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Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119

Life of Cicero

Κικέρων
Ancient Sources / Plutarch / Life of Cicero

Plutarch's Life of Cicero follows the Roman orator and statesman from his birth and education to his murder after he was proscribed by Antony, Caesar and Lepidus. It covers his rise through the courts, the suppression of Catiline's conspiracy during his consulship, his exile after the attack by Clodius, the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, and his last struggle with Antony. It is paired with the Life of Demosthenes, and Plutarch closes the pair with a short Comparison.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 16 passages, about 19100 words in English.
Translator
Bernadotte Perrin (1919)
Edition
Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 7, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1919 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plutarch, Life of Cicero 1.1 (by chapter, section; Comparison: comp, chapter, section)

Contents · 16 passages

  1. 1.1–3.5Cicero's name, birth and education; the defence of Roscius948 words
  2. 4.1–5.4Cicero in Athens and Rhodes, and the Delphic oracle on his career751 words
  3. 6.1–9.6Cicero in Sicily, the prosecution of Verres and the praetorship1524 words
  4. 10.1–13.4Catiline's conspiracy and the start of Cicero's consulship1139 words
  5. 14.1–18.5Cicero exposes Catiline, who leaves Rome; Lentulus and the Allobroges1765 words
  6. 19.1–22.5The Bona Dea fire and the execution of Lentulus and the conspirators1547 words
  7. 23.1–24.7Cicero, father of his country, and his self-praise802 words
  8. 25.1–27.3Cicero's jests against Crassus, Vatinius and Metellus Nepos1122 words
  9. 28.1–30.5Clodius, the Bona Dea scandal and the attack on Cicero1123 words
  10. 31.1–34.2The exile of Cicero and his return to Rome1399 words
  11. 35.1–36.6The trial of Milo and Cicero's governorship of Cilicia751 words
  12. 37.1–39.6Cicero in the civil war between Pompey and Caesar1151 words
  13. 40.1–42.3Cicero under Caesar, his divorce, Tullia's death and the murder of Caesar981 words
  14. 43.1–46.4Cicero against Antony, young Caesar and the dream of Zeus (Jupiter)1480 words
  15. 47.1–49.4The flight and death of Cicero, and the fate of Antony1122 words
  16. comp.1.1–comp.5.1Comparison of Demosthenes and Cicero1475 words

More by Plutarch

English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1919). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 7, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1919 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.