BiblioVault - Books about Orators

Autobiography and Selected Letters
Libanius
Harvard University Press, 1992
Library of Congress PA4227.E6 1992 | Dewey Decimal 885.01

A professing pagan in an aggressively Christian empire, a friend of the emperor Julian and acquaintance of St. Basil, a potent spokesman for private and political causes—Libanius can tell us much about the tumultuous world of the fourth century.

Born in Antioch to a wealthy family steeped in the culture and religious traditions of Hellenism, Libanius rose to fame as a teacher of the classics in a period of rapid social change. In his lifetime Libanius was an acknowledged master of the art of letter writing. Today his letters—about 1550 of which survive—offer an enthralling self-portrait of this combative pagan publicist and a vivid picture of the culture and political intrigues of the eastern empire. A. F. Norman selects one eighth of the extant letters, which come from two periods in Libanius's life, 355–365 and 388–393 CE, letters written to Julian, churchmen, civil officials, scholars, and his many influential friends. The Letters are complemented, in this two-volume edition, by Libanius's Autobiography (Oration 1), a revealing narrative that begins as a scholar's account and ends as an old man's private journal.

Also available in the Loeb Classical Library is a two-volume edition of Libanius's Orations.

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Autobiography and Selected Letters
Libanius
Harvard University Press, 1992
Library of Congress PA4227.E6 1992 | Dewey Decimal 885.01

A professing pagan in an aggressively Christian empire, a friend of the emperor Julian and acquaintance of St. Basil, a potent spokesman for private and political causes—Libanius can tell us much about the tumultuous world of the fourth century.

Born in Antioch to a wealthy family steeped in the culture and religious traditions of Hellenism, Libanius rose to fame as a teacher of the classics in a period of rapid social change. In his lifetime Libanius was an acknowledged master of the art of letter writing. Today his letters—about 1550 of which survive—offer an enthralling self-portrait of this combative pagan publicist and a vivid picture of the culture and political intrigues of the eastern empire. A. F. Norman selects one eighth of the extant letters, which come from two periods in Libanius's life, 355–365 and 388–393 CE, letters written to Julian, churchmen, civil officials, scholars, and his many influential friends. The Letters are complemented, in this two-volume edition, by Libanius's Autobiography (Oration 1), a revealing narrative that begins as a scholar's account and ends as an old man's private journal.

Also available in the Loeb Classical Library is a two-volume edition of Libanius's Orations.

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Cicero on Oratory and Orators
Translated by J.S. Watson. Introduction by Ralph A. Micken. Foreword by David Potter. Preface by Richard Leo Enos
Southern Illinois University Press, 1986
Library of Congress PA6308.D6W3 1986 | Dewey Decimal 808.51

Contains Cicero’s De Oratore and Brutus, influential sources over the centuries for ideas on rhetoric and training for public leadership.

The De Oratore, written in 55 B.C., argues that rhetoric is socially significant because states are established and maintained through the leadership of eloquent men.

The three books of dialogues in this volume feature discussions between well-known figures in Roman history, including Lucius Crassus, Marcus Antonius, Quintus Lutatius Catulus, Quintus Marcius Scaevola, Caius Aurelius Cotta, Julius Caesar Strabo Vopicus, and Publius Sulpicus Rufus.

The Brutus continues the theme of the dialogues, giving a history of eminent orators whose performances exemplify the Ciceronian theory that rhetoric finally adds up to leadership.

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Fortune's Favored Child
Raouf Mama
Northwestern University Press, 2014
Library of Congress GR55.M26A3 2014 | Dewey Decimal 808.543092

Raouf Mama is widely beloved by children and adults alike for his books and especially for his African and multicultural storytelling, which incorporates poetry, song, music, and dance.

In Fortune’s Favored Child, the master storyteller tells his own story, beginning in the West African country of Benin. Through a harrowing experience with sickness, an encounter with a clairvoyant traditional healer, and astonishing twists of fortune, the protagonist struggles to uncover his real identity, to get an education, and to make his own way in the world. His journey takes him to the shores of the United States to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan and begin a new chapter in his life.

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The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography of Edmund Burke
Conor Cruise O'Brien
University of Chicago Press, 1992
Library of Congress DA506.B9O29 1992 | Dewey Decimal 941.073092

Statesman, political thinker, orator, and ardent campaigner, Edmund Burke was one of the most brilliant figures of the eighteenth century. This unorthodox biography focuses on Burke's thoughts, responses, and actions to the great events and debates surrounding Britain's tumultuous relationships with her three colonies—America, Ireland, and India—and archrival France.

"In bringing Burke to our attention, Mr. O'Brien has brought back a lost treasure. The Great Melody is a brilliant work of narrative sweep and analytical depth. Conor Cruise O'Brien on Edmund Burke is a literary gift to political thought."—John Patrick Diggins, New York Times Book Review

"Serious readers of history are in for a treat: a book by the greatest living Irishman on the greatest Irishman who ever lived. . . . O'Brien's study is not merely a reconstruction of a fascinating man and period. It is also a tract for the times. . . . I cannot remember another time when I finished a book of more than 600 pages wishing it were longer."—Paul Johnson, The Independent

"The Great Melody combines superb biography and fascinating history with a profound understanding of political philosophy."—Former President Richard Nixon

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An Imaginative Whig: Reassessing the Life and Thought of Edmund Burke
Edited & Intro by Ian Crowe
University of Missouri Press, 2005
Library of Congress DA506.B9I53 2005 | Dewey Decimal 941.073092

This collection of essays shifts the focus of scholarly debate away from the themes that have traditionally dominated the study of Edmund Burke. In the past, largely ideology-based or highly textual studies have tended to paint Burke as a “prophet” or “precursor” of movements as diverse as conservatism, political pragmatism, and romanticism. In contrast, these essays address prominent issues in contemporary society—multiculturalism, the impact of postmodern and relativist methodologies, the boundaries of state-church relationships, and religious tolerance in modern societies—by emphasizing Burke’s earlier career and writings and focusing on his position on historiography, moral philosophy, jurisprudence, aesthetics, and philosophical skepticism.

The essays in this collection, written by some of today’s most renowned Burke scholars, will radically challenge our deeply rooted assumptions about Burke, his thought, and his place in the history of Western political philosophy.

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Q. Aurelius Symmachus: A Political Biography
Cristiana Sogno
University of Michigan Press, 2010
Library of Congress PA6704.S9S64 2006 | Dewey Decimal 937.08092

Symmachus was a brilliant orator, writer, and statesman, often flatly labeled as one of the last pagan senators. Cristiana Sogno offers a reconstruction of the political career of Symmachus through close analysis of his extensive writings, while also proposing a critical reevaluation of his historical importance. In contrast to traditional interpretation, Sogno's study demonstrates that Symmachus was primarily an influential politician, rather than a mere pagan zealot.

By portraying the individual experience of Symmachus, the book sets forth a new approach for interpreting the political aspirations, mentality, and attitudes of Roman senators. The much-studied question of the Christianization of the Western aristocracy has created the illusion of a Christian and a pagan aristocracy rigidly separated from each other. Through her study of Symmachus, Sogno demonstrates the primary importance of politics over religion in the public activity of the late Roman aristocracy. Although the book is specifically addressed to scholars and students of Late Antiquity, it will also be of interest to classicists, ancient historians, and non-specialists who wish to know more about this pivotal period in Roman history.

Cristiana Sogno received her Ph.D. in Classics and History from Yale University. Currently she is Townsend Assistant Professor of Classics at Cornell University. Visit Professor Sogno's website at: http://www.fordham.edu.

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Selected Letters of Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
University of Chicago Press, 1984
Library of Congress DA506.B9A4 1984 | Dewey Decimal 941.0730924

Edmund Burke (1729-97) was a British statesman, a political philosopher, a literary critic, the grandfather of modern conservatism, and an elegant, prolific letter writer and prose stylist. His most important letters, filled with sparkling prose and profound insights, are gathered here for the first time in one volume. Arranged topically, the letters bring alive Burke's passionate views on such issues as party politics, reform and revolution, British relations with America, India, and Ireland, toleration and religion, and literary and philosophical concerns.

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