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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Heart That Beats Beneath the Statuary,
By James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Selected Works (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
How many men and women who have lived more than 2,000 years ago have impressed us with their humanity? We tend to see the statuary, but rarely the person behind it. When you read this outstanding selection edited by the excellent classical historian Michael Grant, you see that Marcus Tullius Cicero has a human face -- and it shows in his work. The Roman Republic that Cicero loved was falling apart. Marius and Sulla, the Gracchi, the conflicts over the powers of the tribunes had dealt a severe blow to a form of government that had proved itself adequate for governing a city-state, but less so for managing a multi-cultural empire. Cicero fought valiantly against corrupt governors like Verres ("Against Verres") and would-be dictators like Marc Antony ("2nd Phillipic Against Antony"). When he finally threw in his lot with Pompey, he picked the wrong horse and put himself in harm's way. Eventually, Augustus and Antony had him killed as an obstacle to their plans. The wonderful letters that Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus and others such as Pompey show his hurt at having been rudely pushed aside. He saw himself as the Savior of Rome for his part in quashing the conspiracy of Catiline, but he lived in a world where "What have you done for me lately?" was the question of the day. Increasingly, Cicero turned to farming and philosophizing. His essays "On Duty" and "On Old Age," reprinted here, are penetrating, humane, and even Christian in a way. One could see why monk copyists of the Middle Ages saw in the Roman senator a pre-Christian piety at work. Michael Grant supplies an excellent introduction, maps, genealogical charts, timelines, and even a glossary to guide the reader through Cicero's work. This book is definitely a keeper.
77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Michael Grant + Cicero = pure greatness!,
By D. Roberts "Hadrian12" (Battle Creek, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Selected Works (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Michael Grant is one of the foremost scholars of classical civilization in the world. Being thus, he is an ideal candidate to translate the works of what was perhaps the greatest orator of all time. This book contains some wonderful tirades which Cicero wrote - including his bitter (not to mention comical) attacks on Marc Antony (the same vehement and outspoken verbal assaults which led to his execution after the the banishment of Brutus and Cassius). It also contains Cicero's thoughts on topics such as old age and duty ethics (I wonder: how much Cicero did Kant read?). These are the writings of one of the most influential Romans from all time; a man who made his imprint on the history of the discourse of polemics. This is a fine book that contains the works of a gentleman who is sadly far under-read in this day & age.
46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A note on the translation,
By Lao Tzu "chow-dog" (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Selected Works (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
I don't want to summarize the content here. I only want to talk about Michael Grant's translation.
Let's admit one fact: Grant's translation is not that good. I suggest you to check out Cicero's works published by OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSCIS: P.G.Walsh and D.H.Berry are more competent than Grant, and they are fascinating indeed. Grant often unnecessarily chops up a sentence, rendering it ends up with a whole lot of commas, and this utterly destroy the fluency and lucidity of Cicero. In my opinion, D.H.Berry (who published Cicero's DEFENCE SPEECHES) is thus far the best Ciceronian translator. So why is it still worth 3 stars? It is mainly because of the contents, such as AGAINST VERRES, THE SECOND PHILIPIC, and ON OLD AGE, which are still not translated by OXFORD. Therefore, we have no choice but to stick with Grant's translation (unless you want to buy the expensive Loeb edition). If OXFORD will release more of Cicero's titles, I will definitely throw away Michael Grant's.
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