Customer Reviews

On Government (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I want to talk about the selection first and then the translation of this book, Cicero: On Government.
First, the selection: the Verres oration, Brutus, and the Philippics are the three main reasons that why you should buy this book. "For Balbus" is only a selection (so don't be fooled!), and "For Murena" and "The Republic" and "The Laws" are available in Oxford World's Classics. (As a general rule, don't buy penguin if the same thing is also published by Oxford.)
Second, the translation: Michael Grant's translation is only of average quality. (See my comment on "Cicero: Selected Works"). If you want to read excellent translation of Cicero's works, I'd strongly recommend "Cicero: Defence Speeches" translated by D.H. Berry, which included a better translated version of "For Murena".
Finally, this book was first published in 1993, and "Cicero: Selected Works" in 1960. If you compare these two books, you can see moderate improvements in Michael Grant's translation. However, his translation in 1993 is barely OK, while his in 1960 is terrible. Unfortunately, the Verres oration, Brutus, and the Philippics are still not published by Oxford, so you are stuck with Grant's translation unless you want to buy the expensive Loeb Classic edition.

Cicero is the greatest of latin writers. His knowledge is so wide. This book brings together many of his thoughts on government.This book makes it obvious how much he loved the republican form of government. Our founding fathers were widely read on Cicero's treatise's and rightly so. Excellent reading.

Despite the title, most of "On Government" actually reflects the arts and compromises of politics as practiced by Cicero rather than a systemic or philosophical view of the relationship between a state and its citizens. The opening chapters of speeches to prosecute a political opponent or defend allies (charged with pretty similar crimes) are entertaining, but do more to demonstrate Cicero's suppleness and flexibility in reconciling his principles with the requirements of practical politics than to articulate a coherent vision of governance. Similarly, "The Brutus" is a lengthy and interesting guide to Cicero's view of what comprised effective oratory - and discusses examples of various successful contemporary speakers - but is more akin to a modern politician describing tactically and electorally successful peers in his/her memoirs rather than a discussion of policies or principles.

This leaves somewhat less than a quarter of the book to actually discuss the principles and practices required in office rather than illustrating the methods required to get there in the first place. The relatively short "On The State" and "On Laws" seek to combine a defence of traditional practices with measures to limit the scope and power of laws and officials, while the concluding "Philippics" are powerful (and under the circumstances, courageous) public attacks on Mark Antony's attempts to succeed Julius Caesar as dictator, although even these attacks take the necessity of old republican practices as safeguards against a dictatorship as givens rather than arguing for their necessity from first principles.

As a whole, "On Government" is more effective at illustrating Cicero's efforts to reconcile his liberal principles with pragmatism and tradition than at articulating either highly developed principles of governance or discussing in detail possible systems of governance. While interesting and entertaining, "On Government" is not the best place to start if seeking an introduction to classical political thought.

This book truly shows the art of a great speaker and orator. Cicero is the best!. "On government" truly develops the mind. (The book is also handy if you want to expand your vocabulary.)