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I knew I'd love Cicero long before I picked up this book. I knew I would because he was a guy who thought a house should be full of books, because he thought human beings were honor-bound to take care of each other and because his brain basically never stopped churning out interesting things! What I had not realized was that a lot of his writing (especially his work on ethics) is still very relevant today. It's something that never fails to astonish me with ancient philosophers; their timelessness. Cicero's writing is particularly fascinating because a lot of his surviving correspondence was not work he'd ever meant for publication, and it captures a remarkably tumultuous period of history with a lot of candor, and it is very revealing of his true personality, and not simply his public persona. I have always found that the major historical actors of Antiquity to have incredible, larger-than-life personalities and incredibly sharp deliveries: sure, maybe Caesar was making himself sound smarter than he was, and maybe Plutarch and Herodotus were adding attitude for the enjoyment of their readers, but you can believe Cicero's wit to have been one of the most brilliant of the era, as his scribe preserved a huge quantity of his writing, from the very public to the very private (the snippets we still have about how he grieved for his daughter simply gutted me).

This collection contains a speech against Verres (a corruption case Cicero worked on), a large section of commented correspondence, the second Philippic against Anthony (Cicero's call on the senate to move against Marc Antony and side with Octavian), and the essays "On Duties" and "On Old Age". While the introduction gives you a decent context, if you are brand new to Ancient Roman history, it's easy to get lost in the convoluted network of alliances and sometimes abrupt changes in allegiances everyone went through; maybe Plutarch's "Roman Lives" is a better place to start for absolute newbies, or Dan Carlin's excellent "Hardcore History" podcast (the episode "Death Throes of the Republic" is amazing: ).

What I am constantly amazed with (often to the point where I am laughing out loud with delight) is the panache with which Cicero eviscerated (in writing; he was known as a physical coward) people he didn't like. There was no love lost between him and Mark Antony, obviously, but DAMN! This book is worth reading if only for the pleasure of finding out how many different ways Cicero can accuse Antony of being a disgusting lech. He was the greatest orator of his day, so his eloquence is not a surprise, just an absolute treat to read.

The chapter “On Duty� is a fascinating essay about the moral obligations Cicero believed every man ought to respect in order to live a good life. His humanist stance � that dishonesty is the highest moral crime and that no man should profit from another’s lost � can sound idealistic, but it echoes this book’s first chapter, where he railed against corruption. He felt very strongly that goodwill and care of one’s fellow man was key to keeping an equitable social order. I have to say, I know quite a few people in business and politics who could probably benefit from reading this�

The final section, “On Old Age�, was equally interesting: the fear of aging is obviously not new, and the Romans were as superficial as we are when it came to their physical appearances. It’s a rather optimistic text, that glosses over some of the inevitable physiological decay (Cicero wasn't interested in physical prowess, whether it was fighting capacities or sex, so he didn't think anyone would miss that too much...), but it's nevertheless full of advice that could still be followed today about one's attitude in regards to aging, and how to enjoy the stage of one's life more fully.

This is the sort of book I wish everyone would read at least once; I know that's not a realistic expectation, but that won't stop me from recommending it to everyone.