The Roman world of Cicero's De oratore /

In his first dialogue, De Oratore, Cicero explores the preparation and character of the ideal orator/statesman. With her usual astute scholarship, Fantham has presented a cogent, illuminating analysis of the dialogue within the context of the failing senatorial government of the late republic. Her analysis is as important for understanding Cicero and his era as it is for understanding the practice of oratory, rhetoric in Rome, and the training of the orator/statesman. Fantham begins by considering Cicero at 50 and the state of his career at that time, as well as the context of the political and intellectual world in which he found himself--a world at variance with that of his youth. The volume's structure is especially effective. Fantham has organized the book according to the progress of the dialogue itself, including chapters on the careers of L. Licinius Crassus and M. Antonius, training the orator, the orator and the law, oratory and literature, Aristotelian invention, humor, elocutio, and the orator as public figure. This is a significant contribution to the understanding of Cicero, his dialogue, and his world. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. J. de Luce Miami University