RLW: Lesson - Cicero the Letter Writer

Cicero the Letter Writer

In the next module, we will fully investigate the life and times of Marcus Tullius Cicero, but in this module, we will be reading some of his letters.

Nescire autem quid antequam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.
But to never know anything that happened before you were born is to remain forever a child.
Cicero, Orator ad Brutum, Book XXXIV, 120

Cicero was a prolific letter writer. He wrote letters at moments stolen from the hectic duties of the day - in the Senate, on the run from Caesar's forces, at a banquet, etc.; others were written in exile or while relaxing at one of his many villas.

Cicero employed a scribe named Marcus Tullius Tiro (initially, he was Cicero's slave, but Cicero eventually freed him and continued to employ his services). Tiro would write out Cicero's speeches and letters using a special shorthand, which came to be called Notae Tironianae (Tironian notes), which he would later convert to the full version (longhand). The image, showing a list of common words written with Tironian shorthand, dates from the middle ages. Tiro probably made two copies, one of which he filed. As a result, we have nearly 800 of Cicero's letters extant today.

Cicero did not intend for his letters to be published; therefore, they are often less formal than his orations and philosophical treatises. They give us a glimpse not only into Cicero's life and personality, but also into both the political intrigues of the day and the daily routine of the Romans.

A number of the letters are semi-official in nature such as those written to Iulius Caesar attempting to establish a reconciliation between Caesar and Pompey. These letters, formal in nature and reflective of Cicero's style for his speeches, give us insight into the final tumultuous years of the Roman Republic. We see the private side of Cicero and his thoughts about momentous events swirling around him. Cicero becomes a real human being with jealousies, fears, and insecurities, not the formal political leader portrayed in his orations.

Most of the letters, however, were of a personal nature. The bulk of these letters were written to his friend Atticus. Others were written to his wife Terentia, his beloved daughter Tullia, and other family members and friends. These letters reflect a different, less formal style. Gone are the long periodic sentences carefully constructed with literary devices to persuade an audience. Instead we have short sentences, colloquial phrasing, and Greek expressions. Depending on the topic, the letters reveal a Cicero who could be poignant, depressed, charming, witty, incisive, attentive, or compassionate.