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.