Cicero was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, and orator who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
Think of Cicero as the "J.K. Rowling" of his time. Just like how Rowling's Harry Potter series has had a significant impact on literature and pop culture today, Cicero's speeches and writings greatly influenced the Latin language and Western philosophy.
Rhetoric: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially using figures of speech and other compositional techniques. This was a field in which Cicero excelled.
Roman Republic: The era of ancient Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom traditionally dated to 509 BC, ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. This was when Cicero lived and worked.
Stoicism: A school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD. Stoicism is a philosophy that asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness, which was something that Cicero believed in.
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