Cicero

by D.R. Shackleton Bailey

0684132168

Genres: Biography, Classics

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

David Roy Shackleton Bailey was a distinguished British scholar of Latin literature (particularly in the field of textual criticism), who spent his academic life teaching at the University of Cambridge, the University of Michigan, and Harvard. He is best known for his work on Cicero, especially his commentaries and translations of Cicero's letters.

Reviews

[James Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cicero was an advocate, orator, patriot, and author who lived through a turbulent and turbulent time in Roman history. His writings capture a wide range of modern attitudes, concepts, and circumstances. He is depicted in this book in both his public and private capacities. Perhaps best known in his day as an orator, we can only encounter his thoughts through his voluminous writings, many of which have survived to this day and are available in modern translations. His Republic, Rhetoric, and essay on Friendship are among my favorites.

He was aspirational, a little pretentious, talkative, and wholly human. Through the eyes of one of its most renowned inhabitants, this vibrant account provides an entertaining and informative introduction to daily life in ancient Rome. In addition, the author offers psychological explanations of his character and his place in Roman history.

[l · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pompey and Cicero always had for one another the basic sympathy that is apt to exist between two mental atmospheres both containing a high percentage of fog."

Bailey knows his stuff and is slightly sassy! Enjoyable reading.

[Rebecca Jessup · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happen to love Cicero, and I enjoyed and appreciated this scholarly but accessible view of his life through his letters. Since over 800 letters by Cicero have come down to us, it is beyond helpful to have a true scholar guide me through those that offer the most direct and helpful insight into the life and times of this great man of letters, this almost-giant, this hero manque.

[Stephen Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest picture of what it meant to be as free a man as possible in the dark days of the Republic's end.