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.

First published between 1880 and 1885, Joseph B. Mayor's three-volume edition of De Natura Deorum is remarkable for its thorough commentary. This volume contains Cicero's Book 2, which presents the Stoic argument for the existence of the gods and their providential ordering of the universe. Set within the home of the orator Caius Aurelius Cotta, it follows the Epicurean and Academic arguments of Book 1. Here the Stoic Balbus defends his basic premise that the majesty of creation - the harmony existing among infinitely varied phenomena - can only derive from the wisdom of divine reason. As the fullest expression of Stoic theology in De Natura Deorum, this book provides crucial insight into the school's views on cosmology, divine providence, and the role of deities in representing the natural universe. It reveals Cicero's intellectual range as he evaluates the major metaphysical debates dividing the Roman philosophical schools.

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. This volume presents Cicero's Book 3, which takes up questions of Roman divination, worship, and mythology and ponders the relationship of philosophy to superstition. Is it possible, as Mayor asks, to 'unite reason and religion'? With this provocative question at its heart, the last book of Cicero's theological debate demonstrates its author's wit and imagination, as he evaluates not just the divisions among the Roman philosophical schools but the very grounds of divine existence. Containing a detailed textual commentary, a collation of manuscripts, and a substantial introduction to the three volumes as a whole, Mayor's book is still valuable today as a clear presentation of Cicero's complex philosophical project.

First published in 1880 1885, Joseph B. Mayor's influential three-volume edition of De Natura Deorum places Cicero's speculative theological dialogue in the context of his other writings and the arguments of the Epicureans, the Stoics, the Academics, and their predecessors. Equipped with detailed commentary and a substantial introduction to the history of the Greek philosophy, this edition remains a clear presentation of Cicero's complex philosophical project, an enquiry into the nature of the divine and its relationship to forms of human knowledge. Set within the home of the orator Caius Aurelius Catto, Cicero's wide-ranging work explores questions of divine providence, natural law, the creation of the world, and the worship of the Roman pantheon of gods. As Cicero strives to incorporate a rich inheritance of Greek metaphysics and natural philosophy within the Roman intellectual tradition, the book reveals the intellectual rigour and sceptical wit that characterise his thought.