" His political works are "The Republic" and "The
Law;" but these remains are fragmentary.
The extent of Cicero's correspondence is almost incredible. Even those
epistles which remain number more than eight hundred. In them we find the
eloquence of the heart, not of the rhetorical school. They are models of
pure Latinity, elegant without stiffness, the natural outpourings of a
mind which could not give birth to an ungraceful idea. In his letters to
Atticus he lays bare the secret of his heart; he trusts his life in his
hands; he is not only his friend but his confidant, his second self. In
the letters of Cicero we have the description of the period of Roman
history, and the portrait of the inner life of Roman society in his day.
8. HISTORY.--In their historical literature the Romans exhibited a
faithful transcript of their mind and character. History at once gratified
their patriotism, and its investigations were in accordance with their
love of the real and the practical. In this department, they were enabled
to emulate the Greeks and to be their rivals, and sometimes their
superiors.
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