Nearly 400 letters from Cicero to his closest friend Atticus, spanning twenty-five years of Roman political crisis. Unguarded, intimate, and politically explosive — the most important collection of private correspondence from antiquity.
Start ReadingLetters from the early 60s BC. Cicero's political ambitions, his relations with Pompey, and domestic matters. The friendship with Atticus is already deep.
The consulship year (63 BC) and its aftermath. Cicero exults over defeating Catiline, then worries about the political backlash.
The growing crisis of the 50s. The First Triumvirate squeezes Cicero out. He faces exile. His letters become anxious and despairing.
Exile and return (58-57 BC). Cicero writes from Thessalonica and Dyrrachium, broken by his banishment. Then the recall — and the difficult re-entry into politics.
The mid-50s. Cicero accommodates himself to the Triumvirs, defends old enemies, and buries his unhappiness in philosophy and building projects.
The late 50s. The Triumvirate frays. Julia dies. Crassus dies at Carrhae. Cicero governs Cilicia reluctantly but honestly.
Civil war approaches (50-49 BC). Cicero agonises between Caesar and Pompey, desperate to find a middle path that does not exist.
The outbreak of civil war (January 49 BC). Caesar crosses the Rubicon. Cicero's letters are frantic — should he stay, flee, join Pompey, surrender?
The civil war continues (49 BC). Cicero joins Pompey's camp reluctantly, detests the company, and realises he has made a mistake.
After Pharsalus (48 BC). Pompey is dead. Cicero returns to Italy and waits for Caesar's mercy. A period of enforced leisure and profound depression.
Caesar's dictatorship (47-45 BC). Cicero busies himself with philosophy and rhetoric. Tullia's death devastates him.
The last months of Caesar (45-44 BC). Cicero writes philosophy obsessively, mourns Tullia, and watches Caesar's power grow with dread.
The Ides of March and after (44 BC). Caesar is assassinated. Cicero is exhilarated then horrified as Antony seizes control. He plans his next move.
The summer of 44 BC. Cicero considers fleeing to Greece, turns back, and decides to fight Antony with speeches. The Philippics are about to begin.
Autumn 44 BC. Cicero champions the young Octavian as a counterweight to Antony. He believes he can control the boy. He is wrong.
The final letters (late 44 - early 43 BC). The noose tightens. Cicero commits everything to the Republican cause. Within months, the proscriptions will kill him.