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The Letters of Cicero, Volume 1

by Marcus Tullius Cicero (-106–-43)

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  • 11 hours to read
  • 103 chapters
  • Reading level: 8th & 9th grade

"The Letters of Cicero, Volume 1" by Marcus Tullius Cicero is a historical account compiled from the correspondence of the Roman statesman, direct from his letters written between approximately B.C. 68-52. The volume captures a pivotal time in Roman history, focusing on Cicero's personal and political struggles as a key figure during the Republic's decline. This compilation offers insights into Cicero’s life, his relationships, and the historical events he experienced, thereby providing an intimate glimpse into a critical historical era. At the start of this volume, the opening presents a preface that outlines the translator's intentions and the importance of Cicero's letters, emphasizing their historical context and personal significance. The correspondence begins in Cicero's late thirties and covers various aspects of his public and private life, including his thoughts on political figures, his aspirations for office, and his responses to critical events of the era. Notably, the letters provide commentary on Cicero's character, revealing his ambitions, vulnerabilities, and relationships with prominent contemporaries like Pompey and Cato. As the volume sets the stage for Cicero's unfolding narrative, readers are introduced to the intricate interplay between personal sentiment and public duty during a tumultuous period in Rome.

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  • Cicero, Marcus Tullius · Correspondence
  • Statesmen · Rome · Correspondence
  • Authors, Latin · Correspondence

Read the opening

Cicero's Letters

Page 107, note 3, last line, dele note of interrogation after "expenses." " 193, note 4, last line, for B.C. 45 lege B.C. 46. " 253, Letter CXXII, for A IV, 1, lege A IV, 2.

I (A I, 5)

[Sidenote: B.C. 68. Coss., L. Cæcilius Metellus, Q. Marcius Rex.]

This opening of the correspondence finds Cicero, now in his
thirty-ninth year, in the midst of his official career. He had
already been quæstor (B.C. 75) and ædile (B.C. 69), and was looking
forward to his election to the prætorship in the next year (B.C.
67). He had already risen almost to the highest place in his
profession as advocate, and had partly delivered, partly published
his great indictment of Verres only a year ago. He is married to
Terentia (B.C. 80), and has one daughter, Tullia or Tulliola, born
on August 5, probably the next year (B.C. 79). His intimacy with T.
Pomponius Atticus (three years his senior), perhaps begun at
school, had lasted at least eleven years, from the time when he met
him at Athens (B.C. 79), and with him had been initiated in the
Eleusinian mysteries (de Leg. 2, § 36). There too they had both
seen much of the writer's cousin Lucius, whose death he deplores in
this letter (de Fin. 5, § 1). Atticus had lived abroad in Athens
and Epirus, with occasional visits home from B.C. 88 to B.C. 65, in
which latter year he seems to have returned for a more lengthened
stay (Nep. Att. 4). The two friends have already corresponded
frequently, but this is the first letter preserved.

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Contents

Show all 103 chapters
  1. Front Matter
  2. Introduction
  3. Cicero's Letters
  4. Rome
  5. Rome, December
  6. Rome, December
  7. Rome
  8. Rome
  9. Tusculum
  10. Rome
  11. Rome, January
  12. Rome
  13. Rome, July
  14. Rome, July
  15. Rome
  16. Cisalpine Gaul
  17. Rome
  18. Rome, December
  19. Rome, 1 January
  20. Rome, January
  21. Rome, 27 January
  22. Rome, 13 February
  23. Rome, 15 March
  24. To Atticus
  25. Rome, 5 December
  26. Rome, 20 January
  27. Rome, 15 March
  28. Rome, 13 May
  29. Rome, June
  30. Antium, April
  31. Antium, May
  32. Rome
  33. Rome, 26 October
  34. Rome
  35. Letters in Exile
  36. Vibo, April
  37. Near Vibo, April
  38. Thurium, 10 April
  39. On the Way to Tarentum, 18 April
  40. Brundisium, 29 April
  41. Brundisium, 29 April
  42. Thessalonica, 29 May
  43. Thessalonica, 13 June
  44. Thessalonica, 15 June
  45. Thessalonica, 17 June
  46. Thessalonica, 27 June
  47. Thessalonica, 17 July
  48. Thessalonica, 21 July
  49. Thessalonica, 5 August
  50. Thessalonica, August
  51. Thessalonica, 17 August
  52. Thessalonica, 19 August
  53. Thessalonica, 4 September
  54. Thessalonica, 15 September
  55. Thessalonica, 4 October
  56. Thessalonica, 5 October
  57. Thessalonica, 28 October
  58. Thessalonica and Dyrrachium, 27 November
  59. To Terentia
  60. Dyrrachium, 29 November
  61. Dyrrachium, 29 November
  62. Dyrrachium, 10 December
  63. Dyrrachium, January
  64. Rome, 24 November
  65. Rome, 13 January
  66. Rome, 15 January
  67. Rome, January
  68. Rome, February
  69. Rome, 18 January
  70. Rome, 28 January
  71. Rome, 12 February
  72. Rome, March
  73. Rome, 8 April
  74. Rome, May
  75. To M. Fadius Gallus
  76. Rome
  77. Rome
  78. Tusculum, 15 November
  79. Rome, 27 July
  80. Arpinum and Rome, 28 September
  81. Rome, 1 October
  82. Rome, October
  83. Rome, 24 October
  84. Rome, October
  85. Rome
  86. Rome
  87. Rome
  88. Rome
  89. Rome, 4 March
  90. A Villa in the Ager Pomptinus, 8 April
  91. Rome
  92. Rome
  93. Rome
  94. Rome
  95. Rome
  96. De Petitione Consulatus
  97. Appendix B
  98. Appendix C
  99. To Tiro
  100. To Tiro
  101. To Tiro
  102. To Tiro
  103. Q. Cicero to His Brother

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About this edition

This free edition of The Letters of Cicero, Volume 1 by Marcus Tullius Cicero comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #21200, released 2007-04-22. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Biographies, Essays, Letters & Speeches, History - Ancient.

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