Creative Eloquence: The Construction of Reality in Cicero's Speeches

ISBN-13: 9780199291557 / Angielski / Twarda / 2011 / 453 str.

Ingo Gildenhard

Opis

The statesman Cicero (106-43 BC) left behind a corpus of about 50 orations, all designed as interventions in the legal and political struggles that marked the final decades of the Roman republic. Ever since their publication during his lifetime they have functioned as models of eloquence. However, they also contain profound philosophical thoughts on the question of being human, on politics, society, and culture, and on the sphere of the divine. Now, for the first time, Ingo Gildenhard systematically analyses this dimension of Cicero's oratory and, in so doing, touches upon many key issues and concepts that still preoccupy us today, such as the ethics of happiness or the notion of conscience, the distinction between civilization and barbarity, or the problem of divine justice.

Recenzje

The book is eloquent and well structured, which helps the reader to get through the rich material and aids further thinking on both individual elements and the entire project. Another strength of the book is that it invites discussion and one does not have to agree with all the analysis or conclusions to benefit from this extravaganza of ideas.