r the author's own use during Sulla's
absence in Asia B.C. 87-83. In his mature years Cicero looked back
with contempt on this youthful effort: _de Or._ i. 5, 'quae pueris aut
adulescentulis nobis ex commentariolis nostris incohata ac rudia
exciderunt.' He borrows much from the _Rhet. ad Herenn._, and
frequently mentions and criticises the views of Hermagoras; but all
the best writers on rhetoric were laid under contribution: ii. 4,
'omnibus unum in locum coactis scriptoribus, quod quisque commodissime
praecipere videbatur, excerpsimus.'

2. The three Books _De Oratore_ were finished in 55: _ad Att._ iv. 13,
2, 'de libris oratoriis factum est a me diligenter: diu multumque in
manibus fuerunt: describas licet.' They were written at a time when
Cicero's voice was seldom heard: _ad Fam._ i. 9, 23, 'ab orationibus
diiungo me fere referoque ad mansuetiores Musas.' The dialogue takes
place in B.C. 91, at the Tusculan villa of L. Licinius Crassus; he and
the rival orator, M. Antonius, are the chief speakers.

3. The dialogue _Brutus_, or _De Claris Oratoribus_, after a brief
survey of Greek oratory, criticises the Roman orators from L. Brutus
to Cicero's own time. In spite of his intention to omit living persons
(par. 231), he discusses Caesar, M. Marcellus, and himself. The speakers
are Brutus, Atticus, and Cicero; and the date is probably 46, for the
_Brutus_ is earlier than the _Orator_, which refers to it (par. 23).

4. The _Orator_ or _De Optimo Genere Dicendi_ is a sequel to the _De
Oratore_ and the _Brutus_, adding practical rules to the exposition of
theory (_de Div._ ii. 4). It was written at the request of Brutus, to
whom it is addressed, in the year 46 (_ad Fam._ xii. 17, 2).

5. _Partitiones Oratoriae_ is a catechism on rhetoric, in which the
questions are put to Cicero by his son.

6. The _Topica_ was written in response to repeated requests from
Trebatius for explanation of Aristotle's _Topics_. It was done by
Cicero, without the aid of books, on his voyage from Velia to Rhegium
in July, 44 (_Top._ 5; _ad Fam._ vii. 19).

7. The short treatise _De Optimo Genere Oratorum_ was introductory to
a version of the speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines 'on the Crown,'
designed to show the Romans what the best Attic oratory was like.

(d) Letters.

Cicero's correspondence begins B.C. 68 with _ad Att._ i. 5, and ends
28th July, B.C. 43. Besides seven hundred and seventy-four letters
written by Cicero, we have ni