An Ancient Guide to Good Politics
A Literary and Ethical Reading of Cicero's De Republica- Authors:
- Publisher:
- 2022
Summary
An Ancient Guide to Good Politics: A Literary and Ethical Reading of Cicero's De Republica illuminates Cicero’s subtlety of craft and thought in his most painstakingly written dialogue. As Cicero—notable among ancient thinkers for his accomplishments as a statesman and as a philosopher—has enjoyed a resurgence of interest in recent decades, scholars are discovering in Cicero’s De Republica (On the Republic) an original, insightful, and relevant teaching on republicanism, liberty, leadership, and citizenship. Through a close reading of this work, Moryam VanOpstal highlights Cicero’s ingenuity in addressing age-old philosophical and political questions related to the best way of life, the relationship of justice and law, the founding of republics, the cycles of regimes, the guide of the republic, and the mixed regime. Instead of offering simplistic teachings on duty, power, and justice, Cicero presents us with reflections and puzzles that turn the question back to us, pointing us to deeper unities than the disparate appearances of things might suggest. VanOpstal shows that Cicero intended his dialogue as a provocation for us to live lives that are more fully characterized by noble thought and thoughtful deed.
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Bibliographic data
- Copyright year
- 2022
- ISBN-Print
- 978-1-7936-5224-9
- ISBN-Online
- 978-1-7936-5225-6
- Publisher
- Lexington, Lanham
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 188
- Product type
- Book Titles
Table of contents
- Contents No access
- Acknowledgments No access
- A Note on Translation and Usage No access
- Introduction No access Pages 1 - 10
- Making Romans Reasonable No access
- Unifying the Two Ways of Life No access
- Socrates and Plato Come to Rome No access
- Political Philosophy and the Unity of the Two Ways No access
- How to Go to the Heavens No access
- On the Regime No access
- The Cycle of Regimes No access
- The Histories of the Kingship and the Republic No access
- The Guide No access
- The Mixed Regime No access
- Conclusion No access Pages 165 - 174
- Bibliography No access Pages 175 - 178
- Index No access Pages 179 - 184
- Index of Passages in De Republica No access Pages 185 - 186
- About the Author No access Pages 187 - 188





