JOELLE NANULA

CICEROS
LETTERS
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
OVERVIEW

We have a range of communications written by Cicero, from those

written to family members to those written to public figures.

The former, he never imagined would be published, and are thus

written in a colloquial style that reveals some of Ciceros inner
character. The latter display his public writing style.

For Cicero, writing letters was not just a way of communicating, but
a way of life. As an ambitious Roman man who increased his
fortunes in the legal profession, letter-writing was his main way of
communicating with clients, creating his reputation, and making his
fortune.
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
LETTERS TO ATTICUS

Titus Pomponius Atticus was a lifelong friend of Ciceros.

He is described as a cultivated Roman man who lived in Athens

for twenty years for the purpose of scholarly study.

Though he supported the opposite political party from Cicero, this

did not prevent the intellectual equals from being friends and
discussing political matters.

Atticus himself edited the large collection of letters that Cicero

wrote to him.
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
IMPRESSIONS OF LETTERS TO ATTICUS

It is enlightening to read the personal correspondence of such a public

figure as Cicero.

Though the writing style is formal and grammatically correct, due to the
mens education, the tone is very colloquial and personal.

In his letters to Atticus, Cicero reveals his personal thoughts and worries
about his political stance in an almost stream-of-consciousness way.

He even is humorous with Atticus, writing, My fellow candidates, to

mention only those who seem certain, are Galba and Antonius and Q.
Cornificius. At this I imagine you smiling or sighing. Well, to make you
positively smite your forehead, there are people who actually think that
Caesonius will stand.
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
IMPRESSIONS OF LETTERS TO ATTICUS, CONT.

I draw two main takeaways from Ciceros correspondence with Atticus:

The unchanging nature of the disparity between public persona and personal
feeling, which remains a large disparity in our political system today.

The unchanging nature of human friendship itself.

It is astonishing to see how letters written in 65 BCE are not only intelligible to
me in their verbage, but also completely intelligible to me in their sentiment and
emotional cues.

If comparing letters between political figures written in 65 BCE and now proves
anything, it is that the entire period of human evolution has been occurred in the
blink of an eye, and there is not much other than custom that separates us from
our most distant ancestors.
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
LETTERS TO HIS BROTHER, QUINTS

Ciceros letters to his brother, Quintus, prove much the same thing as his
letters to Atticus, in an even greater degree.

They are full of erratic personal feeling and stream-of-consciousness

colloquialism: not at all how we perceive Cicero in light of his political
reputation.

One letter to Quintus, written 58 BCE, reads, Brother! Brother! Brother!

did you really fear that I had been induced by some angry feeling to send
slaves to you without a letter? Or even that I did not wish to see you? I to
be angry with you! Is it possible for me to be angry with you?

It almost makes one smile to see how family relationships are always in
essence the same.
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
LETTER TO M. PORCIUS CATO

Ciceros letters to other political figures in a more official capacity reflect much more about
the political atmosphere of the times.

The style is less feeling-focused - everything is expressed as a thought or statement.

For example, Cicero writes to M. Porcius Cato, Your own immense prestige and my
unvarying belief in your consummate virtue have convinced me of the great importance it
is to me that you should be acquainted with what I have accomplished.

It is important to note that Cicero anticipated that these legal letters would be published for
all to see one day. Thus, they reflect less of Cicero himself and more of the political system
in which he lived.

It is important to continue to draw this distinction even today, when we examine the
correspondences of our political leaders. We must remember that their public orations reflect
as much about us and our society as they do about the leaders themselves. To truly know
our leaders, as Weems wrote of Washington, we must look at their private lives.
 CICEROS LIFE AND LETTERS
BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Ancient History Sourcebook: Cicero: Collected Letters."

Sourcebooks. Fordham University, n.d. Web.