PHILOSOPHICAL LIFE IN CICERO’S LETTERS Cicero’slettersaresaturatedwithlearnedphilosophicalallusionsandarguments. Thisinnovative studyshowsjusthowfundamental these arefor understanding Cicero’s philosophical activities and for explaining the enduring interest of his ethicalandpoliticalthought.DrMcConnelldrawsparticularattentiontoCicero’s treatment of Plato’s Seventh Letter and his views on the relationship between philosophy and politics. He also illustrates the various ways in which Cicero finds philosophy an appealing and effective mode of self-presentation, and a congenial, pointed medium for talking to his peers about ethical and political concerns.Thebookoffersarangeoffreshinsightsintotheimpressivescopeand sophisticationofCicero’sepistolaryandphilosophicalpractice,andthevibrancy ofthephilosophicalenvironmentofthefirstcenturybc.Anewpictureemerges ofCicerothephilosopherandphilosophy’splaceinRomanpoliticalculture. sean mcconnell isLecturerinClassicsattheUniversityofOtago. cambridge classical studies Generaleditors r. l. hunter, r. g. osborne, m. millett, d. n. sedley, g. c. horrocks, s. p. oakley, w. m. beard PHILOSOPHICAL LIFE IN CICERO’S LETTERS SEAN McCONNELL UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107040816 ©FacultyofClassics,UniversityofCambridge2014 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2014 PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata McConnell,Sean. PhilosophicallifeinCicero’sletters/SeanMcConnell. pagescm.–(Cambridgeclassicalstudies) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn978-1-107-04081-6(Hardback) 1. Cicero,MarcusTullius. 2. Cicero,MarcusTullius–Correspondence. I. 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CONTENTS Acknowledgements page vii Introduction 1 1 Exploring the relationship between philosophy and politics 33 1.1 Epistulaeadfamiliares1.9andthePlatonicletters 35 1.2 Dissociation:earlyletterstoAtticus 44 1.3 Reconcilingphilosophyandpolitics 55 1.4 Conclusion 60 2 Cicero and Plato’s Seventh Epistle 62 2.1 TwoPlatonicallusions 64 2.2 Caesar’sletterandCicero’spublicimage 67 2.3 Cicero’sresponsetoCaesar:imagemanagement 71 2.3.1 EpistulaeadAtticum9.10 72 2.3.2 Creatingastory:rereadingtheEpistulaeadAtticum inthelightof9.10 79 2.4 Unpackingtheallusion:thePlatoniccontext 81 2.5 Cicero’sapologeticstory 85 2.5.1 Cicerothephilosophicadvisor 86 2.5.2 Thephilosophicalmission:concordia 96 2.5.3 Whenthepoliticallifegoeswrong 100 2.6 Backtothepresent:transformingCaesar’sletter 106 2.6.1 ThenewPlatoandthenewDionysius 108 2.6.2 Cicero’sPlatonicself-fashioningandthe useofGreek 109 2.7 Conclusion 112 3 Cicero and Dicaearchus 115 3.1 APeripateticcontroversy 117 3.2 TheophrastusandPeripateticorthodoxy 118 3.3 Dicaearchus’argument 124 3.3.1 CodexVaticanus435 127 3.3.2 Ethicsandthegoldenage 135 3.3.3 Whatdoesthelifeofpracticalactioninvolve? 140 v Contents 3.4 Dicaearchus’influenceonCicero:Epistulaead Atticum7.3 143 3.5 EpistulaeadAtticum6.9and7.1 150 3.6 Conclusion 156 4 A Stoic lecture: Epistulae ad familiares 9.22 161 4.1 Verecundiaandlibertasloquendi 163 4.2 Zeno’sargumentforwhythewisemanwillcall aspadeaspade 169 4.3 AcademicversusStoicpractice 176 4.4 AcademicversusStoicpracticewhennavigating Caesariansociety 181 4.5 Conclusion 192 5 Dealing with Caesar: the συμβουλευτικόν 195 5.1 Aristotleandtheletterofadvice 199 5.2 Ciceroonthegoodking 204 5.3 RehabilitatingCaesardictator 213 5.4 Conclusion 219 Conclusions 220 Bibliography 228 Index locorum 246 General index 256 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The roots of this book lie in my undergraduate days at the UniversityofOtago,whereIfirstcameintocontactwithCicero’s philosophical writings under the guidance of Jon Hall. I have to admitthatatfirstIwassomewhatunderwhelmed:againstthelikes ofPlato,Aristotle,Kant,asaphilosopherCicerowasstrugglingto rate. What was new? What was good? Was Cicero worth taking seriously as a first-rate philosophical thinker? With no real answers to these worries, my philosophical interests veered else- where, and I came to the University of Cambridge driven by a desire to study Lucretius. Soon my interests had shifted to the interaction between philosophy and politics at Rome in the first century bc, and after some years I came once more to read Cicero’s correspondence. I was immediately struck by the philo- sophicalelementspermeatingthelettersandbegantosuspectthat Cicero was doing something markedly different from what one sees in his assorted dialogues and treatises. After an encouraging conversation with David Sedley, for my doctoral thesis I decided to focus on philosophy in Cicero’s correspondence. As well as a surprisinglyagreeablecompanion,InowconsiderCicerotobean engaging,insightful,andindeedinnovativephilosophicalthinker, deserving of a wider and more appreciative audience. It is hoped that this book conveys something of Cicero’s intellectual depth and subtlety, and indeed something of his personality. Themajorityoftheresearchforthisbookwasundertakenatthe FacultyofClassicsattheUniversityofCambridge.Itisanincred- iblyinvigoratingplacetowork,andIwouldliketothankallthose involved in the B Caucus, from whom I have learnt a great deal. I also owe thanks to my college, Clare Hall, which provided a supportive and friendly environment for a number of years, as wellastheSchoolofPhilosophyattheUniversityofEastAnglia. vii Acknowledgements Inparticular,IoweagreatdebttoJamesWarren,whohasbeen an immense inspiration and guide; his criticisms and comments have always forced me to improve my arguments and analysis, and to think harder on the key issues. It was a privilege to work under his talented, enthusiastic, and kind supervision. I have also benefited greatly from the written critical feedback of David Sedley, Malcolm Schofield, Ingo Gildenhard, Brad Inwood, and Jon Hall. A shorter version of chapter 3 was published as ‘Cicero and Dicaearchus’ in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy 42 (2012): 307–49, and I am grateful to the editor Brad Inwood and Oxford University Press for permission to redeploy many of itsargumentshere.Variouspartsofthebookwerepresentedatthe UniversityofCambridge,Écolenormalesupérieure,Universityof Glasgow,Universityof East Anglia,andtheUniversityof Otago. Each has benefited from the challenging feedback of the partici- pants. David Sedley read and commented on the final manuscript and saved me from many blushes; all errors and infelicities that remain are, of course, my own. I am grateful to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, and the Jebb Fund at the UniversityofCambridge,fortheirgenerousfinancialsupportthat allowed me to undertake postgraduate research at Cambridge. From my formative undergraduate years at the University of Otago, I would like to thank in particular Jon Hall, John Barsby, WilliamDominik,RobinHankey,CharlesPigden,andDavidWard. I would also like to thank my copy-editor Alison Tickner, and Michael Sharpe, Gillian Dadd, David Mackenzie, and Elizabeth Hanlon of the Cambridge University Press for all their help in the finishing stages. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for all their encouragement and support over the years: this book is dedicated to them. viii