Letters to Atticus, Volume IV: Letters 282–426

by Marcus Tullius Cicero, D.R. Shackleton Bailey (Translator)

To his dear friend Atticus, Cicero reveals himself as to no other of his correspondents except perhaps his brother. In Cicero's Letters to Atticus we get an intimate look at his motivations and convictions and his reactions to what is happening in Rome. These letters also provide a vivid picture of a momentous period in Roman history, years marked by the rise of Julius Caesar and the downfall of the Republic.

When the correspondence begins in November 68 BCE, the 38-year-old Cicero is a notable figure in Rome: a brilliant lawyer and orator, he has achieved primacy at the Roman bar and a political career that would culminate in the Consulship in 63. Over the next twenty-four years—until November 44, a year before he was put to death by the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony—Cicero wrote frequently to his friend and confidant, sharing news and views and discussing affairs of business and state. It is to this corpus of over 400 letters that we owe most of our information about Cicero's literary activity. Here too is a revealing picture of the staunch republican's changing attitude toward Caesar. And taken as a whole the letters provide a first-hand account of social and political life in Rome.

Genres: Politics, Classics

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 44

About the author

Born 3 January 106 BC, Arpinum, Italy
Died 7 December 43 BC (aged 63), Formia, Italy

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

Alternate profiles:
Cicéron
Marco Tullio Cicerone
Cicerone

Note: All editions should have Marcus Tullius Cicero as primary author. Editions with another name on the cover should have that name added as secondary author.

Reviews

[John Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's wonderful to read of a well-written life knowing the tragic end and finding out just how much of that our hero presciently perceives. He knew he was safer while Caesar lived. He knows Brutus and Cassius have bungled by not killing Antony too. He's wondering about Octavian, little anticipating that young man's coming to terms with Antony. Since the second Philippic wasn't published, I'm going to have to read the first again to see waht so pissed off Antony though i suspect he was doomed in any trade-off anyway. He knows he'd be safer in Greece but wants to be on hand if he can help re-establish the Republic. I'm going to have to read the last volume of Letters to Friends to find out what else percolated through of the politicising into the life of a nomadic writer and philosopher, going from one property to another of his own or friends. When he talks of restoring freedom he means for the self-serving elite.