Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Legibus [On the laws]

Timothy Caspar (Hillsdale College)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Domains

Political Philosophy

Dates

First circulation or publication -52

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Dialogue

Resources

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Recommended Reading

De Legibus

(for the Latin text, see Powell 2006; prior to Powell’s edition, the authoritative Latin text was Ziegler 1950. For the English translation, see Zetzel 1999; also Rudd 1998; and Keyes 1994 [1928], though in many cases the translation is inconsistent and unreliable) is a dialogue written by the Roman orator, statesman, and political philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 – 43 BC), featuring three

dramatis personae

: Marcus (commonly held to be Cicero himself), his brother Quintus, and his dear friend Atticus. The dialogue consists of three books: the first examines the universal foundation of just laws, the second and third promulgate and explain the laws of religion and the laws of the magistracy, respectively. The only one of Cicero’s works not mentioned in his…

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3848 words

Citation: Caspar, Timothy. "De Legibus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 September 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13351, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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