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.