Cicero's philosophical works are now exciting renewed interest, in part because he provides vital evidence of the views of the Greek philosophers of the Hellenistic age, and partly because of the light he casts on the intellectual life of first century Rome. This edition uses the 1997 Clarendon text by the acclaimed translator P.G. Walsh.

A particularly heartening feature of intellectual life in Ireland is the concentration in University College, Dublin of a nucleus of scholars who can well lay the foundations of a sorely–needed department of Christian Latin. In addition to Professor O’Meara, the College can boast Dr. Ludwig Bieler, whose erudition in palaeography and mediaeval Latinity alike has achieved such notable results for Hiberno–Latin, and Dr. James Shiel, an expert in the manuscripts of Boethius and indeed in the later Roman philosophical tradition. If (...) such a department of Christian Latin could be established, the repercussions could be important both in these islands and in America. One hopes that Professor O’Meara’s efforts in this direction will meet with encouragement and appreciation in proportion to the urgency of the project. (shrink)