Selected Political Speeches

As the Roman Republic lurched to its close, amid corruption, ruthless power struggles and gross inequality, Cicero produced some of the most stirring and eloquent speeches ever written. Whether he is quashing the Cataline conspiracy, defending the poet Archias or railing against Mark Antony in the Philippics - the magnificent speeches in defence of liberty that cost him his life - Cicero vividly evokes for us the cut and thrust of the Roman Assembly, Senate and court rooms. This excellent modern translation also enables readers to understand why Cicero was for centuries a major influence on prose writers and political thinkers of every kind.