Cicero's Experience of the Tragic: a Study of His Political and Philosophical Views in the Light of the Equilibrium Theory of Tragedy

Abstract

<p>Based on a reading of the Epistulae, the De Natura Deorum, the De Re Publica and the De Legibus, this study formulates an hypothesis, In the light of the equilibrium theory of tragedy, concerning Cicero's political and philosophical position. It is contended that in his experience of the tragic -- in terms of the conflicts with which his age confronted him, the response which his nature and training led him to make to these conflicts, and the suffering which he endured as a result of that response -- he acquired an awareness of the ultimate questions of tragedy and a perception peculiar to the tragic experience.</p>