An outstanding idealistic politician, a conscientious statesman, an implacable fighter against tyranny and corruption, a profound theorist of rhetoric and a brilliant orator, a flexible thinker, a polymath, a philosopher close to the Stoics, and a thoughtful writer who became a trendsetter in words and style for many centuries—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) was a figure invariably brilliant, at times tragic, yet inspiring even in the darkest periods of his political and personal biography. For centuries, Cicero's legacy served Europeans as a perfect example of expressive precision and a rich source of knowledge about the history of Ancient Rome. Even after two millennia, Cicero remains relevant, and not only as a historical source. To this day, we learn the principles of debate and sound argumentation from his speeches: skills that are especially useful today, when everyone is debating with everyone else, sometimes without hearing their opponents or even themselves.
The collection includes selected speeches by Cicero from 80–63 BC, including his very first speech in a criminal court in defense of Sextus Roscius, which established the young Cicero's reputation as a brilliant orator, and speeches against the governor of Sicily, the corrupt official, bribe-taker, and tyrant Gaius Verres.