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Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
, III.iv: |
In the ordinary course
of study I came upon a certain book of Cicero's....This particular book
of his contains an exhortation to philosophy and was called Hortensius
. Now it was this book which quite definitely changed my whole attitude
and turned my prayers toward thee, O Lord, and gave me new hope and new
desires. Suddenly every vain hope became worthless to me, and with
an incredible warmth of heart I yearned for an immortality of wisdom....
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| Julius Caesar (as told by Pliny the
Elder, Natural History VII.117): |
[Cicero was] winner
of a greater laurel wreath than any gained from a triumph, inasmuch as it
is greater to have advanced the frontiers of the Roman genius than those
of the Roman empire.
|
| Edward Gibbon, History of the Rise
and Decline of the Roman Empire, ch. 2: |
...the little town
of Arpinum claimed the double honour of producing Marius and Cicero...; and
the latter, after saving his country from the designs of Catiline, enabled
her to contend with Athens for the palm of eloquence.
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| Thomas Jefferson, letter to John
Adams , 5 July 1815: |
Altho' Cicero did
not wield the dense logic of Demosthenes, yet he was able, learned, laborious,
practised in the business of the world, and honest. He could not be the
dupe of mere style, of which he was himself the first master in the world.
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| Francesco Petrarch, Letter to Marcus
Tullius Cicero: |
O great father of
Roman eloquence! not I alone but all who deck themselves with the flowers
of Latin speech render thanks unto you. It is from your well-springs that
we draw the streams that water our meads. You, we freely acknowledge, are
the leader who marshals us; yours are the words of encouragement that sustain
us; yours is the light that illumines the path before us. In a word, it is
under your auspices that we have attained to such little skill in this art
of writing as we may possess....
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| Pliny the Elder, Natural History
VII.116-17: |
There are countless
Roman examples, if one were disposed to pursue them, since this single race
has produced more distinguished men than other countries in every field
of activity. But what excuse could I have for not mentioning you,
Marcus Tullius?...Catiline fled from your genius. You proscribed Marc
Antony. Hail first person to be called "Father of your Country," the
first civilian to win a triumph and a laurel wreath for his speeches, parent
of eloquence and of Latium's literature.
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| Quintillian: |
Cicero was the name
not of a man, but of eloquence itself.
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| L. Annaeus Seneca, De Brevitate
Vitae 5: |
When Marcus Cicero
was cast among men like Catiline and Clodius and Pompey and Crassus--some
of them undisguised enemies and some doubtful friends--when he was tossed
about in the storm that struck the state, he tried to hold it steady as it
went to its doom; but at last he was swept away....[H]ow often does he curse
that consulship, which he had praised without ceasing though not without good
reason!
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| Medieval opinion of Cicero (from Cicero's Rhetoric In The Middle
Ages): |
As far as allusions to
Cicero's rhetoric, there are indications that he was considered to be
top notch, untouchable. Murphy states that during the Middle Ages, he
(Cicero) is viewed as the unquestioned Master of Eloquence (or magister
eloquential) (334). Numerous teachers, encyclopedists, and royalty--from
Saint Augustine to Dante--raved about Cicero's rhetoric. Indeed, there
is hardly a major medieval writer who does not mention Cicero whenever
there is occasion to speak of discourse (334). Even those who wrote
sermon and letter-writing manuals used Cicero's knowledge to enhance
their works (335).
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