Topics

Major Works

  • Cicero: De Re Publica and De Legibus.

    - Marcus Tullius Cicero,  De Re Publica and De Legibus, Edited and Translated by Clinton Walker Keyes. The Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1928.  
    Edited and Translated by Clinton Walker Keyes. The Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1928.

  • De Re Publica.

    - Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Re Publica. Edited by Konrat Ziegler. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1969.
    Review: Frequently used Latin text for Cicero’s De republica.  The text underlying Cicero 1999. –  James E. G. Zetzel

  • Cicero: The Republic, The Laws.

    - Marcus Tullius Cicero, Cicero: The Republic, The Laws. Translated by Niall Rudd; Introduction and notes by J. G. F. Powell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.  
    Translated by Niall Rudd; Introduction and notes by J. G. F. Powell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

  • Cicero: On the Commonwealth and On the Laws.

    - Marcus Tullius Cicero, Cicero: On the Commonwealth and On the Laws. Edited by James E. G. Zetzel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.  
    Edited by James E. G. Zetzel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • M. Tulli Ciceronis. De re publica, De legibus, Cato Maior de senectute, Laelius de amicitia.

    - Marcus Tullius Cicero, M. Tulli Ciceronis. De re publica, De legibus, Cato Maior de senectute, Laelius de amicitia. Edited by Jonathan G. F. Powell. Oxford Classical Texts. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.    
    Edited by J. G. F. Powell. Oxford Classical Texts. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

  • “On the Republic” and “On the Laws”

    - Marcus Tullius Cicero, "On the Republic" and "On the Laws", translated by: David Fott, Cornell University Press, 2013.
    Overview: –  Cicero’s On the Republic and On the Laws are his major works of political philosophy. They offer his fullest treatment of fundamental political questions: Why should educated people have any concern for politics? Is the best form… More

Commentary

  • “Original elements in Cicero’s ideal constitution.”

    - Clinton W. Keyes, “Original elements in Cicero’s ideal constitution,” The American Journal of Philology 42: 309-23., 1921.

  • “Cicero’s ideal in his De republica.”

    - W. W. Howe, “Cicero’s ideal in his De republica,” Journal of Roman Studies 20: 24-42., 1930.

  • “L’Idée du droit subjectif et les systèmes juridiques romains.”

    - Michel Villey, "L'Idée du droit subjectif et les systèmes juridiques romains," Revue historique de droit français et étranger, ser. 4, 24–5: 201–28, reprinted as “Les institutes de Gaius et l’idée du droit subjectif” in Villey (1962), 169-88., 1946.

  • “Ciceros Staatsdefinition.”

    - Rudolf Stark, “Ciceros Staatsdefinition,” La Nouvelle Clio 6: 56-69., 1954.

  • “Review of The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity: A Critical Analysis of Polybius’ Political Ideas, by Kurt von Fritz.”

    - Harry V. Jaffa, “Review of The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity: A Critical Analysis of Polybius’ Political Ideas, by Kurt von Fritz,” The American Political Science Review 50: 515-19., 1956.

  • “Sur les origins du ‘ius gentium’.”

    - Michel, J., “Sur les origins du ‘ius gentium’,” RIDA 3: 313-48., 1956.

  • Natural Right and History

    - Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History. Paperback edn. University ofChicago Press, 1965.
    Review: –  In this classic work, Leo Strauss examines the problem of natural right and argues that there is a firm foundation in reality for the distinction between right and wrong in ethics and politics. On the centenary of Strauss’s birth, and… More

  • Études sur l’humanisme ciceronian

    - Pierre Boyancé, Études sur l’humanisme ciceronian. Collection Latomus 121, Brussels, 1970.

  • Natural Law in Political Thought

    - Paul E. Sigmund, Natural Law in Political Thought. Cambridge, Massachusettes, 1971.

  • “Stoic Intermediates and the End for Man.”

    - Kidd, I.  “Stoic Intermediates and the End for Man” in A. A. Long (1971), 150-72., 1971.

  • Problems in Stoicism

    - Arthur A. Long (ed.) Problems in Stoicism. London, 1971.
    Overview: –  A timely reappraisal of the notable contributions of the Greek Stoics to logic, metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. This collection of papers, half of which were given at the series of seminars on Stoicism at the Institute of Classical… More

  • “Natura e Ratio nel II Libro del De Re Publica Ciceroniano.”

    - Luciano Perelli, “Natura e Ratio nel II Libro del De Re Publica Ciceroniano,” Rivista di Filologia e di Istruzione Classica 100: 295-311., 1972.

  • “The interpretation of Cicero’s De legibus.”

    - Elisabeth Rawson, “The interpretation of Cicero’s De legibus,” Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt 1.4: 334-56. (1985) Intellectual Life in the Late Roman Republic. Baltimore, Md., 1973.

  • “Libertas populi und libertas civium in Ciceros Schrift De re publica.”

    - Hans Peter Kohn, “Libertas populi und libertas civium in Ciceros Schrift De re publica,” in Lippold and Himmelmann, 201-11., 1977.

  • “The law of nature in Philo and Cicero.”

    - Richard A. Horsley, “The law of nature in Philo and Cicero,” Harvard Theological Review, 71: 35-59., 1978.
    Overview: –  “Christian Natural Law is the acceptance and reinterpretation according to Christian and ecclesiastical principles of Stoic Natural Law. …” Thus runs Troeltsch’s classic and influential formulation of the view that Stoicism… More

  • Foundations of Modern Political Thought (2 vols.)

    - Quentin Skinner, Foundations of Modern Political Thought (2 vols.). Cambridge University Press, 1978.
    Overview: –  A two-volume study of political thought from the late thirteenth to the end of the sixteenth century, the decisive period of transition from medieval to modern political theory. The work is intended to be both an introduction to the period… More

  • Natural Law and Natural Rights

    - John Finnis, Natural Law and Natural Rights. Oxford, 1980.
    Overview: –  First published in 1980, Natural Law and Natural Rights is widely heralded as a seminal contribution to the philosophy of law, and an authoritative restatement of natural law doctrine. It has offered generations of students and other… More

  • The Skeptical Tradition

    - Myles Burnyeat, The Skeptical Tradition. Berkeley: University of California, 1983.

  • “The Stoicism of the New Academy.”

    - Paul Couissin, “The Stoicism of the New Academy,” in Burnyeat, 31-63., 1983.

  • “Grotius, Carneades and Hobbes.”

    - Richard Tuck, “Grotius, Carneades and Hobbes,” Grotiana 4: 43-62., 1983.  

  • “L’archéologie du de re publica (2, 2, 4-37, 63): Cicéron entre Polybe et Platon.”

    - Jean-Louis Ferrary, “L’archéologie du de re publica (2, 2, 4-37, 63): Cicéron entre Polybe et Platon,” JRS 74: 87-98., 1984.

  • “Cicero’s Republic and Greek political thought.”

    - Robert W. Sharples, “Cicero’s Republic and Greek political thought,” Polis 5.2: 30-50., 1986.

  • “Cicero for and against divination.”

    - Malcolm Schofield,  “Cicero for and against divination,” Journal of Roman Studies, 76: 47-65., 1986.

  • “Cicéron, De legibus I-II et la religion romaine: une interprétation philosophique à la veille du principat.”

    - J. Turpin, “Cicéron, De legibus I-II et la religion romaine: une interprétation philosophique à la veille du principat,” ANRW 2.16.3: 1,877-908., 1986.

  • “The education of statesmen in Cicero’s ‘De Republica.”

    - J. Jackson Barlow, “The education of statesmen in Cicero’s ‘De Republica’,” Polity 19.3: 353- 74, 1987.

  • The Hellenistic Philosophers

    - Arthur A. Long and David N. Sedley (eds.), The Hellenistic Philosophers (2 vols.). Cambridge, 1987.

  • “Cicero’s philosophical affiliations.”

    - “Cicero’s philosophical affiliations,” in The Question of ‘Eclecticism’: Studies in Later Greek Philosophy, eds. J. M. Dillon and A. A. Long. Berkeley, Calif.: 34-69., 1988.
    Overview: –   This collection of essays is addressed to the growing number of philosophers, classicists, and intellectual historians who are interested in the development of Greek thought after Aristotle. In nine original studies, the authors explore… More

  • “Libertas.”

    - Peter A. Brunt, “Libertas,” in The Fall of the Roman Republic and Related Essays. Oxford: 281-350., 1988.

  • Tradition et raison chez Cicéron: l’émergence de la rationalité politique à la de la république romaine.”

    - Claude Moatti, “Tradition et raison chez Cicéron: l’émergence de la rationalité politique à la de la république romaine,” MEFRA 100.1: 385-430., 1988.

  • Cicero’s Knowledge of the Peripatos

    - William W. Fortenbaugh and Peter Steinmetz (eds.), Cicero’s Knowledge of the Peripatos. New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1989.

  • “Bringing philosophy down from the heavens: natural right in the Roman Law.”

    - Michael P. Zuckert, “Bringing philosophy down from the heavens: natural right in the Roman Law,” The Review of Politics 51.1: 70-85., 1989.

  • “Constitution and citizenship: Peripatetic influence on Cicero’s political conceptions in the De re publica”

    - Dorothea Frede, “Constitution and citizenship: Peripatetic influence on Cicero’s political conceptions in the De re publica,” in Fortenbaugh and Steinmetz (1989), 77-100., 1989.

  • “Domina et Regina Virtutum: justice and societas in De Officiis.”

    - E. M. Atkins, “Domina et Regina Virtutum: justice and societas in De Officiis,” Phronesis, 35: 258-89., 1990.

  • “Cicero’s focus: from the best regime to the model statesman.”

    - Walter Nicgorski, “Cicero’s focus: from the best regime to the model statesman,” Political Theory 19: 230-51., 1991.

  • “Politics and philosophy in Stoicism.”

    - Paul A. Vander Waerdt, “Politics and philosophy in Stoicism,” Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 9: 185-211., 1991.

  • Cicero: The Senior Statesman.

    - Thomas N. Mitchell, Cicero: The Senior Statesman. New Haven, 1991.

  • “Philosophical influence on Roman jurisprudence? The case of Stoicism and natural law.”

    - Paul A. Vander Waerdt, “Philosophical influence on Roman jurisprudence? The case of Stoicism and natural law,” ANRW 2.36.7: 4,851-900., 1994.

  • “Zeno’s Republic and the origins of natural law.”

    - Paul A. Vander Waerdt, “Zeno’s Republic and the origins of natural law,” in The Socratic Movement, ed. P. A. Vander Waerdt. Ithaca: 272-308., 1994.

  • “The Stoic conception of reason.”

    - Michael Frede, “The Stoic conception of reason,” in Hellenistic Philosophy, ed. K. J. Boudouris. Athens: II, 50-61., 1994.

  • The Founders and the Classics

    - Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics. Cambridge, Massachusettes, 1994.
    Review: “This is a well-conceived, solidly researched, and ably argued book about the influence of the classics in the the political thought of the founding fathers… This work will be required reading for historians interested in the ideological origins… More

  • “Natural law and natural right in post-Aristotelian philosophy: the Stoics and their critics.”

    - Phillip Mitsis,“Natural law and natural right in post-Aristotelian philosophy: the Stoics and their critics,” Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt 2.36.7 (1994): 4,812-50., 1994.

  • “Silencing the troublemaker: De legibus 1.39 and the continuity of Cicero’s skepticism.”

    - Woldemar Görler, “Silencing the troublemaker: De legibus 1.39 and the continuity of Cicero’s skepticism,” in Powell (1995), 85-113., 1995.

  • “Polybius’ applied political theory.”

    - David E. Hahm, “Polybius’ applied political theory,” in A. Laks and M. Schofield (1995), 7-47., 1995.
    Overview: –   Polybius’ History book VI contains the most complete text of Hellenistic Greek political theory that has survived from antiquity and the only extended example of applied political theory. Polybius, an Achaean statesman turned… More

  • “Form and content in the Tusculan Disputations.”

    - Alan E. Douglas, “Form and content in the Tusculan Disputations,” in Powell (1995), 197- 218., 1995.

  • Justice and Generosity: Studies in Hellenistic Social and Political Philosophy.

    - Andre Laks and Malcolm Schofield (eds.) Justice and Generosity: Studies in Hellenistic Social and Political Philosophy. Cambridge, 1995.

  • Cicero the Philosopher: 12 Papers.

    - Jonathan G. F. Powell, (ed.) Cicero the Philosopher: 12 Papers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
    Overview: –  Cicero may be best known as a politician, but he was also one of the few significant Roman writers of philosophy. Powell presents a new and exciting selection of current scholarly work on this neglected side of him, establishing Cicero… More

  • “The statesman and the law in the political philosophy of Cicero.”

    - Jean-Louis Ferrary , “The statesman and the law in the political philosophy of Cicero,” in  A. Laks and M. Schofield (1995), 48-73., 1995.  

  • “Cicero’s politics in De officiis.”

    - Anthony A. Long, “Cicero’s politics in De officiis,” in A. Laks and M. Schofield (1995), 213-40., 1995.
    Overview: –   Modern historians tend to be very severe in assessing Cicero’s political acumen, especially the stance he adopted at the end of his life. ‘In the Rome of Antony and Octavian he was an obstructive anachronism’, a man who… More

  • “Natural law and poetic justice: a Carneadean debate in Cicero and Virgil.”

    - James E. G. Zetzel, “Natural law and poetic justice: a Carneadean debate in Cicero and Virgil,” Classical Philology, 91.4: 297-319., Chicago, 1996.

  • Machiavelli’s Virtue

    - Harvey C. Mansfield, Machiavelli’s Virtue. Chicago, 1996.
    Review: –  Uniting thirty years of authoritative scholarship by a master of textual detail, Machiavelli’s Virtue is a comprehensive statement on the founder of modern politics. Harvey Mansfield reveals the role of sects in Machiavelli’s… More

  • “Socrates in the Academic books and other Ciceronian works.”

    - John Glucker, “Socrates in the Academic books and other Ciceronian works,” in Assent and Argument: Studies in Cicero’s Academic Books, eds. B. Inwood and J. Mansfeld. Leiden and New York: 58-88.154, 1997.
    Overview: –  Cicero’s philosophical works are a rich source for the understanding of Hellenistic philosophy, and his “Academic Books” are of critical importance for the study of ancient epistemology, especially the central debate… More

  • The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law 1150-1625.

    - Brian Tierney, The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law 1150-1625. Emory University Studies in Law and Religion. Atlanta, 1997.
    Overview: –  This series, originally published by Scholars Press and now available from Eerdmans, is intended to foster exploration of the religious dimensions of law, the legal dimensions of religion, and the interaction of legal and religious ideas,… More

  • “The Theory of the Mixed Constitution at Rome.”

    - Andrew Lintott, “The Theory of the Mixed Constitution at Rome,” in Philosophia Togata II: Plato and Aristotle at Rome, eds. J. Barnes and M. T. Griffin. Oxford: 70-85., 1997.
    Overview: –  The mutual interaction of philosophy and Roman political and cultural life has aroused more and more interest in recent years among students of classical literature, Roman history, and ancient philosophy. In this volume, which gathers… More

  • Liberty Before Liberalism

    - Quentin Skinner, Liberty Before Liberalism. Cambridge, 1998.
    Overview: –  This extended essay by one of the world’s leading historians seeks, in its first part, to excavate, and to vindicate, the neo-Roman theory of free citizens and free states as it developed in early-modern Britain. This analysis leads… More

  • American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People.

    - Jean M. Yarbrough, American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People. Lawrence, Kansas, 1998.
    Overview: –  Since the early days of the republic, Americans have recognized Thomas Jefferson’s distinctive role in helping to shape the American national character. As Founder and statesman, Jefferson thought broadly about the virtues Americans… More

  • “Socratic Cosmopolitanism: Cicero’s Critique and Transformation of the Stoic Ideal.”

    - Thomas L. Pangle, "Socratic Cosmopolitanism: Cicero's Critique and Transformation of the Stoic Ideal." Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 235-262., 1998.  

  • The Stoic Idea of the City

    - Malcolm Schofield, The Stoic Idea of the City. Chicago, 1999.
    Overview: –  The Stoic Idea of the City offers the first systematic analysis of the Stoic school, concentrating on Zeno’s Republic. Renowned classical scholar Malcolm Schofield brings together scattered and underused textual evidence, examining… More

  • “Cicero’s definition of Res Publica”

    - Malcolm Schofield, “Cicero’s definition of Res Publica,” in Powell, 63-83, 1995 and reprinted in Schofield as Ch. 10., 1999.

  • “Sharing in the Constitution”

    - Malcolm Schofield  “Sharing in the Constitution,” in The Review of Metaphysics 49.4: 831-58, 1996 and reprinted in Schofield as chapter Ch. 8., 1999.

  • Saving the City: Philosopher-Kings and Other Classical Paradigms.

    - Malcolm Schofield, Saving the City: Philosopher-Kings and Other Classical Paradigms. London and New York, 1999.
    Overview: –  A theory of the good society entails some account of how the various elements of a society are kept in harmony and how strife among citizens and groups of citizens is resolved. Malcolm Schofield’s Saving the City examines the ways… More

  • The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy

    - Keimpe Algra, Jonathan Barnes, Jaap Mansfeld, and Malcolm Schofield (eds.) The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. Cambridge, 1999.
    Overview: –  A full account of the philosophy of the Greek and Roman worlds from the last days of Aristotle (c. 320 BC) until 100 BC. Hellenistic philosophy, for long relatively neglected and unappreciated, has over the last decade been the object of a… More

  • Cicero: On the Commonwealth and On the Laws.

    - James E. G. Zetzel (ed. and trans.) Cicero: On the Commonwealth and On the Laws. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
    Overview: –  Cicero’s On the Commonwealth and On the Laws are his most important works of political philosophy. The present volume offers a scholarly reconstruction of the fragments of On the Commonwealth and a masterly translation of both… More

  • The Constitution of the Roman Republic

    - Andrew Lintott, The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
    Overview: –  There is no other published book in English studying the constitution of the Roman Republic as a whole. Yet the Greek historian Polybius believed that the constitution was a fundamental cause of the exponential growth of Rome’s… More

  • Comprehending Cicero’s De Legibus

    - Mehl, D. D. (1999) Comprehending Cicero’s De Legibus. Dissertation, University of Virginia, 1999.

  • “Epicurean and Stoic political thought.”

    - Malcolm Schofield, “Epicurean and Stoic political thought,” in C. Rowe and M. Schofield, 435-56., 2000.

  • The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Political Thought

    - Christopher J. Rowe and Malcolm Schofield (eds.) The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Political Thought. Cambridge, 2000.
    Overview: –  Beginning with Homer and ending in late antiquity with Christian and pagan reflections on divine and human order, this volume is the first general and comprehensive treatment of Rome ever to be published in English. Its international team… More

  • “Thomas Jefferson and republicanism.”

    - Jean M. Yarbrough, “Thomas Jefferson and republicanism,” in Thomas Jefferson and the Politics of Nature, ed. T. S. Engeman. Notre Dame, Ind.: 59-80., 2000.

  • “Cicero.”

    - E. M. Atkins, “Cicero,” in C. Rowe and M. Schofield (2000), 477-516., 2000.

  • “Were Cicero’s Laws the laws of Cicero’s Republic?”

    - Jonathan G. F. Powell, “Were Cicero’s Laws the laws of Cicero’s Republic?,” in Powell and North (2001), 17-39. 157, 2001.

  • “Metaphor in Cicero’s De Re Publica.”

    - Robert L. Gallagher, “Metaphor in Cicero’s De Re Publica,” Classical Quarterly 51.2: 509-19., 2001.

  • Machiavelli’s New Modes and Orders

    - Harvey Mansfield, Machiavelli’s New Modes and Orders. Ithaca, N.Y., 2001.
    Overview: –  Machiavelli’s New Modes and Orders is the only full-length interpretive study on Machiavelli’s controversial and ambiguous work, Discourses on Livy. These discourses, considered by some to be Machiavelli’s most… More

  • The Roman Philosophers: From the Time of Cato the Censor to the Death of Marcus Aurelius.

    - Mark Morford, The Roman Philosophers: From the Time of Cato the Censor to the Death of Marcus Aurelius. London, 2002.
    Overview: –  The philosophers of the Roman world were asking questions whose answers had practical effects on people’s lives in antiquity, and which still influence our thinking to this day. In spite of being neglected in the modern era, this… More

  • Cicero: A Study in the Origins of Republican Philosophy.

    - Robert T. Radford, Cicero: A Study in the Origins of Republican Philosophy. Amsterdam, 2002.
    Annotation: –  This book presents Cicero’s natural law theory, including valuable definitions of the state, the ideal state, the ideal ruler, and the laws for the ideal state. Explanations are offered of the Greek sources of Cicero’s… More

  • “Theodicy and providential care in Stoicism.”

    - Dorothea Frede, “Theodicy and providential care in Stoicism,” in Traditions in Theology: Studies in Hellenistic Theology, Its Background and Aftermath, eds. D. Frede and A. Laks. Leiden: 85-117., 2002.

  • “Aristotle and the mixed constitution.”

    - Andrew Lintott “Aristotle and the mixed constitution,” in Alternatives to Athens: Varieties of Political Organization and Community in Ancient Greece, eds. R. Brock and S. Hodkinson. Oxford: 152-66., 2002.
    Overview: –  In the Politics Aristotle appears in more than one guise — as an analyst of the nature of the polis and political activity and as the proponent of an ideal polis. The detailed examination of existing constitutions in books 2-6 mixes… More

  • The Roman Philosophers: From the Time of Cato the Censor to the Death of Marcus Aurelius.

    - Mark Morford, The Roman Philosophers: From the Time of Cato the Censor to the Death of Marcus Aurelius. London, 2002.
    Overview: –  The philosophers of the Roman world were asking questions whose answers had practical effects on people’s lives in antiquity, and which still influence our thinking to this day. In spite of being neglected in the modern era, this… More

  • “The development of the idea of citizens’ rights.”

    - Annabel Brett, “The development of the idea of citizens’ rights,” in States and Citizens: History, Theory, Prospects, eds. Q. Skinner and B. Stråth. Cambridge University Press: 97-112., 2003.
    Overview: States and Citizens offers a coherent survey of perceptions of the state, its history, its theoretical underpinnings, and its prospects in the contemporary world. The coverage of the Western European experience is thorough and wide-ranging, with the… More

  • “Roman philosophy.”

    - Arthur A. Long, “Roman philosophy,” in The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy, ed. D. N. Sedley. Cambridge: 184-210., 2003.   “Roman philosophy.”

  • A Commentary on Cicero, De legibus

    -

    Andrew R. Dyck, A Commentary on Cicero, De legibus. Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2004.

     

    Overview: –  De Legibus has been one of Cicero’s most neglected works; this new commentary provides a detailed interpretation and places the essay in the context of the politics and philosophical thought of its time. Just as Plato drafted a… More

  • The Roman World of Cicero’s De Oratore

    - Elaine Fantham, The Roman World of Cicero’s De Oratore. Oxford. 2004.
    Overview: –  The Roman World of Cicero’s De Oratore aims to provide an accessible study of Cicero’s first and fullest dialogue, on the ideal orator-statesman. It illustrates the dialogue’s achievement as a reflection of a civilized… More

  • “The state as a partnership: Cicero’s definition of Res Publica in his work On The State.”

    - Elisabeth Asmis,  “The state as a partnership: Cicero’s definition of Res Publica in his work On The State,”History of Political Thought 25.4: 569-99., 2004.

  • Reading Cicero: Genre and Performance in Late Republican Rome.

    - Catherine E. W. Steel, Reading Cicero: Genre and Performance in Late Republican Rome. London, 2005.
    Overview: –  M. Tullius Cicero was a prolific writer, his writing covering an astonishingly wide spectrum: oratory, letters, epic and didactic poetry, pamphlets, philosophical and rhetorical treatises. He was also a major political figure at Rome… More

  • “A new kind of model: Cicero’s Roman constitution in De Republica.”

    - Elisabeth Asmis,  “A new kind of model: Cicero’s Roman constitution in De Republica,” The American Journal of Philology,  126.3: 377-416., 2005.

     
    Overview: –  This article attempts to answer the question: What makes the Roman constitution “by far the best,” as Cicero claims in “De republica”? Following Polybius, Cicero analyses the Roman constitution as a mixed… More

  • Lectures in the History of Political Thought

    - Michael Oakeshott, Lectures in the History of Political Thought, eds. T. Nardin and L. O’Sullivan. Exeter, 2006.
    Overview: –  Oakeshott’s memorable lectures on the history of political thought, delivered each year at the London School of Economics, will now be available in print for the first time as Volume II of his Selected Writings. Based on manuscripts in… More

  • Cicero and the Jurists: From Citizens’ Law to the Lawful State.

    - Jill Harries, Cicero and the Jurists: From Citizens’ Law to the Lawful State. Duckworth, 2006.London, 2006.
    Overview: –  This book traces Cicero’s thought on law as an advocate; as the friend of jurists; as writer on the philosophy of the ‘higher law’; and as a politician who both asserted and subverted the rights of citizens under the law.… More

  • Cicero: Speech on Behalf of Publius Sestius.

    - Robert A. Kaster, Cicero: Speech on Behalf of Publius Sestius. Oxford: Oxford University Press,  2006.
    Review: “…constantly enlightening and extremely broad in its scope…” – Bryn Mawr Reviews   Overview: –  This volume contains a new translation of, and commentary on, Cicero’s defense of Publius Sestius against… More

  • “Religion and ius publicum.”

    - Cliffton Ando  “Religion and ius publicum,” in Religion and Law in Classical and Christian Rome, eds. Cliffton Ando and Jörg Rüpke. Stuttgart: 126-45., 2006.
    Overview: –  Law is a particularly fruitful means by which to investigate the relationship between religion and state. It is the mechanism by which the Roman state and its European successors have regulated religion, in the twin actions of constraining… More

  • On Revolution

    - Hannah Arendt, On Revolution. New York, 2006.
    Overview: –  Tracing the gradual evolution of revolutions since the American and French examples, Arendt predicts the changing relationship between war and revolution and the crucial role such combustive movements will play in the future of… More

  • “Law in Roman philosophy.”

    - Inwood, B. and F. D. Miller, Jr., “Law in Roman philosophy,” in Treatise of Legal Philosophy and General Jurisprudence Vol. VI: A History of the Philosophy of Law from the Ancient Greeks to the Scholastics. Dordrecht: 133-65., 2007.
    Overview: –  Legal philosophy in late antiquity must be understood in relation to Roman law, a system which continued to evolve from the traditional founding of Rome (753 B.C.) until the fall of the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire (A.D. 1453). Rome… More

  • Cicero’s Philosophy of History

    - Matthew Fox, Cicero’s Philosophy of History. Oxford University Press, 2007.
    Overview: –  Cicero has long been seen to embody the values of the Roman republic. This provocative study of Cicero’s use of history reveals that rather than promoting his own values, Cicero uses historical representation to explore the… More

  • Thinking about Property: From Antiquity to the Age of Revolution.

    - Peter Garnsey, Thinking about Property: From Antiquity to the Age of Revolution. Cambridge, 2007.
    Overview: –  Explores ancient ‘foundational’ texts relating to property and their reception by later thinkers in their various contexts up to the early nineteenth century. The texts include Plato’s vision of an ideal polity in the… More

  • The End of Dialogue in Antiquity

    - Simon Goldhill, The End of Dialogue in Antiquity. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
    Overview: –  Dialogue’ was invented as a written form in democratic Athens and made a celebrated and popular literary and philosophical style by Plato. Yet it almost completely disappeared in the Christian empire of late antiquity. This book, the… More

  • “Ciceronian dialogue.”

    - Malcolm Schofield “Ciceronian dialogue,” in S. Goldhill (2008), 63-84., 2008.

  • Law, Reason, and the Cosmic City

    - Katja M. Vogt, Law, Reason, and the Cosmic City. Oxford University Press, 2008.
    Overview: –  The book is a comprehensive study of early Stoic political philosophy. It considers the conceptions of the cosmic city and the common law as central to the Stoics’ theory, and discusses how these conceptions are integral to Stoic… More

  • The Matter of the Gods: Religion and the Roman Empire

    - Cliffton Ando The Matter of the Gods: Religion and the Roman Empire. Berkeley, California, 2008.
    Overview: What did the Romans know about their gods? Why did they perform the rituals of their religion, and what motivated them to change those rituals? To these questions Clifford Ando proposes simple answers: In contrast to ancient Christians, who had… More

  • “Cicero on natural law and the laws of the state.”

    - Elisabeth Asmis, “Cicero on natural law and the laws of the state,” Classical Antiquity, 27.1: 1-33., 2008.

  • “Womanly humanism in Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations.”

    - William H. F. Altman  “Womanly humanism in Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations,” TAPA, 139: 411-45,  2009.
    Overview: Like his de Finibus, Cicero’s Tusculanae Disputationes is best understood in the context of his daughter Tullia’s death as a result of childbirth. It is only the uncritical assumption that M. speaks for Cicero that validates reading… More

  • “How Machiavellian is Cicero?”

    - David Samuel Fott, “How Machiavellian is Cicero?,” in The Arts of Rule: Essays in Honor of Harvey C. Mansfield, eds. S. R. Krause and M. A. McGrail. Lanham, Md.: 149-65., 2009.
    Overview: –  Two generations of students inspired by Harvey Mansfield come together here to demonstrate how their diverse approaches illuminate the topic of the arts of rule and speak to the wide scope of Mansfield’s contributions. The essays… More

  • “Realism in political theory.”

    - William A. Galston, “Realism in political theory,” European Journal of Political Theory 9: 385-411., 2010.
    Overview: –  In recent decades, a ‘realist’ alternative to ideal theories of politics has slowly taken shape. Bringing together philosophers, political theorists, and political scientists, this countermovement seeks to reframe inquiry into politics… More

  • Recovering the Ancient View of Founding: A Commentary on Cicero’s De Legibus

    - Timothy W.  Caspar, Recovering the Ancient View of Founding: A Commentary on Cicero’s De Legibus. Lanham, Md., 2011.
    Review: A discursive yet exclusively philosophical commentary on the arguments of the dialogue itself…. Overall Caspar offers a very successful challenge to the conventional view that Cicero’s Laws is a derivative or misconceived work of political… More

  • Republicanism, Rhetoric, and Roman Political Thought: Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus

    - Daniel J. Kapust, Republicanism, Rhetoric, and Roman Political Thought: Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus. Cambridge; New York:  Cambridge University Press, 2011.
    Overview: Republicanism, Rhetoric, and Roman Political Thought develops readings of Rome’s three most important Latin historians – Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus – in light of contemporary discussions of republicanism and rhetoric. Drawing on… More

  • “L’argument du De Republica et le Songe de Scipion.”

    - Jed W. Atkins, “L’argument du De Republica et le Songe de Scipion.”, 2011.

  • “Roman cosmopolitanism: the stoics and Cicero.”

    - Thomas L. Pangle, "Roman cosmopolitanism: the stoics and Cicero." in Lee Trepanier & Khalil M. Habib (eds.), Cosmopolitanism in the Age of Globalization: Citizens Without States. University Press of Kentucky, 2011.

  • “Cicero and the stability of states.”

    - Xavier Marquez, “Cicero and the stability of states,” History of Political Thought 32.3: 397-423., 2011.

  • “Cicero and the rebirth of political philosophy.”

    - Walter Nicgorski, “Cicero and the rebirth of political philosophy,” in Cicero’s Practical Philosophy, ed. W. Nicgorski. Notre Dame, Ind.: 242-82., 2012.

  • “Antiochus on social virtue.”

    - Malcolm Schofield “Antiochus on social virtue,” in The Philosophy of Antiochus, ed. D. N. Sedley Cambridge: 173-87., 2012.

  • A Written Republic: Cicero’s Philosophical Politics.

    - Yelena Baraz, A Written Republic: Cicero’s Philosophical Politics. Princeton, New Jersey, 2012.
    Overview: –  In the 40s BCE, during his forced retirement from politics under Caesar’s dictatorship, Cicero turned to philosophy, producing a massive and important body of work. As he was acutely aware, this was an unusual undertaking for a Roman… More

  • “Cicero on the relationship between Plato’s Republic and Laws.”

    - Jed W. Atkins, “Cicero on the relationship between Plato’s Republic and Laws,” in Ancient Approaches to Plato’s Republic, ed. Anne Sheppard. BICS Supplement. London, 2013.