Cicero (ePub)

W. Lucas Collins, a figure of Victorian letters, is best-known for his lucid exegeses on classical figures, epitomized by his work 'Cicero' - an accessible scholarly account of the great Roman orator, statesman, and philosopher. Although not as widely renowned as his contemporaries in the prolific period of 19th-century literature, Collins' contributions nonetheless offer valuable classical insights to the English reader. His portrayal of Cicero deftly conveys not only the life and work of the Roman intellectual but also embodies the stylistic virtues and moral inquiries that permeated the Victorian era's intellectual landscape. Collins' literary style adheres to a clear, expository prose, replete with scholarly rigor yet suffused with a narrative appeal that exemplifies the educational ambitions of his age. His works often aimed to make classical knowledge accessible to the wider public, reflecting the era's educational reforms and the rising appetite for self-improvement among the middle classes. Through 'Cicero' and his other literary inquiries into ancient lives and morals, Collins provided a lens through which Victorian England could reflect on its values amid rapidly changing times, and his work remains a testament to the enduring interest in the classics as a means of understanding the present.