What is the author's tone in Selected Works by Marcus Tullius Cicero?

The tone of the book is compound, with Cicero as that major contributor to the book's tone and the translator and editor, Michael Grant, as the minor contributor. Cicero's tone varies according to the type of document in which he is placed. Against Verres is a legal or 'juridical' oration, where the young Cicero rails against the tyranny of criminality of Verres. Its tone is bombastic, urgent, righteous, hyperbolic and dramatic. The same can be said of the Second Philippic, which is Cicero's defense of his political career against the attacks of Antony and his counterattack on Antony's accomplishments and character. The tone here is also bombastic, righteous, hyperbolic and dramatic, despite the fact that it is not a judicial oration. The point of both orations, however, is to convince the audience that Cicero is good and that his opponent is bad so non-rational methods of persuasion must be employed.

Cicero's letters have varying tones. Some are simply cordial, while others are subtly or overtly political. Some are emotional, such as Cicero's letters to his family, while others are urgent and concerned, as are many of Cicero's letters to Atticus. Nearly all of the letters come off as sincere, however, no matter how revealing of Cicero they might be. The book On Duties starts and ends with an expression of love for his son and an exhortation to right behavior but the bulk of the work handles philosophical issues with great care. Cicero's tone is methodical, focused and measured. And in On Old Age, Cicero speaks through the mouth of Cato the Elder, and so speaks with a learned, wise, and tranquil voice that knows the facts of life.

The minor tone of Michael Grant, however, is one of a scholar organizing the texts of a great writer for public consumption. He gives clear, apparently unbiased explanations of Cicero's aims in his various works, along with helpful historical notes when relevant.