Cicero on Oratory and Orators (Landmarks in Rhetoric and Public Address)

Contains Cicero’s De Oratore and Brutus, influential sources over the centuries for ideas on rhetoric and train?ing for public leadership.

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The De Oratore, written in 55 B.C., argues that rhetoric is socially significant because states are established and main?tained through the leadership of eloquent men.

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The three books of dialogues in this volume feature discussions between well-known figures in Roman history, in?cluding Lucius Crassus, Marcus An?tonius, Quintus Lutatius Catulus, Quin?tus Marcius Scaevola, Caius Aurelius Cotta, Julius Caesar Strabo Vopicus, and Publius Sulpicus Rufus.

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The Brutus continues the theme of the dialogues, giving a history of eminent orators whose performances exemplify the Ciceronian theory that rhetoric final?ly adds up to leadership.