I've become interested recently in discovering more about the history of Rome, in part due to reading Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" and discovering Stoicism. My goal was to eventually learn more about Marcus Aurelius as Emperor and I found that I simply didn't know enough about ancient Rome to have an informed view on him. And, naturally, now that I have read more on the subject I'm becoming more enthralled by it.
Anyway, by all accounts Cicero is a pivotal figure in both Roman history and the development of Stoic thought, so I'd like to add some of his works to my reading list.
I'm generally a fan of Penguin Classics and so I first looked at what they had to offer and I'm finding it difficult to settle on one volume to pick up. The titles I've ran across include "Selected Works," "Selected Letters," and "Selected Political Speeches," as well as "On the Good Life," "On Living and Dying Well," "On Government," "In Defence of the Republic," "The Nature of the Gods," and "Murder Trials."
It would be super helpful to know which (if any) of the latter works are contained within one of the "Selected" volumes and also how much of "Selected Letters" and "Selected Political Speeches" are contained within "Selected Works."
If anybody is familiar with these editions and could help point me in the right direction, that would be great. Or if there are other editions I should seek out instead (preferably in the same price range as Penguin Classics).
Thanks!
Hah, you've come upon the classic problem with Cicero! He wrote so darn much that it's hard to know where to start. There's a good reason that the Penguins only include selections - he wrote so much on such a vast array of things that he's half the reason that we know as much about Rome (especially in the 1st c. BCE) that we do! Also, be glad you're working with translations - there's a good reason why the Classics world is filled with memes about finding Cicero's verbs.
Now the problem with the Penguin editions - wherever you start, you're at the mercy of the editor, and, unfortunately, it's. The good news is that they're pretty readable, as far as I can tell. Looking at the table of contents, Selected Works isn't a bad place to start - it gives you a decent amount of material, if not particularly focused toward any one thing. It's got a little bit from a few different places. While the selections are certainly still at the mercy of the editor (and the story that he wants to tell), it's actually not a bad place to start with Cicero - if one of the five sections intrigues you the most, then you can just follow that particular rabbit trail. If you want to preview a particular section, there are translations of everything Cicero wrote online, as well (I know how preferable it is to have print, but hey, knowing what you're getting is also nice). Let me know if you need links to anything in particular and I'll provide, since again - there's so much.
Also, if you're interested in more Stoicism and life stuff, I'd also recommend another philosopher, of whom you may not have heard. Seneca's Letters to Lucilius are excellent, giving you some unexpected insights into the Roman world while detailing the purpose of Stoicism in all facets of Roman life. It's a fascinating little collection, and one that I certainly also recommend - Dover Thrift Editions has the entire set available for cheap (Penguin curates their selection).
Happy reading, and let me know if there are any topics you'd like to focus on!