Cicero and the Fall of the Roman Republic
Read by Ann Boulais
In this biography, James Strachan-Davidson follows the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero against the final decades of the Roman Republic. Cicero’s career—as an orator, statesman, and writer—offers a way into an era when Rome’s political order was under mounting strain.
Drawing on Cicero’s own writings, the book presents the period through the words and perspective of a participant. His speeches and letters illuminate the contests of public life as well as the choices and pressures facing a Roman politician.
First published in 1903, the work combines biography with a history of the Republic’s closing age. It traces not only Cicero’s life but also the failure of Rome’s last free state, which Strachan-Davidson describes as disastrous, yet not without honor.
Chapters
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| Preface | 1:53 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero's Training | 39:56 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Roman Parties and Statesmen | 45:44 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero as an Advocate; Atticus; Cicero's Family | 48:13 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero as a Magistrate | 46:04 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero and Cataline | 1:17:52 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero's Ideal Party | 1:08:28 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| The First Triumvirate | 46:05 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero's Exile and Return | 53:39 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Rome After the Conference at Luca | 52:27 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero as Provincial Governor; Tiro; Caelius; Rome on the Eve of Civil War | 44:59 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| The Civil War | 33:32 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Caesar's Dictatorship | 56:56 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero and Antony, part 1 | 49:16 | Read by Ann Boulais | |
| Cicero and Antony, part 2 | 32:05 | Read by Ann Boulais |