The Poems of Cicero (Bcp Classic Commentaries on Greek and Latin Texts)

Cicero's poetry has often been adversely, but unfairly criticised on the basis of the unfortunate line " O fortunam natam ne consule Roman". But this book argues there is much to admire in his translations from Homer, from Greek tragedy and especially from the " Phaenomena" of Aratus which influenced Virgil's use of that poem in the " Georgics". Cicero's hexameter verse, which is closely analyzed in this edition, marks a stage in the development of Latin metre, midway between Lucretius and Virgil. This edition was first published in 1933 and collects together all of the surviving lines and provides a full introduction and commentary.