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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is at stake if Lucius refuses to identify himself with the cause of Roman freedom, according to the final letter?

2. To whom did Cicero send the third letter?

3. Whose speech does Cicero go and listen to according to the twenty-first letter?

4. Whom is Cicero blaming for his wife's sorrow in his third letter?

5. What is Cicero expressing concern for in his third letter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What concern does Cicero express in his second letter?

2. What happened in Sicily under Verres' rule?

3. What is Cicero writing about in the seventh letter?

4. According to Cicero, what is the first thing Verres did when he came back from Sicily?

5. What does Cicero complain about in the fourth letter?

6. To whom did Cicero send the last letter of Cicero's Life and Letters, Selection from his Correspondence and why?

7. What did Cicero learn from trustworthy sources concerning his candidacy to aedile, according to his eighth argument?

8. Cicero professes himself to be an enemy of what men?

9. What does the ninth argument tell us about Cicero's opinion of Marcus Metellus?

10. Who wrote the eighth letter and to whom was it written?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cicero opposes and criticizes Marcus Antonius who shared his power with Octavian. Six months after Caesar's assassination, Cicero addresses the political instability that resulted. Analyze Cicero's discussion of political instability that resulted from Caesar's rule. Use examples to support your discussion.

Essay Topic 2

Goodness and rightness, according to Cicero, are synonyms. However, only wisdom can see how. Determine what Cicero may consider as middle duties. Provide examples from the text to support your statements.

Essay Topic 3

Cicero considers objections made in hard moral cases, in business, and in law. Analyze the cases of evil as being unnatural and inhuman as discussed by Cicero. Choose one incident to examine and debate the accuracy of his conclusions.

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