Named in memory of Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.), Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar and writer. Perhaps the greatest orator of Roman times, he made his reputation in politics and in the law courts. He was trained by Molon of Rhodes. In his Brutus he gives a description of the equipment of an orator: a thorough knowledge of literature, a grounding of philosophy, legal expertise, a storehouse of history — as well as the capacity to tie up an opponent and reduce the jury to laughter. The more than 900 of his letters that have survived constitute a primary historical source of the ancient world. In his philosophical writings his aim was to provide Rome with a kind of philosophic encyclopedia. (M 34629) _ _.