Here you will find my various pieces of writing. Cicero was an avid writer and there is more of his writing which survives from the ancient world than any other writer. These essays are not meant to be doctrinal. Therefore, I encourage you, my reader, to think through my arguments and claims and challenge them for yourself. I hope only to lead you to a thought, the thinking must be done yourself…
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Last week we discussed the emotions (perturbationes), defining them as movements of the inward state (animus) away from rationality (ratio). Through the lens of the Stoic school of philosophy, we learnt that the emotions were not only bad, but within our control as well. Today, we will deepen our understanding of the emotions by discussing…
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In late March 45 BCE, Cicero was at his villa near Tusculum writing philosophy. This villa was his favourite place in the world, and he had gone there to console himself after the death of his much beloved daughter Tullia. At the time, Rome was also going through a massive change. The civil war between…
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After our rest at Tusculum, I hope we are more aware of what it is we are trying to accomplish. We can now begin to understand that what it is that we are talking about here is not just theoretical. It is meant to change the way we think and act. This does not mean…
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Last week we discussed metus and completed our discussion on the Stoic theory of the emotions. However, as we found out in Tusculum, Cicero’s intentions in writing philosophy were not theoretical, but practical. He was conscious of the fact that he was not the wise man who was free of emotions about whom the Stoics…
Via Ciceronis 