What are the prerequisite books in understanding him besides the republic by Plato?
>>25313516Nothing. I would say reading Cicero parallel to the federalist papers would make a kino experience. Also read Machiavelli’s discources on livy since there he defends republics.
>>25313516>prerequisite booksI hate the fact that Americans keep insisting upon this. Yeah, at university, you will be told to read x, y, and z author before attempting this or that work - but you're supposed to personally move beyond that at some point and realise that any work can be approached by itself, provided you're willing to put the effort into understanding what you're reading as you're reading it. Despite being ostensibly liberty obsessed, Americans have this eerie preoccupation with stratification and hierarchy in everything. "Am I the appropriate level to tackle this task?", "What rooms do I need to move through to get to floor gamma?", "If I have device x, is that enough to handle situation y?" And on it goes.Life is not a video game. The increasing gamification of your lived experience is not something that arose naturally through evolution; it's a top down imposition designed to ultimately force you to spend more and feel more anxious about topics you previously had little issue with (so that you will, in turn, spend even more trying to get over those new anxieties). tl;dr just chill and read Pro Caelio
>>25313516No prereqs but be forewarned, de re publica is in an incredibly fragmented state and not an easy read. The palimpsest which is essentially the only source for the book really had a number done to it. If anything it is frustrating as just when things are getting good a huge lacuna appears in the text, often mid-word. Scipio's Dream is whole so you have that to look forward to. t. read it in Latin
Plato's Republic and Cicero's are very different. I don't think reading the former is necessary for the latter, especially considering the mangled state it is in.
Very nice biography for freehttps://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11448/pg11448-images.html
>>25313516>prerequisite books in understanding himnone just read whatever. he didn't have any groundbreaking philosophical ideas, he was just an elegant orator and writer. De Senectute is comfy
Im just an east European student trying to wrap my head around reading this. Which other books would you recommend I read (and authors) for the roman empire,to understand more of its history? Something that doesn't require a tutor or professor's diligent intervention to make me understand key historical facts and narratives?I already read the Iliad and Odyssey and would love to read them again I kinda forgot them. Maybe a Mary beard would suit me,or not seeing as how she's a leftist?
>>25313603Based advice anon.
>>25313681Considering he directly lifts from the Myth of Er with his Somnium Scipionis, I'd say it's important to read Plato beforehand.
>>25313698Tacitus is pretty good. Annals and Histories. He tends to be a little dry but if you take your time and do a little side reading about things he mentions that you’re unfamiliar with they help provide some historical context.
>>25313698Read the History of Rome by Titus Livy to get a good overview of Rome from its founding to the point at which we call it the empire. He was a contemporary of Augustus but they still called it a republic at that point in time; it’s cool to see what they thought of themselves.
>>25313516No one will likely believe me but I have read almost all of Cicero's speeches in Latin and in Oxford editions too - no cheating with English. I enjoyed it very much but I hardly remember a thing because I was drinking a case of beer a day at the time. This was a long project, I can't remember how long, maybe 2-3 years.
>>25313966Nice painting. Excellent composition.
>>25313966Tedious painting. Contrived composition.
>>25313603What kind of advice is that you chud, you ever read secondary literature before classicist
>>25313603I agree with you up to a point. Not everything can be understood on its own and for example you can't read if you don't understand the language.
>>25313978>lifts fromYou can understand Scipio's Dream just fine without having read about Er.
>>25314038>>25314020Lol. Bit too eager. Trying so hard stinks of desperation. Is everything going okay?
>>25313516If you know how to huff your own farts you will be able to use that knowledge to understand cicero
>>25313516I’ve been building a reading list for the past few weeks and I decided I will not be reading him since he is non-essential and non-canonical. He’s far more interesting as a historical figure than as a writer anyways.
>>25313555> Cicero parallel to the federalist papersNot OP but I'm going to do that, I picked up the federalist papers recently. What work of Cicero's do you recommend?
>>25314010>I enjoyed it very much but I hardly remember a thingSounds like you wasted your time
Read this first if you want an intro
>>25315132On the republic
