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Baraz, Yelena: A Written Republic

Cicero's Philosophical Politics

Why philosophy was politics by other means for Rome's greatest statesman

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 statesman because Romans were often hostile to philosophy, perceiving it as foreign and incompatible with fulfilling one's duty as a citizen. How, then, are we to understand Cicero's decision to pursue philosophy in the context of the political, intellectual, and cultural life of the late Roman republic? In A Written Republic, Yelena Baraz takes up this question and makes the case that philosophy for Cicero was not a retreat from politics but a continuation of politics by other means, an alternative way of living a political life and serving the state under newly restricted conditions.

Baraz examines the rhetorical battle that Cicero stages in his philosophical prefaces—a battle between the forces that would oppose or support his project. He presents his philosophy as intimately connected to the new political circumstances and his exclusion from politics. His goal—to benefit the state by providing new moral resources for the Roman elite—was traditional, even if his method of translating Greek philosophical knowledge into Latin and combining Greek sources with Roman heritage was unorthodox.

A Written Republic provides a new perspective on Cicero's conception of his philosophical project while also adding to the broader picture of late-Roman political, intellectual, and cultural life.

"The result is a fine contribution to Ciceronian studies, which deserves attention not only from those who work on his philosophy but from those interested in any aspect of his writings."---Catherine Steel, Gnomon
Artikelnummer: 978-0-691-26482-0
CHF 70.70
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Autor Baraz, Yelena
Verlag University Presses
Einband Kartonierter Einband (Kt)
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
Seitenangabe 272 S.
Meldetext Lieferbar in ca. 10-20 Arbeitstagen
Ausgabekennzeichen Englisch
Abbildungen Print PDF
Masse H23.5 cm x B15.6 cm
Coverlag Princeton University Press (Imprint/Brand)
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