Bloomsbury (2016) p/b 176pp £16.99 (ISBN 9781474266185)
This edition of a selection of extracts from Cicero’s Pro Milone covers the requirements of the new OCR AS and A level Latin specifications. Its appeal to a wider audience is less obvious, as those wishing to read the speech in full or even to have an English translation of the omitted passages (totalling some 64 sections) will need to look elsewhere.
That said, F. has provided an excellent and detailed ‘Introduction’ which includes a lucid summary of the historical context and political situation in Rome at this time and earlier, with helpful information about key characters, such as the Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Clodius and Milo, as well as Cicero himself. She also deals with the perennial question of whether or not this is the version of the speech which Cicero actually delivered, discussing in some detail the commentary written by Asconius only a century later. F. reminds us that: ‘The ability to speak persuasively in public was extremely important in Ancient Rome, where a relatively small proportion of the population would have been able to read.’ She considers the speech’s conformity to the rhetorical ideal and provides a succinct but comprehensive section on the structure of the speech and its stylistic features. Her glossary of ‘figures of speech’ would be particularly useful for any student of Latin literature.
W. provides a meticulous commentary, which is undoubtedly at just the right level for those progressing from GCSE to AS and/or A level. He gives guidance on word order as well as syntax, but appropriately leaves the reader to work some things out for themselves. A full vocabulary is included, with proper presentation of principal parts, and a guide to further reading. A brief summary of each omitted section is included at the relevant place.
In tune with the times, Bloomsbury has set up a companion website with additional resources for those teaching the text, and the whole volume is also available as an e-book.
This book will be invaluable to teachers and students of AS and A level Latin and provides all that they will need in preparation for the examination. The ‘Introduction’ is also certainly worth reading for itself, providing very clear and useful insights to both the speech and the time in which it was written.
Marion Gibbs