Cicero: Roman Witness to Turbulent Times

The correspondence of Cicero - which has been passed on to us for the most part by his secretary, freedman Tiro, and by his best friend Atticus - gives us an insight into the lives and preoccupations of the politically active upper classes in Rome, particularly during Rome's turbulent transition time from Roman Republic to Roman Empire. Much of it provides a witness account of the evolving political tensions towards a civil war in Rome, including interactions with the ultimate opponents Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. It also reveals insights into Cicero as a person and fellow human being, his thoughts and observations, worries and ambitions, intelligence and character. The emphasis of this compilation has been on selecting a variety of highlights which relate to Cicero's eventful life, his participation in and perception of the historical events, as well as his linguistic style and expressions. The highlights contain both formal and informal correspondence and are provided side-by-side in Latin and English. The correspondence also contains a fair amount of Greek proverbs and citations which are kept in the Greek character set and translated into English as well. The historical context of the correspondence is provided both in terms of some of the noteworthy historic events leading up to the end of the Republic as well as in terms of occasional notes and commentary about the correspondence itself.