies/explains hendiadys and the more confusing parallel constructions). The speech itself is phenomenal, but this edition does a great job as a follow-up to Wheelock's Latin. I only wish that it had a glossary of new case usages!

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful rendition in English, courtesy of Charles Yonge, the first Catilinarian oration is a masterpiece of rhetoric - and an awkward POV of a most interesting, if apparently crazy and indomitable Catiline.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredible speech and actually fun to translate.

[Zach Vowles · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a short speech, and one that you should read if you are interesting in ancient history.