Cicero: Brutus and Orator

Cicero's Brutus and Orator constitute his final major statements on the history of Roman oratory and the nature of the ideal orator. In the Brutus he traces the development of political and judicial speech over the span of 150 years, from the early second century to 46 BCE, when both of these
treatises were written. In an immensely detailed account of some 200 speakers from the past he dispenses an expert's praise and criticism, provides an unparalleled resource for the study of Roman rhetoric, and engages delicately with the fraught political circumstances of the day, when the dominance
of Julius Caesar was assured and the future of Rome's political institutions was thrown into question. The Orator written several months later, describes the form of oratory that Cicero most admired, even though he insists that neither he nor any other orator has been able to achieve it. At the same
time, he defends his views against critics -- the so-called Atticists -- who found Cicero's style overwrought.

In this volume, the first English translation of both works in more than eighty years, Robert Kaster provides faithful and eminently readable renderings, along with a detailed introduction that places the works in their historical and cultural context and explains the key stylistic concepts and
terminology that Cicero uses in his analyses. Extensive notes accompany the translations, helping readers at every step contend with unfamiliar names, terms, and concepts from Roman culture and history.

"These translations of the Brutus and Orator were conceived as a sequel to the excellent translation of the De oratore by James May and Jaap Wisse, also published by Oxford University Press (Cicero: On the Ideal Orator, Oxford 2001). The book's raison d'�etre is easily stated. No new, complete, and readily available English versions of the two texts have appeared since the Loeb Classical Library edition was published in 1939, with translations by G. L. Hendrickson and H. M. Hubbell. Though both translations are accurate and still readable (Hendrickson's, in fact, is excellent), the introductions to the two works are brief and insufficient, and the annotation (in the manner of older Loebs) is still less adequate. Furthermore, our understanding of Cicero and the late Roman Republic has changed significantly in the eighty years since the Loeb appeared, and the resources available to students of the Brutus, in particular, are much more ample. I have reason to hope, therefore, that this book will be of some use. There is no need to discuss here the overall plan of the book, which the table of contents makes clear, or the approach taken to the translation and annotation, addressed in Introduction par. 5. The annotation very likely provides more detail than some readers will require, but I thought it best to err on the side of inclusion and leave it to readers to ignore-as readers can be relied on to do-material that does not speak to their needs or interests. I should add two notes. First, because Brutus and Orator are the most important sources for our understanding of Roman "Atticism" (Introduction par. 3), I have included in Appendix A a translation of the third Ciceronian text that bears on that subject, On the Best Kind of Orator (De optimo genere oratorum), a brief fragment that Cicero wrote but abandoned in the interval between the composition of Brutus and Orator in 46 BCE. Second, for the fragmentary remains of orators other than Cicero I have retained references to the fourth edition of Enrica Malcovati's Oratorum Romanorum Fragments (e.g., "ORF4 no. 8 fr. 149"), despite the fact that its successor, Fragments of the Roman Republican Orators (FRRO)-the work of a team led by Catherine Steel-will soon appear. The orators in FRRO will not be numbered and ordered chronologically, as they are in ORF4, but will be organized alphabetically by clan name for ready location, and a set of concordances will facilitate movment back and forth between the two editions"--

"This excellent translation...captures Cicero's register in accessible English and provides the critical apparatus necessary to introduce the works and their milieu to a new generation of students. [Kaster] does so judiciously, avoiding history and topics covered adequately elsewhere, concentrating
instead on the introduction, annotations, biographical sketches, glossary, and appendixes necessary for the texts at hand. The result is an edition that professors will find useful for the classroom and their own studies, and students will find invaluable for introducing them to Cicero's mature
views on orators and oratory in general.... Cicero's pen fell silent long ago, but today one may benefit from what he has to say thanks to the exemplary work of scholars like Kaster. Summing Up: Essential." -- CHOICE

"Kaster is predictably punctilious on textual matters, and offers a superb introductory essay" -- Christopher Whitton, Greece & Rome

"Kaster's edition of the Brutus and the Orator is a superb and much needed volume which offers rich and eloquent translations, as well as comprehensive introductory material, appendices, and annotations. I can envision assigning this text to undergraduates or graduate students in a classical
rhetoric or Cicero course, regardless of students' knowledge of ancient languages or their familiarity with the treatises themselves... I find this volume of great value and strongly recommend it for those interested in Cicero's later rhetorical contributions, from the layperson to the specialist."
-- Bess R. H. Myers, University of Memphis, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"In this pair of essays written three years before his death, Cicero composed a fascinating valediction for Roman oratory. His understanding of the qualities that had made it great and his chagrin at having witnessed its decline are perfectly captured in these lucid translations by Robert Kaster."
-- Peter White, University of Chicago

"Robert Kaster's new translation of Cicero's Brutus and Orator is a delight to read, and his superb introduction and notes make these important works on the history and theory of oratory accessible to the broad audience they deserve. They are among Cicero's most brilliant works, and Kaster's edition
is a masterpiece itself." -- James E. G. Zetzel, Columbia University