Cicero's attempt to do for Rome what Plato did for Athens. A dialogue on the ideal state, drawing on Roman history rather than abstract theory. Survives only in fragments — but the Dream of Scipio, preserved complete, became one of the most influential texts of the Middle Ages.
Start ReadingScipio's circle debates the best form of government. Cicero, speaking through the historical Scipio Aemilianus, argues that the mixed constitution — combining elements of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy — is superior to any pure form.
The constitutional history of Rome. Scipio traces Rome's development from Romulus through the kings and early Republic, arguing that the Roman constitution embodies the ideal mixed government through its gradual, organic evolution.
Justice and the state. The debate turns to whether a state can survive without justice, with one speaker arguing the case for injustice (in the manner of Carneades) and another defending natural law. Much of this book is lost.
The ideal statesman. In the most fragmentary of the six books, Cicero examines what qualities the ideal political leader must possess — a vision of philosophical statesmanship that reflects his own political ideals.
Education, culture, and the state. The discussion turns to how the citizens of the ideal state should be educated and what role music, literature, and the arts play in political life. Heavily fragmentary.
The Dream of Scipio. The most famous passage in the work: Scipio describes a dream in which his grandfather Africanus reveals the structure of the cosmos and promises immortality to those who serve the state — Cicero's answer to the Myth of Er in Plato's Republic.