The Academica of Cicero Author:Marcus Tullius Cicero Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: men of his time, and Cicero's feelings towards him were those of gratitude, esteem, and admiration1. In the year 88 B. C. the celebrated Philo.of Larissa, the... more »n head of the Academic school, came ,to Rome, one of a number of eminent Greeks who fled from Athens on the approach of its siege during the Mithridatic war. Philo, like Diodotus, was a man of versatile genius: unlike the Stoic philosopher, he was a perfect master both of the theory and the practice of oratory. Cicero had scarcely heard him before all inclination for Epicureanism was swept from his mind, and he surrendered himself wholly, as he tells us, to the brilliant Academic2. Smitten with a marvellous enthusiasm he abandoned all other studies for philosophy. His zeal was quickened by the conviction that the old judicial system of Rome was overthrown for ever, and that the great career once open to an orator was now barred3. We thus see that before Cicero was twenty years of age, he had been brought into intimate connection with at least three of the most eminent philosophers of th age, who represented the three most vigorous and important Greek schools. It is fair to conclude that he must have become thoroughly acquainted with their spirit, and with the .main tenets of each. His own statements, after every deduction necessitated by his egotism has been made, leave no doubt about his diligence as a student. In his -later works he often dwells on his youthful devotion to philosophy4. It would be unwise to lay too much stress on the intimate connec- 1 Ad Fam. xm. 16. T. D. v. § 113. Acad. n. § 115. 1 Brutus, § 306. 3 Ibid. Rep. i. § 7. T. D. V. § 5. De Off. n. §§ 3, 4- Be Fa'.o, %i- tion which subsisted between the rhetorical and the ethical teaching of the Greeks; but there can be little doubt that from t...« less