Hortensius (Cicero) in the context of "Church Father"

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⭐ Core Definition: Hortensius (Cicero)

Hortensius (Latin: [hɔrˈtẽːsi.ʊs]) or On Philosophy is a lost dialogue written by Marcus Tullius Cicero in the year 45 BC. The dialogue—which is named after Cicero's friendly rival and associate, the speaker and politician Quintus Hortensius Hortalus—took the form of a protreptic. In the work, Cicero, Hortensius, Quintus Lutatius Catulus, and Lucius Licinius Lucullus discuss the best use of one's leisure time. At the conclusion of the work, Cicero argues that the pursuit of philosophy is the most important endeavor.

While the dialogue was extremely popular in Classical Antiquity, the dialogue only survived into the sixth century AD before it was lost. Today, it is extant in the fragments preserved by the prose writer Martianus Capella, the grammarians Maurus Servius Honoratus and Nonius Marcellus, the early Christian author Lactantius, and the Church Father Augustine of Hippo (the latter of whom explicitly credits the Hortensius with encouraging him to study the tenets of philosophy).

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Hortensius (Cicero) in the context of Academica (Cicero)

The Academica (also On Academic Skepticism, Academici Libri or Academic Books) is work in a fragmentary state written by the Academic Skeptic philosopher Cicero published in two editions. The first edition is referred to as the Academica Priora. It was released in May 45 BCE and comprised two books, known as the Catulus and the Lucullus. The Catulus has been lost. Cicero subsequently extensively revised and expanded the work, releasing a second edition comprising four books. Except for part of Book 1 and 36 fragments, all of the second edition has been lost. The second edition is referred to as Academica Posteriora or Academici Libri or Varro.

The Academica was the second of five books written by Cicero in his attempt to popularise Greek philosophy in Ancient Rome, and it is the only one of the five books that exclusively focused on promoting Academic Skepticism, the school of Hellenistic philosophy to which Cicero belonged. It was preceded by the now-lost Hortensius which argued that the pursuit of philosophy is the most important endeavor one can engage in their leisure time.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Academica (Cicero)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Lost literary work → Marcus Tullius Cicero → Quintus Hortensius Hortalus → Protrepsis and paraenesis → Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus → Lucius Licinius Lucullus (consul 74 BC) → Martianus Capella → Philologist → Maurus Servius Honoratus → Nonius Marcellus → Early Christianity → Lactantius → Church Father → Augustine of Hippo →