Cicero on the Philosophy of Religion: On the Nature of the Gods and On DivinationDuring the months before and after he saw Julius Caesar assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Cicero wrote two philosophical dialogues about religion and theology: On the Nature of the Gods and On Divination. This book brings to life his portraits of Stoic and Epicurean theology, as well as the scepticism of the new Academy, his own school. We meet the Epicurean gods who live a life of pleasure and care nothing for us, the determinism and beauty of the Stoic universe, itself our benevolent creator, and the reply to both that traditional religion is better served by a lack of dogma. Cicero hoped that these reflections would renew the traditional religion at Rome, with its prayers and sacrifices, temples and statues, myths and poets, and all forms of divination. This volume is the first to fully investigate Cicero's dialogues as the work of a careful philosophical author. |
Contents
Ciceros Project in On the Nature of the Gods | 50 |
Velleius the Epicurean | 83 |
Balbus the Stoic and Cotta the Skeptic | 111 |
Quintus Stoic Case for Divination | 182 |
Marcus Arguments against Divination | 222 |
Marcus Stance on the Central Question | 264 |
Terminology in DND and Div for Religious Virtues | 279 |
| 295 | |
Other editions - View all
Cicero on the Philosophy of Religion: On the Nature of the Gods and On ... J. P. F. Wynne No preview available - 2023 |
Cicero on the Philosophy of Religion: On the Nature of the Gods and On ... J. P. F. Wynne No preview available - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
Academic Academica accept actions agree answer appears argue argument Atticus augurs authority Balbus beauty belief Book Central Question chance Chapter characters Chrysippus Cicero claim conclusion conjecture cosmos Cotta course criticism cult definition dialogues divination divinatory dreams ends Epicurean Epicurus eternal evidence example fact false fate follows further given gives gods Greek happen happy human important impression interpretation kind Laws Letters look Marcus matter mean mind myths names nature outcomes particular performances perhaps philosophical piety plausible position practice preconception predictions preface premise quae question Quintus rational readers reason refers religion religious Roman seems sense Sequence signs simply skeptical sort speech Stoic suggests superstition supposed theology theorems theory things thought traditional translation true truth turn Tusculans understand Velleius virtue writing