De Natura Deorum Libri III

First published between 1880 and 1885, Joseph B. Mayor's three-volume edition of De Natura Deorum places Cicero's speculative theological dialogue in the context of the arguments of the Epicureans, the Stoics, the Academics, and their predecessors. Equipped with a detailed commentary and a substantial introduction to the history of Greek philosophy, it remains a clear presentation of Cicero's complex philosophical project, an enquiry into the nature of the divine and its relationship to modes of human perception. Set within the home of the orator Caius Aurelius Cotta, Cicero's Book 1 balances the arguments of the Epicurean Velleius against the Academic Cotta as they debate whether the gods may in any way resemble the human form. A demonstration above all of Cicero's own intellectual rigour and sceptical wit, this volume showcases his careful evaluation of the inheritance of Greek natural philosophy within the Roman intellectual tradition.