On Oratory and Orators

Contains Cicero’s De Oratore and Brutus, influential sources over the centuries for ideas on rhetoric and train­ing for public leadership.

The De Oratore, written in 55 B.C., argues that rhetoric is socially significant because states are established and main­tained through the leadership of eloquent men.

The three books of dialogues in this volume feature discussions between well-known figures in Roman history, in­cluding Lucius Crassus, Marcus An­tonius, Quintus Lutatius Catulus, Quin­tus Marcius Scaevola, Caius Aurelius Cotta, Julius Caesar Strabo Vopicus, and Publius Sulpicus Rufus.

The Brutus continues the theme of the dialogues, giving a history of eminent orators whose performances exemplify the Ciceronian theory that rhetoric final­ly adds up to leadership.