Further Voices and Familiar Perspectives in Cicero's Letters

Cicero’s ad Familiares collection includes over seventy letters composed by late Republican writers other than Cicero. This paper explores the degree to which such epistolary polyphony shapes a reader’s experience. The non-Ciceronian letters function as ‘further voices’ within the corpus, inviting skeptical interpretations of Cicero’s persona and persuasive authority, and enhancing the felt presence of the unknown editor, whose placement of non-Ciceronian letters within the design and architecture of each book helps to guide our interpretations of a collection that is sometimes regarded as ‘overwhelmingly unidirectional.’ An extended case study of the ‘weighted dialogue’ of Cicero’s correspondence with Plancus in Book 10 demonstrates Plancus’ skilful management of Cicero as addressee, and the development of Plancus’ quasi-Caesarian military and epistolary authority.