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Primary sourceLetterwritten 68-52 BC, translation published 1899

The Letters of Cicero, Vol. 1

Cicero · written 68-52 BC, translation published 1899

The first volume of Cicero's complete surviving correspondence, translated into English, covering the years 68-52 BC.

These are Cicero's own letters, a direct primary record of his public and private life.

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Full text (public-domain edition)

About this source

What it is

This is a translation of Cicero's entire surviving correspondence, arranged in chronological order. This first volume, covering 68-52 BC, was translated into English by Evelyn S. Shuckburgh and published in 1899.

Why it matters

Cicero's letters are a unique primary source for understanding the last decades of the Roman Republic, written by someone deeply involved in its politics. They reveal his private thoughts, friendships, and worries alongside his public career, offering historians and biographers detailed evidence found almost nowhere else from antiquity.

Look closer

  • Why might letters reveal things about Cicero that his speeches or treatises do not?
  • What kinds of people might Cicero have expected to read these letters at the time, and does that change what he says?
  • What is lost or changed when a Latin letter is read only in English translation?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Cicero on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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