The Revival of Platonism in Cicero's Late Philosophy

Less than two years before his murder, Cicero created a catalogue of his philosophical writings that included dialogues he had written years before, numerous recently completed works, and even one he had not yet begun to write, all arranged in the order he intended them to be read, beginning with the introductory Hortensius, rather than in accordance with order of composition. Following the order of the De divinatione catalogue, William H. F. Altman considers each of CiceroΓÇÖs late works as part of a coherent philosophical project determined throughout by its authorΓÇÖs Platonism. Locating the parallel between PlatoΓÇÖs Allegory of the Cave and CiceroΓÇÖs ΓÇ£Dream of ScipioΓÇ¥ at the center of CiceroΓÇÖs life and thought as both philosopher and orator, Altman argues that Cicero is not only ΓÇ£PlatoΓÇÖs rivalΓÇ¥ (it was Quintilian who called him Platonis aemulus) but also a peerless guide to what it means to be a Platonist, especially since PlatoΓÇÖs legacy was as hotly debated in his own time as it still is in ours. Distinctive of CiceroΓÇÖs late dialogues is the invention of a character named ΓÇ£Cicero,ΓÇ¥ an amiable if incompetent adherent of the New Academy whose primary concern is only with what is truth-like (veri simile); following AugustineΓÇÖs lead, Altman shows the deliberate inadequacy of this pose, and that Cicero himself, the writer of dialogues who used ΓÇ£CiceroΓÇ¥ as one of many philosophical personae, must always be sought elsewhere: in direct dialogue with the dialogues of Plato, the teacher he revered and whose Platonism he revived.