Cicero and the Historia Augusta

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Abstract

In this chapter, the use of Cicero's works throughout the Historia Augusta will be mapped and analyzed according to the different guises in which Cicero appeared in the history of his reception in Latin literature: as a person and statesman, as an author of rhetorical treatises and an orator, and as a philosopher. Starting from the observation that lavish use is made of his works, particularly as a stylistic example, moral aspects of Cicero's philosophical works, De Officiis in particular, will surface. In the portrayal of the good princes, among which passages from the vita Alexandri Severi, Cicero's works serve as a model showing how to present the good emperor, eventually taking the shape of a Mirror of Princes. In later lives, particularly the vita Probi, the mirror of princes tends to panegyric on the model of Cicero's speeches of praise. This paper is a contribution to the reception of Cicero in Late Antiquity, as well as a study of the functioning of Cicero's works within the Historia Augusta.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHistoriae Augustae Colloquium Turicense
Subtitle of host publicationAtti dei convegni sulla Historia Augusta
EditorsGunther Martin, Samuel C. Zinsli
Place of PublicationBari
PublisherEdipuglia
Pages39-55
VolumeXIV
ISBN (Print)978-88-7228-939-6
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Publication series

NameMunera
Volume51

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