_De Finibus_, on the Supreme Good. In Book i. L. Manlius Torquatus
explains the Epicurean doctrine, which is refuted in ii. by Cicero. In
iii. and iv. M. Porcius Cato sets forth the doctrine of the Stoics
which is shown by Cicero to agree with that of Antiochus of Ascalon;
in v. M. Pupius Piso explains the views of the Academics and
Peripatetics.
_Tusculanae Disputationes_, so called from Cicero's villa at Tusculum
in which the discussion is supposed to have taken place. The subjects
treated are:--in Book i., the nature of death and the reasons for
despising it; Book ii., the endurance of pain: Pain is not an evil;
Book iii., wisdom makes a man insensible to sorrow; Book iv., wisdom
banishes all mental disquietude; Book v., virtue is sufficient to
secure happiness. The materials are drawn largely from works of
Dicaearchus.
_De Deorum Natura._--The dialogue is placed in 77 B.C. In Book i.
Velleius attacks other philosophies and explains the system of
Epicurus. He is then refuted by Cotta. In Book ii. Balbus, speaking as
a Stoic, discusses the existence of the gods, nature, the government
of the world and providence. In Book iii. Cotta criticizes the views
of Balbus. The statement of the Epicurean doctrine is drawn from the
work of Phaedrus [Greek: Peri theon], the criticism of this from
Posidonius. The Stoic teaching is derived from Cleanthes, Chrysippus
and Zeno, and is criticized from the writings of Carneades and
Clitomachus.
_De Officiis_, addressed to his son Marcus. In this the form of
dialogue was not employed. The material is chiefly drawn from Stoic
sources, e.g. works of Panaetius in Books i. and ii., of Posidonius
and Hecato in Book iii.
The _Academica_, as they have come down to us, are a conflation from
the two editions of this work. They consist of the second book from
the first edition, and a portion of the first book from the second
edition.
_Cato maior_, or _de Senectute_, a dialogue placed in 150 B.C. in
which Cato, addressing Scipio and Laelius, set forth the praises of
old age. The idea is drawn from Aristo of Chios, and the materials
largely derived from Xenophon and Plato.
_Laelius_, or _de Amicitia_, a dialogue between Laelius and his
sons-in-law, in which he sets forth the theory of friendship, speaking
with special reference to the recent death of Scipio. Cicero here
draws from a work of Theophrastus on the same subject and from
Aristotle.
(iv.) _Letters._--Those preserved are (1) _ad Familiares_, i.-xvi.; (2)
_ad Atticum_, i.-xvi.; (3) _ad Quintum_, i.-iii., _ad Brutum_, i.-ii.
Some thirty-five other books of letters were known to antiquity, e.g. to
Caesar, to Pompey, to Octavian and to his son Marcus.
The collection includes nearly one hundred letters written by other
persons. Thus, the eighth Book _ad Fam._ consists entirely of letters
from Caelius to Cicero when in Cilicia. When writing to Atticus Cicero
frequently sent copies of letters which he had received. There is a
great variety in the style not only of Cicero's correspondents, but also
of Cicero himself. Caelius writes in a breezy, school-boy style; the
Latinity of Plancus is Ciceronian in character; the letter of Sulpicius
to Cicero on the death of Tullia is a masterpiece of style; Matius
writes a most dignified letter justifying his affectionate regard for
Caesar's memory. There is an amazingly indiscreet letter of Quintus to
his brother's freedman, Tiro, in which he says of the consuls-elect,
Hirtius and Pansa, that he would hesitate to put one of them in charge
of a village on the frontier, and the other in that of the basement of a
tavern (_Fam._ xvi. 27. 2). Several of his correspondents are
indifferent stylists. Cato labours to express himself in an awkward and
laconic epistle, apologizing for its length. Metellus Celer is very
rude, but gives himself away in every word. Antony writes bad Latin,
while Cicero himself writes in various styles. We have such a _cri de
coeur_ as his few words to one of the conspirators after Caesar's
murder, "I congratulate you. I rejoice for myself. I love you. I watch
your interests; I wish for your love and to be informed what you are
doing and what is being done" (_Fam._ vi. 15). When writing to Atticus
he eschews all ornamentation, uses short sentences, colloquial idioms,
rare diminutives and continually quotes Greek. This use of Greek tags
and quotations is also found in letters to other intimate friends, e.g.
Paetus and Caelius; also in letters written by other persons, e.g.
Cassius to Cicero; Quintus to Tiro, and subsequently in those of
Augustus to Tiberius. It is a feature of the colloquial style and often
corresponds to the modern use of "slang." Other letters of Cicero,
especially those written to persons with whom he was not quite at his
ease or those meant for circulation, are composed in his elaborate style
with long periods, parentheses and other devices for obscuring thought.
These are throughout rhythmical in character, like his speeches and
philosophical works.
We know from Cicero's own statement (_Att._ xvi. 5. 5) that he thought
of publishing some of his letters during his lifetime. On another
occasion he jestingly charges Tiro with wishing to have his own letters
included in the "volumes" (_Fam._ xvi. 17. 1). It is obvious that Cicero
could not have meant to publish his private letters to Atticus in which
he makes confessions about himself, or those to Quintus in which he
sometimes outsteps the limits of brotherly criticism, but was thinking
of polished productions such as the letters to Lentulus Spinther or that
to Lucceius which he describes as "very pretty" (_Att._ iv. 6. 4).
It is universally agreed that the letters _ad Familiares_ were published
by Tiro, whose hand is revealed by the fact that he suppresses all
letters written by himself, and modestly puts at the end those written
to him. That Cicero kept copies of his letters, or of many of them, we
know from a passage in which, when addressing a friend who had
inadvertently torn up a letter from him, he says that there is nothing
to grieve about; he has himself a copy at home and can replace the loss
(_Fam._ vii. 25. 1). Tiro may have obtained from Terentia copies of
letters written to her. It has been suggested that he may also have
edited the letters to Quintus, as he could obtain them from members of
the family. The letters _ad Familiares_ were generally quoted in
antiquity by books, the title being taken from the first letter, e.g.
_Cicero ad Varronem epistula Paeti_.
While the letters _ad Familiares_ were circulated at once, those to
Atticus appear to have been suppressed for a considerable time.
Cornelius Nepos (_Att._ 16) knew of their existence but distinguishes
them from the published letters. Asconius (p. 87), writing under
Claudius, never quotes them, though, when discussing Cicero's projected
defence of Catiline, he could hardly have failed to do so, if he had
known them. The first author who quotes them is Seneca. It is,
therefore, probable that they were not published by Atticus himself, who
died 32 B.C., though his hand may be seen in the suppression of all
letters written by himself, but that they remained in the possession of
his family and were not published until about A.D. 60. At that date they
could be published without expurgation of any kind, whereas in the
letters _ad Familiares_ the editor's hand is on one occasion (iii. 10.
11) manifest. Cicero is telling Appius, his predecessor in Cilicia, of
the measures which he is taking on his behalf. There then follows a
lacuna. It is obvious that Tiro thought the passage compromising and
struck it out. In the letters to Atticus, on the other hand, we have
Cicero's private journal, his confessions to the director of his
conscience, the record of his moods from day to day, without alterations
of any kind.
Cicero's letters are the chief and most reliable source of information
for the period. It is due to them that the Romans of the day are living
figures to us, and that Cicero, in spite of, or rather in virtue of his
frailties, is intensely human and sympathetic. The letters to Atticus
abound in the frankest self-revelation, though even in the presence of
his confessor his instinct as a pleader makes him try to justify
himself. The historical value of the letters, therefore, completely
transcends that of Cicero's other works. It is true that these are full
of information. Thus we learn much from the _de Legibus_ regarding the
constitutional history of Rome, and much from the _Brutus_ concerning
the earlier orators. The speeches abound in details which may be
accepted as authentic, either because there is no reason for
misrepresentation or on account of their circumstantiality. Thus the
_Verrines_ are our chief source of information for the government of the
provinces, the system of taxation, the powers of the governor. We hear
from them of such interesting details as that the senate annul a
judicial decision improperly arrived at by the governor, or that the
college of tribunes could consider the status at Rome of a man affected
by this decision (_Verr._ II. ii. 95-100). We have unfolded to us the
monstrous system by which the governor could fix upon a remote place
for the delivery of corn, and so compel the farmer to compound by a
payment in money which the orator does not blame, on the ground that it
is only proper to allow magistrates to receive corn wherever they wish
(_ib._ iii. 190). From the speech _pro Cluentio_ (145-154) we gain
unique information concerning the condition of society in a country
town, the extraordinary exemption of equites from prosecution for
judicial corruption, the administration of domestic justice in the case
of slaves examined by their owner (_ib._ 176-187). But we have always to
be on our guard against misrepresentation, exaggeration and falsehood.
The value of the letters lies in the fact that in them we get behind
Cicero and are face to face with the other _dramatis personae_; also
that we are admitted behind the scenes and read the secret history of
the times. One of the most interesting documents in the correspondence
is a despatch of Caesar to his agent Oppius, written in great haste and
in disjointed sentences. It runs as follows: "On the 9th I came to
Brundisium. Pompey is at Brundisium. He sent Magius to me to treat
of peace. I gave him a suitable answer" (_Att._ ix. 13, Ai.). In the _de
Bello civili_, on the other hand, Caesar, who wishes to show that he did
his best to make peace, after stating that he sent his captive Magius to
negotiate, expresses mild surprise at the fact that Pompey did not send
him back (_Bell. Civ._ i. 26). We hear of the extraordinary agreement
made by two candidates for the consulship in Caesar's interest with the
sitting consuls of 54 B.C., which Cicero says he hardly ventures to put
on paper. Under the terms of this the consuls, who were _optimates_,
bound themselves to betray their party by securing, apparently
fraudulently, the election of the candidates while they in turn bound
themselves to procure two ex-consuls who would swear that they were
present in the senate when supplies were voted for the consular
provinces, though no meeting of the senate had been held, and three
augurs who would swear that a _lex curiata_ had been passed, though the
_comitia curiata_ had not been convened (_Att._ iv. 18. 2). But perhaps
the most singular scene is the council of three great ladies presided
over by Servilia at Antium, which decides the movements of Brutus and
Cassius in June 44 B.C., when Cassius "looking very fierce--you would
say that he was breathing fire and sword"--blustered concerning what he
considered an insult, viz. a commission to supply corn which had been
laid upon him. Servilia calmly remarks she will have the commission
removed from the decree of the senate (_Att._ xv. 11. 2).
(v.) _Miscellaneous._--It is not necessary to dwell upon the other forms
of literary composition attempted by Cicero. He was a fluent versifier,
and would write 500 verses in one night. Considerable fragments from a
juvenile translation of Aratus have been preserved. His later poems upon
his own consulship and his exile were soon forgotten except for certain
lines which provoked criticism, such as the unfortunate verse:
"O fortunatam natam me consule Romam."
He wrote a memoir of his consulship in Greek and at one time thought of
writing a history of Rome. Nepos thought that he would have been an
ideal historian, but as Cicero ranks history with declamation and on one
occasion with great _naïveté_ asks Lucius Lucceius (q.v.), who was
embarking on this task, to embroider the facts to his own credit, we
cannot accept this criticism (_Fam._ vi. 2. 3).
(vi.) _Authenticity._--The genuineness of certain works of Cicero has
been attacked. It was for a long time usual to doubt the authenticity of
the speeches _post reditum_ and _pro Marcello_.[12] Recent scholars
consider them genuine. As their rhythmical structure corresponds more or
less exactly with the canon of authenticity formed by Zielinski from the
other speeches, the question may now be considered closed.[13] Absurd
suspicion has been cast upon the later speeches _in Catilinam_ and that
_pro Archia_. An oration _pridie quam in exsilium iret_ is certainly a
forgery, as also a letter to Octavian. There is a "controversy" between
Cicero and Sallust which is palpably a forgery, though a quotation from
it occurs in Quintilian.[14] Suspicion has been attached to the letters
to Brutus, which in the case of two letters (i. 16 and 17) is not
unreasonable since they somewhat resemble the style of _suasoriae_, or
rhetorical exercises, but the latest editors, Tyrrell and Purser, regard
these also as genuine.
_Criticism_. (i.) _Ancient._--After Cicero's death his character was
attacked by various detractors, such as the author of the spurious
_Controversia_ put into the mouth of Sallust, and the calumniator from
Whom Dio Cassius (xlvi. 1--28) draws the libellous statements which he
inserts into the speech of Q. Fufius Calenus in the senate. Of such
critics, Asconius (in _Tog. Cand._ p. 95) well says that it is best to
ignore them. His prose style was attacked by Pollio as Asiatic, also
by his son, Asinius Gallus, who was answered by the emperor Claudius
(Suet. 41). The writers of the silver age found fault with his
prolixity, want of sparkle and epigram, and monotony of his
clausulae.[15] A certain Largius Licinius gained notoriety by
attacking his Latinity in a work styled _Ciceromastix_. His most
devoted admirers were the younger Pliny, who reproduced his oratorical
style with considerable success, and Quintilian (x. 1. 112), who
regarded him as the perfect orator, and draws most of his
illustrations from his works. At a later period his style fascinated
Christian writers, notably Lactantius, the "Christian Cicero," Jerome
and S. Augustine, who drew freely from his rhetorical writings.
The first commentator upon Cicero was Asconius, a Roman senator living
in the reign of Claudius; who wrote a commentary upon the speeches, in
which he explains obscure historical points for the instruction of his
sons (see ASCONIUS). Passing over a number of grammatical and
rhetorical writers who drew illustrations from Cicero, we may mention
the _Commentary_ of Victorinus, written in the 4th century, upon the
treatise _de Inventione_, and that of Boethius (A.D. 480-524) upon the
_Topica_. Among scholiasts may be mentioned the _Scholiasta Bobiensis_
who is assigned to the 5th century, and a pseudo-Asconius, who wrote
notes upon the _Verrines_ dealing with points of grammar and rhetoric.
(ii.) _Medieval Scholars._--In the middle ages Cicero was chiefly
known as a writer on rhetoric and morals. The works which were most
read were the _de Inventione_ and _Topica_--though neither of these
was quite so popular as the treatise _ad Herennium_, then supposed to
be by Cicero--and among the moral works, the _de Officiis_, and the
_Cato Maior_. John of Salisbury (1110-1180) continually quotes from
rhetorical and philosophical writings, but only once from the
speeches. The value set upon the work _de Inventione_ is shown by a
passage in which Notker (d. 1022) writing to his bishop says that he
has lent a MS. containing, the _Philippics_ and a commentary upon the
_Topics_, but has received as a pledge something far more valuable,
viz. the _de Inventione_, and the "famous commentary of
Victorinus."[16] We have an interesting series of excerpts made by a
priest named Hadoard, in the 9th century, taken from all the
philosophical writings, now preserved, also from the _de Oratore_.[17]
The other works of Cicero are seldom mentioned. The most popular
speeches were those against Catiline, the _Verrines_, _Caesarianae_
and _Philippics_, to which may be added the spurious _Controversia_. A
larger knowledge of the speeches is shown by Wibald, abbot of Corvey,
who in 1146 procured from Hildesheim a MS. containing with the
_Philippics_ the speeches against Rullus, wishing to form a _corpus_
of Ciceronian works.[18] Gerbert (afterwards Pope Silvester II.,
940-1003) was especially interested in the speeches, and in a letter
to a friend (_Epist._ 86) advises him to take them with him when
journeying. The letters are rarely mentioned. The abbey of Lorsch
possessed in the 9th century five MSS. containing "Letters of Cicero,"
but those to Atticus are only mentioned once, in the catalogue of
Cluny written in the 12th century.[19] Letters of Cicero were known to
Wibald of Corvey, also to Servatus Lupus, abbot of Ferrières
(805-832), who prosecuted in the 9th century a search for MSS. which
reminds us of the Italian humanists in the 15th century. A good deal
of textual criticism must have been devoted to Cicero's works during
this period. The earliest critic was Tiro, who, as we know from Aulus
Gellius (i. 7. 1), corrected MSS. which were greatly valued as
containing his recension. We have a very interesting colophon to the
speeches against Rullus, in which Statilius Maximus states that he had
corrected the text by the help of a MS. giving the recension of Tiro,
which he had collated with five other ancient copies.[20]
It is interesting to notice that Servatus Lupus did similar work in
the 9th century. Thus, writing to Ansbald of Prüm, he says, "I will
collate the letters of Cicero which you sent with the copy which I
have so as to elicit the true reading, if possible, by comparing the
two."[21] He asks another correspondent to supply him with a copy of
the _Verrines_ or any other works for a similar purpose.
Brunetto Latini (d. ca. 1294), the master of Dante, translated the
_Caesarianae_ into Italian. Dante himself appears to be acquainted
only with the _Laelius_, _Cato Maior_, _de Officiis_, _de Finibus_,
_de Inventione_ and _Paradoxa_. Petrarch says that among his
countrymen Cicero was a great name, but was studied by few. Petrarch
himself sought for MSS. of Cicero with peculiar ardour. He found the
speech _pro Archia_ at Liége in 1333, and in 1345 at Verona made his
famous discovery of the letters to Atticus, which revealed to the
world Cicero as a man in place of the "god of eloquence" whom they had
worshipped. Petrarch was under the impression in his old age that he
had once possessed Cicero's lost work _de Gloria_, but it is probable
that he was misled by one of the numerous passages in the extant
writings dealing with this subject.[22] The letters _ad Familiares_
were discovered towards the close of the 14th century at Vercelli. The
largest addition to the sum of Ciceronian writings was made by Poggio
(Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini) in the course of his celebrated
mission to the Council of Constance (1414-1417). He brought back no
less than ten speeches of Cicero previously unknown to the Italians,
viz. _pro Sexto Roscio_, _pro Murena_, _pro Cacina_, _de lege agraria_
i.-iii., _pro Rabirio perduellionis reo_, _pro Rabirio Postumo_, _pro
Roscio Comoedo_, and _in Pisonem_. An important discovery was made at
Lodi in 1422 of a MS. which, in addition to complete copies of the _de
Oratore_ and _Orator_, hitherto known from mutilated MSS., contained
an entirely new work, the _Brutus_. The second book of Cicero's
letters to Brutus was first printed by Cratander of Basel in 1528 from
a MS. obtained for him by Sichardus from the abbey of Lorsch.[23]
All these MSS. are now lost, except that containing the _Epistolae ad
Familiares_, a MS. written in the 9th century and now at Florence
(Laur. xlix. 9). A similar fate overtook three other MSS. containing
the letters to Atticus, independent of the _Veronensis_, viz. a
mutilated MS. of Books i.-vii. discovered by Cardinal Capra in 1409, a
Lorsch MS. used by Cratander (C), and a French MS. (Z), generally
termed _Tornaesianus_ from its owner, Jean de Tournes, a printer of
Lyons, probably identical with No. 492 in the old Cluny catalogue,
used by Turnebus, Lambinus and Bosius. A strange mystification was
practised by the last named, a scholar of singular brilliancy, who
claimed to have a mutilated MS. which he called his _Decurtatus_,
bought from a common soldier who had obtained it from a sacked
monastery; also to have been furnished by a friend, Pierre de
Crouzeil, a doctor of Limoges, with variants taken from an old MS.
found at Noyon, and entered in the margin of a copy of the Lyons
edition. The rough draft of his notes, however, upon Books x.-xvi.,
which afterwards came into the hands of Baluze, is preserved in the
Paris library (Lat. 8538 A), in which he continually ascribes
different readings to these MSS., the alteration corresponding with a
change in his own conjecture. It is, therefore, obvious that he
invented the readings in order to strengthen his own corrections. The
book, which he termed his _Crusellinus_, may well be his copy of the
Lyons edition of 1545 (number 8665 in the sale-catalogue of Baluze),
which is described as _cum notis et emendationibus MSS. manu ejusdem
Bosii_.[24]
The oldest evidence now existing for any works of Cicero is to be
found in palimpsests written in the 4th or 5th century. The most
interesting of these, now in the Vatican (Lat. 5757), discovered by
Angelo Mai in 1822, contains the treatise _de Republica_, only known
from this source. Fragments of the lost speeches _pro Tullio_ and _pro
Scauro_ were discovered in two Milan and Turin palimpsests. The
Vatican also possesses an important palimpsest of the _Verrines_ (Reg.
2077). A palimpsest containing fragments of various orations was
recently destroyed by the fire at the Turin library. The works _de
Oratore_ and _Orator_ are well represented by ancient MSS., the two
best known being one at Avranches (_Abrincensis_ 238) and a Harleian
MS. (2736), both written in the 9th century. The _Brutus_ is only
known from 15th-century transcripts of the lost _cod. Lodensis_.
The oldest MS. of any speeches, or indeed of any work of Cicero's,
apart from the palimpsests, belongs to the Chapter-house of St Peter's
in Rome (H. 25). It contains the speeches _in Pisonem_, _pro Fonteio_,
_pro Flacco_ and the _Philippics_. The earlier part of the MS. was
written in the 8th century. The Paris library has two 9th-century
MSS., viz. 7774 A. containing _in Verrem_ (_Act._ ii.), iv. and v.,
and 7794, containing the _post reditum_ speeches, together with those
_pro Sestio_, _in Vatinium_, _de provinciis consularibus_, _pro
Balbo_, _pro Caelio_. The only other 9th-century MS. of the speeches
is now in Lord Leicester's library at Holkham, No. 387.[25] It
originally belonged to Cluny, being No. 498 in the old catalogue. It
contains in a mutilated form the speeches _in Catilinam_, _pro
Ligario_, _pro rege Deiotaro_ and _in Verrem_ (_Act._ ii.) ii.
The speeches _pro Sex. Roscio_ and _pro Murena_ are only known from an
ancient and illegible MS. discovered by Poggio at Cluny, No. 496 in
the old catalogue, and now lost. The most faithful transcript was made
in France (Paris, Lat. 14,749) before the MS. passed into Poggio's
hand by a writer who carefully reproduced the corruptions, sometimes
in facsimile.[26] The speeches _pro Roscio Comoedo_, _pro Rabirio
perduellionis reo_ and _pro Rabirio Postumo_ are only known from
Italian copies of the transcript (now lost) made by Poggio from lost
MSS. The _de Officiis_, _Tusculan Disputations_ and _Cato Maior_ are
found in a number of 9th-century MSS. A collection, consisting of _de
Natura deorum_, _de Divinatione_, _Timaeus_, _de Fato_, _Paradoxa_,
_Lucullus_ (= _Acad. Prior_.) and _de Legibus_, is found in several
MSS. of the same date. Only one MS. of the _Laelius_ is as old as the
10th century.
The _Academica Posteriora_ are said by editors to be found only in
15th-century MSS. A MS. in the Paris library (Lat. 6331) is, however,
assigned by Chatelain to the 12th century.
For the letters _ad Familiares_ our chief source of information is
Laur. xlix. 9 (9th century), which contains all the sixteen books.
There are independent MSS. written in France and Germany in the 11th
and 12th centuries, containing i.-viii. and ix.-xvi. respectively.
There is no extant MS. of the letters to Atticus older than the 14th
century, apart from a few leaves from a 12th-century MS. discovered at
or near Würzburg in the last century. Very great importance has been
attached to a Florentine MS. (Laur. xlix. 18) M., which until recently
was supposed to have been copied by Petrarch himself from the lost
_Veronensis_. It is now known not to be in the hand of Petrarch, but
it was still supposed to be the archetype of all Italian MSS., and
possibly of all MSS., including the lost C and Z. It has, however,
been shown by Lehmann that there is an independent group of Italian
MSS., termed by him [Sigma], containing Books i.-vii. in a mutilated
form, and probably connected with the MS. of Capra. These often agree
with CZ against M, and the readings of CZ[Sigma] are generally
superior.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--It is impossible to mention more than a few works as
the literature is so vast. (1) _Historical._--J.L. Strachan-Davidson,
_Life of Cicero_ (Heroes of the Nations); G. Boissier, _Cicéron et ses
amis_; Suringar, _Cicero de vita sua_ (Leiden, 1854); W. Warde Fowler,
_Social Life at Rome_ (1908); introductions to Tyrrell and Purser's
edition of the letters. (2) _Palaeographical._--Facsimiles of the
best-known MSS. are given by E. Chatelain in _Paléographie des
classiques latins_, parts 2, 3 and 7. Information regarding various
MSS. will be found in Halm, _Zur Handschriftenkunde der ciceronischen
Schriften_ (Munich, 1850); Deschamps, _Essai bibliographique sur
Cicéron_ (Paris, 1863) (an unscientific work); Lehmann, _De Ciceronis
ad Atticum epistulis recensendis_ (Berlin, 1892); _Anecdota
Oxoniensia_, classical series, parts vii., ix., x. (3) _Literary._--M.
Schanz, _Geschichte der römischen Litteratur_, i, 194-274 (München,
1890). (4) _Linguistic._--Merguet, _Lexicon to Oratorical and
Philosophical Works_; Le Breton, _Études sur la langue et la grammaire
de Cicéron_ (Paris, 1901); Norden, _Die antike Kunstprosa_ (Leipzig,
1898); Th. Zielinski, _Das Clauselgesetz in Ciceros Reden_ (Leipzig,
1904). Much information on points of Ciceronian idiom and language
will be found in J.S. Reid's _Academica_ (London, 1885) and Landgraf's
_Pro Sext. Roscio_ (Erlangen, 1884). (5) _Legal._--A.H.J. Greenidge,
_The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time_ (Oxford, 1901). (6)
_Philosophical._--An excellent account of Cicero as a philosopher is
given in the preface to Reid's edition of the _Academica_. (7)
_Editions_ (critical) of the complete texts.--Baiter-Halm (1845-1861);
C.F.W. Müller (1880-1896); Oxford Classical Texts. (A. C. C.)
2. QUINTUS TULLIUS CICERO, brother of the orator and brother-in-law of
T. Pomponius Atticus, was born about 102 B.C. He was aedile in 67,
praetor in 62, and for the three following years propraetor in Asia,
where, though he seems to have abstained from personal aggrandizement,
his profligacy and ill-temper gained him an evil notoriety. After his
return to Rome, he heartily supported the attempt to secure his
brother's recall from exile, and was nearly murdered by gladiators in
the pay of P. Clodius Pulcher. He distinguished himself as one of Julius
Caesar's legates in the Gallic campaigns, served in Britain, and
afterwards under his brother in Cilicia. On the outbreak of the civil
war between Pompey and Caesar, Quintus, like Marcus, supported Pompey,
but after Pharsalus he deserted and made peace with Caesar, largely
owing to the intercession of Marcus. Both the brothers fell victims to
the proscription which followed Caesar's death, Quintus being put to
death in 43, some time before Marcus. His marriage with Pomponia was
very unhappy, and he was much under the influence of his slave Statius.
Though trained on the same lines as Marcus he never spoke in public, and
even said, "One orator in a family is enough, nay even in a city."
Though essentially a soldier, he took considerable interest in
literature, wrote epic poems, tragedies and annals, and translated plays
of Sophocles. There are extant four letters written by him (one to his
brother Marcus, and three to his freedman Tiro) and a short paper, _De
Petitione Consulatus_ (on canvassing for the consulship), addressed to
his brother in 64. Some consider this the work of a rhetorician of later
date. A few hexameters by him on the twelve signs of the Zodiac are
quoted by Ausonius.
Cicero in several of his _Letters_ (ed. Tyrrell and Purser); _pro
Sestio_, 31; Caesar, _Bell. Gal._; Appian, _Bell. Civ._ iv. 20; Dio
Cassius, xl. 7, xlvii. 10; text of the _De Petit, Cons._ in A.
Eussner, _Commentariolum Petitionis_ (1872), see also R.Y. Tyrrell in
_Hermathena_, v. (1877), and A. Beltrami, _De Commentariolo Petitionis
Q. Ciceroni vindicando_ (1892); G. Boissier, _Cicero and His Friends_
(Eng. trans., 1897), especially pp. 235-241.
3. MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, only son of the orator and his wife Terentia,
was born in 65 B.C. At the age of seventeen he served with Pompey in
Greece, and commanded a squadron of cavalry at the battle of Pharsalus.
In 45 he was sent to Athens to study rhetoric and philosophy, but
abandoned himself to a life of dissipation. It was during his stay at
Athens that his father dedicated the _de Officiis_ to him. After the
murder of Caesar (44) he attracted the notice of Brutus, by whom he was
offered the post of military tribune, in which capacity he rendered good
service to the republican cause. After the battle of Philippi (42), he
took refuge with Sextus Pompeius in Sicily, where the remnants of the
republican forces were collected. He took advantage of the amnesty
granted by the treaty of Misenum (39) to return to Rome, where he took
no part in public affairs, but resumed his former dissipated habits. In
spite of this, he received signal marks of distinction from Octavian,
who not only nominated him augur, but accepted him as his colleague in
the consulship (30). He had the satisfaction of carrying out the decree
which ordered that all the statues of Antony should be demolished, and
thus "the divine justice reserved the completion of Antony's punishment
for the house of Cicero" (Plutarch). He was subsequently appointed
proconsul of Asia or Syria, but nothing further is known of his life. In
spite of his debauchery, there is no doubt that he was a man of
considerable education and no mean soldier, while Brutus, in a letter to
his father (_Epp. ad Brutum_, ii. 3), even goes so far as to say that
the son would be capable of attaining the highest honours without
borrowing from the father's reputation.
See Plutarch, _Cicero, Brutus_; Appian, _Bell. Civ._ ii. 20. 51, iv.
20; Dio Cassius xlv. 15, xlvi. 18, li. 19; Cicero's _Letters_ (ed.
Tyrrell and Purser); G. Boissier, _Cicero and His Friends_ (Eng.
trans., 1897), pp. 104-107.
4. QUINTUS TULLIUS CICERO (_c_. 67-43 B.C.), son of Quintus Tullius
Cicero (brother of the orator). He accompanied his uncle Marcus to
Cilicia, and, in the hope of obtaining a reward, repaid his kindness by
informing Caesar of his intention of leaving Italy. After the battle of
Pharsalus he joined his father in abusing his uncle as responsible for
the condition of affairs, hoping thereby to obtain pardon from Caesar.
After the death of Caesar he attached himself to Mark Antony, but, owing
to some fancied slight, he deserted to Brutus and Cassius. He was
included in the proscription lists, and was put to death with his father
in 43. In his last moments he refused under torture to disclose his
father's hiding-place. His father, who in his concealment was a witness
of what was taking place, thereupon gave himself up, stipulating that he
and his son should be executed at the same time.
See Cicero, _ad Att._ x. 4. 6, 7. 3; xiv. 20. 5; Dio Cassius xlvii. 10.