Cicero and the Timaeus (original) (raw)

M. Schofield (ed.), Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoreanism in the First Century BC

AI-generated Abstract

This study examines Cicero's approach to translating philosophical texts, particularly his reflections on the challenges posed by the Timaeus. It highlights Cicero's intent to not only translate but also critically engage with Greek philosophy, emphasizing the necessity of adapting complex ideas for a Latin-speaking audience. The analysis reveals insights into Cicero's translation philosophy, his selective translation approach, and the broader implications for the dissemination of philosophical thought in ancient Rome.

Cicero as Translator and Cicero in Translation

A discussion of Cicero's contribution to Western philosophical terminology by creating Latin renderings of Greek philosophical terms; and a warning against dealing with such Ciceronian issues without the Latin original and its Greek background.

Cicero's Remarks on Translating Philosophical Terms – Some General Problems

In this study I shall discuss some general problems concerning the general nature of the remarks made by Cicero himself, in various places in his philosophical and rhetorical works, about his translation of a Greek term into Latin. We have over two hundred such remarks scattered throughout these writings. Some of them are brief and give us only the bare facts about the Latin word and its Greek original – e.g. Luc. 54, 'ea dico incerta quae ἄδηλα Graeci'. Some are longer, explaining the various ways of rendering a Greek term into Latin, and the reasons for Cicero's preference for this or that Latin term. Some of these remarks appear as part of a more general discussion of how one should translate Greek words for abstract concepts. The Appendix to this article is, to the best of my knowledge, the second complete collection of all such Greek-into-Latin remarks in Cicero's philosophical and rhetorical works. The only other collection I have encountered is Appendix I to Christian Nicolas's Sic enim appello. 1 Nicolas's collection of these notes is 'minimalist', and does not include the larger contexts of Cicero's explanations, hesitations, and methodological discussions. This is sufficient for his theme, which treats Cicero's translations of Greek terms as specimens of what modern linguists call 'terminological autonymy'. If, however, one wishes to examine these remarks from the point of view of Cicero's own practice, achievements, difficulties and doubts, one often needs to put a remark in its wider context, or even cite at length some of Cicero's more general discussions of the sort of translation he was attempting. My list is therefore longer and more extensive than Nicolas's – as well as filling some plain gaps in his list. Two relatively comprehensive aids to the study of Cicero's Latin rendering of Greek terms have been available for a while, but have not been sufficiently used. Victor Clavel's De M. T. Cicerone Graecorum Interprete is quite an achievement for what originated as a thèse complémentaire written by a busy schoolmaster, not allowed at the time to teach in a university due to his " opinions très libérales ". 2 This book is a somewhat confused, but very useful, treasure-trove. In its first two parts, it deals with Cicero's translations from Greek poetry and prose, providing full texts and fragments of Cicero's translations proper (as available at that time), and discussing various methodological issues, such as Cicero's remarks on the Greek words behind his translations as against his 'silent' translations of 37 1. Christian Nicolas, Sic enim appello: Essai sur l'autonymie terminologique Gréco-latine chez Cicéron (Louvain,

Living at the Level of the Word: Cicero's rejection of the interpreter as translator

This article argues that Cicero's rejection of the interpreter as a literal translator was not just a rejection of a particular style of translation but an attempt to keep translation of Greek literature in Rome an elite activity. I discuss the social status and role of Roman interpreters and their repeated association with limited education in our sources, finally concluding that the interpreter is despised as a translator by Cicero not necessarily because he translates literally, but because he is a potential rival translator from a lower social rank who may allow the spread of inappropriate translations of Greek material to Rome.

The Revival of Platonism in Cicero's Late Philosophy: Platonis aemulus and the Invention of "Cicero"

Both for what it contains and excludes, the catalogue of his philosophical writings at the beginning of the second book of De divinatione (2.1-4) is a useful starting-point for considering Cicero's late philosophy, and this preface will therefore include an overview of that catalogue, intended to give the reader a clear idea of this book's contents since its chapters are ordered in relation to it.

Ut Orator. A Framework for Translating Cicero - Conference Communication "Translating Cicero", February 25 2022

2022

Excerpts of Cicero’s works highlighting his writing technique, translating practice and reflexion about translation will be looked into in the light of relevant philological literature in order to sketch the profile of Cicero’s translating stance. Reference will also be made to contemporary Translation Studies theories arguably reflecting such a stance, in order to suggest a general framework for approaching Cicero in translation today.

Introduction to Cicero as Philosopher

Cicero as Philosopher. New Perspectives on His Philosophy and Its Legacy, 2024

We sayt his with the caveat that as harp distinctionb etween Cicero's 'public' writings and 'private' letters is untenable. Cicero wasi ns everal respects engagingi np ublic or quasi-public acts when writinghis letters. Furthermore, the myriad letters he wrote vary with respectt ot heir privacya nd design. 2 On Cicero'ss elf-fashioning, see Bishop 2019 and Dugan2 005. 3 See Reinhardt 2022bfor adetailed summary of this scholarlydebate. See Allen 2022 for arecent accountofCicero'sradicalism that incorporates manyofthe features scholars have come to associatew ith mitigated skepticism.

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Philosophy in Cicero's Letters

« Philosophy in Cicero's Letters », in J.W. Atkins& T. Bénatouïl (eds.), Cambrige Companion to Cicero's Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021

Athens’ Authority in Cicero’s Philosophical Works

Cicero in Greece, Greece in Cicero: Aspects of Reciprocal Reception from Classical Antiquity to Byzantium and Modern Greece, edited by Ioannis Deligiannis, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2024, pp. 11-30, 2024