Book 6, Letter 3 - On Sappho

 

Dear Cicero,

When my father died, he left me everything. Sorting through his possessions was to study his story, as told through the books, ornaments, tools and artwork he had kept until his final day. He also left me a DVD collection nearing 3,000 titles, plus several hard drives, and boxes of copied DVD's.

The collection, his legacy to me, tells a story of his generation, broadly, mixed with his childhood trauma, transformed through manhood into a quasi-religious worship of Peter Pan. I'll get into that later, but tonight, I want to read to you from one of his books, well, my book now.

The rise and fall of Athens, by Lord Lytton. (Published in 1874) The pages are uncut, and so, with each turn I must cut open the knowledge within, which I do with a letter opener my father left me, a miniature replica of Anduril, the sword of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.

So Cicero, I'll share a reading from the book, on the subject of Sappho.

With Gratitude and Respect

Morgan.

 

 

Book 6, Letter 2 - Reading from the Speech: Pro Lege Manilia

 

Dear Cicero,

If you are well, then I am well, dear friend.

It's been a long time between letters, a year? I must admit that I have been writing to the living during this hiatus of our correspondence. I found a friend in a foreign land, a professor of history and religion at New Jersey University with whom I have developed a remarkable friendship. The story of our meeting is worth describing.

I finished reading everything Tacitus had written, and suddenly bereft, knowing that he was not going to release any new books, I discovered a 600 page book of essays concerning his work. (A companion to Tacitus, edited by V E Pagan). I devoured it, overjoyed to read so many different authors discussing one of my favourite authors (beside you of course, Cicero.) In this book I found an essay written by Prof Holly Haynes, author of The History of Make Believe. I loved her essay so much I wrote to her, praising her work. Scholars don't get much fan mail, so she was as surprised to receive my missive as I was to receive her reply.

A year later and our correspondence has continued unabated, sharing our passion for ancient literature as well as philosophy, art, drama and music. On her recommendations, and with her tutelage, I read The Oresteia trilogy, (translated by Anne Carson), The Lysistrata (two different translations, by Benjamin Rogers, 1952 and Ian Johnston 2010), Sappho (translated by Anne Carson), and On Tyranny by Xenophon, with an analysis by Leo Strauss and Alexandre Kojeve. More recently we have been studying Nietzche, this week I attended an online lecture/tutorial with her and a group of students and scholars discussing The History of Morals, from Beyond Good and Evil.  It's an interesting chapter, but I'll get to that later. 

Today, I wanted to share a reading from your speech Pro Lege Manilia, in support of Pompey.

With gratitude and respect

Morgan

Book 6, Letter 1 - To Rafael Roccisano

 

Hey Raf,

It was good to see you today, I mean, you weren't there, but I could see you well enough in the eyes of those you left behind. I'm sorry, I don't mean to rebuke you, we all make our choices, and you made yours, and we all have to live with it. So I guess that's where this starts, we do live with it and today we gathered in your name, on the jetty where we scattered your ashes, and just like on that day four years ago, we shivered in the freezing sunset wind and we spoke your name and watched the light fade out of the world.

We told some stories about you, I won't repeat them here, save to say that you were remembered for your kindness and generosity, among other virtues. We didn't speak much about your vices, we know them too well in ourselves to make banter of their tales, at least today. We drank beer and ate cheese and took a moment to reveal ourselves to one another, in your silent presence.

To recall the past, but also to revel in the present,

to celebrate our own continuance.

Each of us feeling your influence,

each of wishing we could have known more of you

if only you had known more of yourself and could have coped, somehow transmuted your pain into something, anything less burdensome that that black hole gravity that took you out of this world, beyond our horizons.

Tonight I met some of your other friends, people I had never met. They are beautiful and friendly and hearing them speak of you reminded me of all the love I had for you, which has not faded one lumen, not one candle has gone out, but rather I find that with the passage of time, I understand more about why I loved you. It was said tonight, that the price of love is pain, and it is a fair price.

It is midnight now as I write this letter to you, dear brother, tears tickle my eyes at the thought of you laughing, telling stories, shaking your head and smiling. We gathered in your name brother. Your crazy wisdom lives on in us.

Flowers gathered in the morning,

afternoon they blossom on,

still are withered by the evening,

you can be me when I'm gone.

                                                             Neil Gaiman (Sandman)

Rafael, we will be you, now you are gone.

I love you, I miss you.

With gratitude and respect

from your dear friends.

Book 5, Letter 21 - Aristotle

 

Dear Cicero,

It's been a long year already, and it's gonna be a longer night. It took me a while, but I fell in love with Aristotle, and having spent more than a few midnights with him, I have written a poem which I hope you will appreciate. I began with his book on Rhetoric, and tonight I have begun reading his work on Poetics. I was daunted at first by his reputation, but underneath that, of course, lay the man and his ideas and his genius.

So, this is the 21st letter of Book 5 of this collection, and so I will take a short break over Autumn before I begin Book 6. The first letter (of book 6) contains a video of a young friend of mine, a scholar of both Law and History, who will read a section of one of your speeches against Catiline, but he will read to you in the original Latin.

But that is for another night.

Tonight is dedicated to our mutual love of Aristotle.

with Admiration and Respect,

Morgan 

 

 

Book 5, Letter 20 - Tacitus on Cicero,

 

Dear Cicero,

I keep finding fans of your work from among the writers of my acquaintance. Tacitus was only a hundred or so years after your death, and his description of you, and of your legendary status among orators, reads like a fan letter, as if he too hoped that your ghost might be listening. Soon I will read to you from the letters to Pliny the younger, who was a friend of Tacitus, and who likewise praises your skills as a speaker and writer. It seems that I am far from alone in using you as an example to follow in my journey as a writer and speaker.

Here in the 21st Century, another war has flared up, potentially the ignition point for a global conflict that may define the coming generation. I remind myself that the future is unwritten. The past is not a mirror. I remember each day the words of a wise poet friend...

"I surrender to the whole catastrophe..." Amy Bodossian.

With gratitude and respect.

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5, Letter 19 - Michaelangelo

Dear Cicero,

There's something timeless about love poetry. It invites us to imagine something beyond ourselves, to see the magic possible in a romantic connection, and to transform even the agony of loss and heartbreak, into something beautiful.

I didn't know Michaelangelo wrote poetry until I found this book, and the quality of his words have been a source of continual inspiration ever since.

With gratitude and respect,

Morgan

 

 

 

Book 5, Letter 18 - Herodotus

 

Dear Cicero,

I met Herodotus around the same time I met you, in a little bookstore in the central markets, and over the past four or so years, his book has remained on my bedside table (first one translation, then another, then a third). From his stories of the Scythians, to the origins of money, dice games and even the roots of the east/west divide, Herodotus has inspired my imagination and sent me on many more literary adventures than I could easily recount.

Tonight I just wanted to read to you from his account of the wild beasts of Libya and beyond, in my mind it's a real, 'lions and tigers and bears, oh my!', kind of moment. Because the study of history is not always serious.

With Gratitude and Respect,

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5, Letter 17 - Cicero - On Torture

 

Dear Cicero,

Aristotle had something to say on this subject, and I read to you today on the same topic, simply as a comparison, since it seems obvious to me that whoever wrote Rhetorica ad Herennium, was likely quite familiar with Aristotle's earlier work. The problems of coercion, and the unreliable results obtained when force is used on people is not a subject irrelevant to our modern times, and while I wish to make no further aspersions regarding the problems of my era, I will leave it up to you to consider the wisdom contained within this textbook.

With gratitude and respect,

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5, Letter 16 - Louisa May Alcott - Work

Dear Cicero,

To say that you are still an influential man in the world is an understatement closer to an insult than it is to a compliment. The authors, speakers, lawyers, politicians, historians and history buffs who have devoted their lives to studying your work is a society spanning centuries and continents. Louisa Alcott, most famous for her book "Little Women", wrote so much more than that beautiful story, and her dedication to perfecting the delivery of ideas through speech and writing was revealed to me over and over as I read her later book, "Work".

It is the story of a working woman, and I will not summarise the tale for you here, but to say that the segment I read to you tonight contains some beautiful sentiments on oratory that I knew you would appreciate.

The need for good speakers, for clear thinkers, for persuasive argument, will never die.

Thank you, with gratitude and respect,

Morgan

 

Book 5, Letter 15 - Cicero, On Old Age

 

Dear Cicero,

I am not yet old, neither am I young, and this bridging age which may yet last a decade or more, gives me pause to consider the span of years remaining to me, and to ask questions. I am old enough now to admit my ignorance in all things, and young enough to still be driven by mad passions, some of which are beneficial, some of which are little short of self harm.

There is a lot of my life yet to live, (I hope), and with those years I intend to read many thousands of books, to sing songs, write poems, and write my own books. This year will finally see the publication of my first book, a tiny illustrated volume called "My Goblin Therapist". My ambitions are important to me, and I sense that there will never be enough time to see them all realised, and yet at the same time, I am developing a sense of my limits. I am sensing what is within my grasp to achieve, and working every day to achieve those goals I have set myself.

How many years do I have left? I am forty two (next month), so I hope for another 38 years of life. Yet, as you say Cicero, would even another eighty years satisfy me?

Satisfaction. Is it a choice? Is it the reward of hard work? How much life is enough life? Can anything that has an end be said to be long?

I'll have an answer for you one day Cicero, but don't hold your breath.

With gratitude and respect

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5, Letter 14 - Cicero, on the nature of the Gods

Dear Cicero,

It is an easy mistake, to think that the religious beliefs of the ancient world were without critical scepticism. Your own keen sense of reality prevented you from accepting on faith everything that your society believed, and your writings on the nature of the Gods shows a deeply considered theological perspective that loses none of its relevancy even after 2000 years.

I wonder how deep an influence the Elusinian mysteries had on you, and how far your participatory experience in that ritual went in informing your personal beliefs about the nature of divinity. Modern scientists have been able to show definitively that the sacred drink given to all participants was Ergot, the fungus that formed the basis for the creation of the modern hallucinogen LSD.

Your feeling that the universe itself is intelligent, and that that intelligence is in fact the true nature of God, is a conclusion reached by many moderns who have consumed similar substances. But while in the modern world, such experiences are labelled hallucinations, and generally dismissed as fantasy, in your world Cicero, such experiences as the Elusinian Mystery rites were central to the religious beliefs and practices of people all over the Mediterranean region. Beliefs that influenced daily life across all levels of society.

I'm not judging anything to be good or bad, beneficial or harmful. I'm just fascinated.

With gratitude and respect,

Morgan.

 

Book 5, Letter 13 - The Trial of Socrates

 

Dear Cicero,

At a cafe today, I was speaking with the waitress who brought my coffee. She was explaining the linguistic peculiarities of Pliny the younger, due to the manner in which he formed ... uh, actually, I was listening, but my total ignorance of Latin grammar meant that I did not really understand. The point she was making though, is that Pliny's letters, in Latin, are particularly long, due to his style of writing. I was just delighted to be listening to someone talking of the ancient world. We have also been chatting about Jane Austen, and George Elliot.

At her recommendation, I have begun reading Pliny's letters, and having only recently finished reading Suetonius' Twelve Caesars, I am delighted by how nice Pliny seems. The Twelve Caesars, by comparison, is a catalogue of madmen and tyrants, with very few examples of humanity. Pliny however, presents a very different picture, an admirable picture of what a Roman member of the elite might be like.

As I read these books from the ancient world, a great part of my delight is in learning of the heroic and noble men and women, and the moral lessons that their stories convey. Tonight, I am reading to you from Plato's book concerning the trial of Socrates.

Socrates, a man who needs no introduction. A man who, more than 2000 years after his death, still inspires people with his manner of living and speaking.

A bit like you, Cicero...

with gratitude and respect

Morgan.

 

 

 

Book 5, Letter 12 (Albert Camus)

 

Dear Cicero,

The world gets weirder every day, and my study continues to give me frames of reference. As protests fill the news headlines, as political corruption ... ah, i don't need to tell you any of this, Cicero, you know what it's like.

History gives me a frame of reference through which to view the present. It does not answer my questions, nor solve the problems of the present, but it sheds light on the quality of events that I am living through.

Tonight, I read to you from Albert Camus, from one of his "Letters to a German Friend". Written during WWII, the friend is imaginary, but the truth of his feelings are real.

With Gratitude and Respect.

Morgan

 

 

Book 5 Letter 11 - The 3rd Philippic

 

Dear Cicero,

I was reading your first Philippic (brilliant, by the way...), and I found you make reference to a Roman playwright, Accius, and his play Atreus. The quote runs thus:

Let them hate, so that they fear

or, to put it another way

Let them hate me, so long as they fear me.

So, I began searching. I found that Suetonius makes reference to this play, claiming that Emperor Caligula loved the play, and that he often quoted this line self referentially. Digging deeper, I discovered that only fragments of the play survive, fragments which thankfully are published by LOEB Classics.

So, looking to purchase the book, (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674993471) my eye was drawn to a side-bar on the website, of recent blog articles published by LOEB scholars, relating to Pride Month. Following a link, I read about the Stonewall riot in New York in 1969, and the subsequent decades long dialogue about gay identity.

So, thank you Cicero, as always. In following you, I walk a path to further study, and sometimes unexpected delights find me on the way.

Tonight, I will read to you from your third Philippic against Marc Antony.

With gratitude and respect

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5, Letter 10 - Plutarch on Cicero

 

Dear Cicero,

The river is full with winter rain, and I find myself spending a great deal of time reading, sitting fireside and listening to the music of the sky opening itself upon the world, now green, now ready and grateful for the blessing.

If I were stuck on a deserted island and could have only one book, I would have to choose between Herodotus' Histories, and Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. I think both authors succeed in inspiring a great love of further study, and in showing the way in which all things in history are connected, and that I, a lonesome scholar on the edge of the world, am connected as well.

It would be a mighty discussion, if you Cicero, could meet with Herodotus and Plutarch.

Today I will read to you from Plutarch's biography of your life, a paragraph that speaks not so much of you, as it does of your wife, Terentia, and her role during the rites of the Good Goddess.

With Gratitude and Respect.

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5 Letter 9 - Seutonius, on Caius Julius Caesar

 

Dear Cicero,

Seutonius is such a joy the read, like an ancient tabloid writer, or an exposé blog writer, repeating juicy gossip from among the hoi-polloi of the Roman elite. Some of what he writes is history, I suppose, but much of it is just plain, old fashioned good storytelling. It's plain that he has done his research, it's just that his research included gathering up all the rumours, prophecies, and legends about these famous Roman men, and blending them together with military, political and religious history. He is often ready to quote you, Cicero, and I am always pleased to see the marks you made upon your culture.

This little segment I will read you today, is evidence of the complex relationship you had with Caius Julius Caesar, as both an enemy and a friend. But we have talked about this before. I will not press you. Just enjoy your name being spoken by a scholar over a hundred years after your death, and give thanks to the infinite fortunate events that have preserved your works for over two thousand years.

With gratitude and respect

Morgan.

Book 5, Letter 8 - The Way

 

Dear Cicero,

I remarked to a friend recently that 'poetry is the only reason I get out of bed some days'.

What I mean is:

the need to live a poetic life,

to have experiences worthy of poetry,

to be in the world and to draw the magic of inspiration and transmutation

like a thread through my fingers,

and to weave a new kind of reality,

by making real in language,

the things I feel in my body,

my mind, my heart, my soul...

that is why I get out of bed in the morning.

I offer you this, dear Cicero,

with gratitude and respect

Morgan.

 

 

Book 5, Letter 7 - Aristotle: on torture

 

Dear Cicero,

I have been delighted to read Aristotle, I know you are a big fan of his work. In my study of rhetoric and oratory, his book on the subject has been an excellent foundation. He just lays down the principles in such a clear manner and strikes me as having a rather dispassionate way of assessing human nature. He's not disappointed by our weakness, and not really impressed by our strengths. He's scientific in his methods, and I've learned a lot already, though I am only a few chapters in.

I look forward to reading his book on Poetics next.

Today though, I'm reading to you on the unreliability of confessions extracted by torture, a subject being debated, 2,500 years later.

With gratitude and respect.

Morgan

 

 

Book 5 Letter 6 - The New New

 

Dear Cicero,

Tonight I'm reading you one of my poems, The New New.

If you want to understand the present

you have to understand the future

Every day we live through change. We balance upon a dynamic wave of cultural evolution. Nothing is static, all life is passing from one state to another. It was true in your day, and it's true in mine.

I have recently begun the editing and selection process for the publication of my first book of poetry. I have about 250 pages of work to collate from the last 8 years, and a few dozen illustrations for inclusion. I intend to make it a book worthy of our friendship, inspired as I am by your eloquence, Cicero.

with gratitude and respect

Morgan