Showing results by author "Marcus Tullius Cicero" in All Categories

Does happiness come from the pursuit of pleasure or moral virtue? A vivid new translation of Cicero’s exploration of a timeless question.

Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest statesman and orator, was elected to the Roman Republic's highest office at a time when his beloved country was threatened by power-hungry politicians, dire economic troubles, foreign turmoil, and political parties that refused to work together. Sound familiar? Cicero's letters, speeches, and other writings are filled with timeless wisdom and practical insight about how to solve these and other problems of leadership and politics. How to Run a Country collects the best of these writings to provide an entertaining, common-sense guide for modern leaders and citizens

Towards the end of his life and his career as one of the leading politicians and orators in Rome, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE-43 BCE) was exiled to his country house. It was a time of political turmoil in the capital of the empire, caused by the power-grab of Julius Caesar. In the quiet of the countryside, Cicero began to write on philosophy. In On the Ends of Good and Evil, he set out to consider three major traditions of Greek philosophy - Epicureanism, Stoicism and a branch of Platonism.

The statesman, orator, and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero remains a writer whose influence has been felt for many centuries. Tusculan Disputations is his most wide-ranging philosophical work, and was intended to introduce the Roman people to the pleasures and benefits of the study of philosophy. In a series of stimulating dialogues, Tusculan Disputations examines some of the most fundamental questions of human life: the fear of death, the endurance of pain, the alleviation of sorrow, the various disorders of the soul, and the necessity of virtue for a happy life.

In a world where social media, online relationships, and relentless self-absorption threaten the very idea of deep and lasting friendships, the search for true friends is more important than ever. In this short book, famous Roman politician and philosopher Cicero offers a compelling guide to finding, keeping, and appreciating friends. With wit and wisdom, Cicero teaches not only how to build friendships but also why they must be a key part of our lives. For, as Cicero says, life without friends is not worth living.

All of us are faced countless times with the challenge of persuading others, whether we're trying to win a trivial argument with a friend or convince our coworkers about an important decision. Instead of relying on untrained instinct - and often failing as a result - we'd win more arguments if we learned the timeless art of verbal persuasion, or rhetoric.

Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote on a wide range of subjects, from Greek philosophy to moral duty to friendship. Though he considered philosophy secondary to politics and often used his writings for explicit political ends, his work has nevertheless been widely read for over two thousand years and has influenced everything from the culture of the Renaissance to the ideals of the founding fathers of the United States.

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

One of the most influential Roman perspectives on religion came from a nonreligious belief system that is finding new adherents even today: Stoicism. How did the Stoics think about religion? In How to Think About God, Philip Freeman presents vivid new translations of Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods and The Dream of Scipio. In these brief works, Cicero offers a Stoic view of belief, divinity, and human immortality, giving eloquent expression to the religious ideas of one of the most popular schools of Roman and Greek philosophy.

Can jokes win a hostile room, a hopeless argument, or even an election? You bet they can, according to Cicero, and he knew what he was talking about. One of Rome's greatest politicians, speakers, and lawyers, Cicero was also reputedly one of antiquity's funniest people. After he was elected commander-in-chief and head of state, his enemies even started calling him "the stand-up Consul". How to Tell a Joke provides a lively new translation of Cicero's essential writing on humor alongside that of the later Roman orator and educator Quintilian.

This new, original translation of Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods is the first to appear in many years. Do the gods exist? Is there a divine order to the universe? And if there is, what is humanity’s role in this grand conception? Does a divine power care about human affairs? These are just a few of the profound questions discussed in Cicero’s philosophical masterpiece.

Embark on a journey through 2,400 years of history with this definitive collection of 161 of the world’s greatest speeches. Presented chronologically, this master volume spans from the golden age of Athens in 431 BCE to the dawn of a new China in 1926, now complete with seminal speeches from India’s Mohandas Gandhi and China’s Mao Tse-Tung.

This complete edition spans 2,400 years (431 BCE–1944) in 40 hours, 155 speeches, and 52 speakers, including foundational addresses by Gandhi and Mao—voices that shaped modern Asia. Begin in 431 BCE with Demosthenes, whose structural genius remains the DNA of modern expression. Traverse Athens’ zenith via Pericles’ Funeral Oration, Alexander’s volatile proclamations, and Rome’s crisis in Cicero’s showdown with Cataline—featuring Caesar’s sole surviving senate address and Mark Antony’s incendiary eulogy.

In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech—not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked. Cicero's Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech.

Discover the enduring themes of friendship and the profound wisdom that accompanies old age in this captivating work by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC). Celebrated as one of Romes greatest orators and prose stylists, Ciceros insights have shaped European literature and philosophy for centuries. In this engaging exploration, we invite you to reflect on his timeless thoughts that continue to resonate today, beautifully narrated by David Wales. Join us on this journey through Ciceros reflections that celebrate the bonds of friendship and the richness of a life well-lived.

Named to The Wall Street Journal's top-six list for "The Year's Best Books for the Journey Ahead," on "making the most of later life" (12/1/2014, R4). Cicero's classic ON OLD AGE is now adapted, explained, and updated to today's world. “Getting old is not for sissies”: the mortal words of Bette Davis. And somewhat the theme of Marcus Tullius Cicero's ON OLD AGE. Except that Cicero did not believe in denying aging or hiding its effects. What he believed has been passed on for generations and still speaks to a modern world. Now 'De Senectute' can be read with a real understanding of it, ...

The great Marcus Tillius Cicero was a well-known statesman during the time of Caesar and a revolutionary orator. In On Invention, Cicero offers his reflections on rhetoric at only 21 years of age. Given his youth at the time, he mainly discarded its value later in life, but the words do already announce a powerful orator in the making.

A philippic is a powerful and scathing speech directed at denouncing a political figure. This term originates from Demosthenes fierce attacks on Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BCE. Cicero, inspired by Demosthenes, delivered his own series of orations against Mark Antony in 44 and 43 BC, aptly named the Philippics—also referred to as the Antonian Orations by Aulus Gellius. Ironically, these speeches were named after a series of warnings that failed to alert the Greeks about Philip, whose son, Alexander the Great, became one of historys most formidable conquerors. After Julius Caesars...

Cicero sets out the three major Greek philosophies: Epicureanism, Stoicism and Aristotelianism (or Peripateticism), by recounting his conversations with Lucius Torquatus, Marcus Cato, and Piso.

Dive into Tusculan Disputations, a profound work by the esteemed Marcus Tullius Cicero, translated with skill by Charles Duke Yonge. This exploration, divided into five compelling books, tackles essential themes such as death, pain, grief, emotional turmoil, and the essence of virtue. Cicero boldly questions whether true wisdom can sustain happiness in the face of lifes inevitable misfortunes. The text also invites intrigue with Andrew Peabodys speculation that the initials A. and M. may refer to figures like Auditor, Adolescens, Atticus, or Aulus and Marcus or Magister. Join us as we unravel ...