Microsoft Multimedia Encyclopedia Encarta Premium 2009-
( последнее издание, после этого не издавалась )
энциклопедия с текстами американских преподавателей вузов
соответствующих предметов ( pdD ) , написанных на уровне требований
к знаниям американских первокурсников,
а также десятки тысяч фото, видео, трехмерные визуализации, атлас и т.д.
Плюс Encarta Kids- мультимедиа энциклопедия для американских младших школьников. Обе энциклопедии очень полезны для начинающих и продолжающих изучать английский благодаря доступному уровню изложения и красочным мультимедиа единственной в своем роде энциклопедии ( единственный конкурент- Britannica, но там тексты гораздо сложнее, объем их больше раза в 2-3, но мультимедиа гораздо меньше, хотя там есть даже две дополнительных энциклопедии - для старшеклассников и для младших школьников )
Вот, например, тексты статей ( без мультимедиа)
CICERO из Encarta Premium 2009 и
ROMAN EMPIRE из Encarta Kids
CICERO из Encarta Premium 2009 и
ROMAN EMPIRE из Encarta Kids
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Cicero (106-43 bc), Roman writer, statesman, and
orator. Although he had a distinguished political career, he is best known as
Rome's greatest orator and as a man of letters. Born in Arpinum (now Arpino,
Italy), Marcus Tullius Cicero is also known in English as Tully. As a youth he
studied law, oratory, literature, and philosophy in Rome. After brief military
service and three years' experience as a lawyer defending private citizens, he
traveled to Greece and Asia, where he continued his studies. He returned to Rome
in 77 bc and began his political
career, aligning himself with statesman and general Pompey the
Great. In 74 bc he entered
the Senate.
Although Cicero's family did not belong to the Roman
aristocracy, he was supported in the competition for the consulship in 64 bc by most rich and powerful Romans
because of their distrust of his aristocratic but less respectable rival, Lucius
Sergius Catilina, known as Catiline. Cicero was elected, but during
his administration Catiline organized a plot to overthrow the government. Cicero
suppressed the conspiracy and had several members of Catiline's group executed.
Julius Caesar and other Roman senators argued that Cicero had acted
too hastily, without giving the conspirators due process of law. Because Cicero
refused to make peace with Caesar, Pompey's archrival, in 58 bc he was forced into exile. After a
year in Macedonia he was recalled at the instigation of Pompey.
Cicero occupied himself with reading and writing
philosophy until 51 bc, when he
accepted an assignment to govern the Roman province of Cilicia as
proconsul. He returned to Rome in 50 bc and joined Pompey, who had by now
become Caesar's bitter enemy. After Pompey was defeated by Caesar in 48 bc, Cicero, realizing that further
resistance was hopeless, accepted Caesar's overtures of political friendship.
While Caesar was virtual dictator of Rome, Cicero lived as a private citizen and
wrote extensively. After Caesar's assassination in 44 bc, Cicero returned to politics. Hoping
to see a restoration of the Republic, he supported Caesar's adopted son,
Octavian, later the emperor Augustus, in a power struggle with the
Roman consul Mark Antony. Octavian and Antony were reconciled,
however, and Cicero was proscribed and murdered on December 7, 43 bc.
In his writings Cicero created a rich prose style that has
exercised a pervasive influence on all the literary languages of Europe. His
writing covers numerous subjects of intellectual interest, and he greatly
enriched the vocabulary of his own language as well as those of the modern
European tongues. Nearly all of his philosophical works were borrowed from Greek
sources and, apart from their intrinsic merit, are of great value in preserving
much of Greek philosophy that might otherwise have remained unknown. Outstanding
are the treatises On the Republic, On the Laws, On Duty, and On the
Nature of the Gods. His rhetorical works, written in dialogue
form—particularly On the Orator—are of value as the products of an
accomplished rhetorician and as a rich source of historical material. The most
famous of his orations are the 4 speeches against Catiline and the 14 so-called
Philippics against Antony.
Among the minor works of Cicero, the treatises On Old
Age and On Friendship have always been admired for their tone of
cultivated geniality. Highly important for historians are four collections of
letters written by Cicero to acquaintances and friends. These letters are a
spontaneous self-revelation of their author and an excellent source of
information on the politics of the final years of the Roman Republic. See
also Thematic Essay: Roman Political and Social Thought.
MORE SOURCES
| Web Links |
The Cicero Homepage
This privately maintained page has a biography of Cicero, a
bibliography, and HTML versions of selected writings in Latin and English.
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/Cic.html
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| Primary Sources |
| Great Works of Literature |
From Cicero's De Republica
As the Roman Republic collapsed in the 1st century bc, orator and statesman Marcus Tullius
Cicero argued for its preservation. Political rivalries led to his exile, during
which Cicero wrote a series of dialogues that greatly influenced subsequent
political thought. In his 55 bc
dialogue De Republica (On the Republic), Cicero presents two
characters, Scipio Africanus and Laelius, who discuss how elements of monarchy,
aristocracy, and democracy should be balanced to form an ideal government. This
excerpt reflects Cicero’s belief that the Republic and its constitution should
have been preserved to serve the interests of Rome.
more...
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Cicero: From On Government
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a young Roman lawyer and
politician when he undertook his successful impeachment of Gaius Verres, former
governor of Sicily, in 70 bc.
Quintus Hortensius, the most famous orator of the day, represented the
defendant, but Cicero presented such an effective case that Verres hastened into
voluntary exile. This speech demonstrates Cicero’s mastery of the art of
rhetoric.
more...
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| Historic Documents |
From Plutarch's Lives: Cicero
Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist who lived
in the 1st century ad. His short
biographies of notable Greek and Roman figures are renowned not only for their
portraits of ancient life, but also for their study of character and morality.
Many of Plutarch’s biographies were constructed in pairs, including his
biographies of the two famous orators, Cicero, a Roman, and Demosthenes, a
Greek. Both orators had a great influence on their countries by presenting their
ideas through public speaking. They also shared the distinction of being opposed
to high-ranking political figures—Marc Antony and Augustus Caesar in the case of
Cicero—which ultimately led to their deaths.
more...
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ALSO IN ENCARTA
| Related Articles |
| Timeline |
ROMAN EMPIRE ( ENCARTA KIDS)
What was the biggest, richest, and
most powerful nation of ancient times? The mighty Roman Empire! Based in the
city of Rome, it stretched across three continents and included millions of
people. The Roman Empire lasted for 500 years.
ROME’S RISE TO POWER
According to legend, the city of
Rome was founded in central Italy in 753 bc. As Rome grew richer and stronger,
its soldiers took over nearby land. Rome’s well-trained, disciplined army was a
fearsome fighting machine.
By 30 bc, Rome controlled most of Europe,
North Africa, and the Middle East. To guard these conquests, the Romans built
walls and military forts. They also built excellent roads so that soldiers could
march quickly to trouble spots.
THE EMPIRE BEGINS
The Roman Empire began in 27 bc. That year, a tough, clever army
commander won control of Rome after a long civil war. His name was Octavian, but
the Romans called him Augustus. The title Augustus meant “honored or holy
leader.” Augustus became the first Roman emperor. The month of August is named
after him.
Augustus saw that Rome needed new
government. He appointed professionals to manage the government’s money and make
sure that enough food and fresh water reached the city of Rome. He reorganized
the army and set up new police and firefighting teams. He encouraged family life
by paying parents to have more children. He brought back old ceremonies to honor
the gods who were said to guide and guard Rome.
By the time Augustus died in ad 14, he had linked Roman lands into a
single awesome organization. This was the Roman Empire.
GOVERNMENT
Emperors remained in charge of the
Roman Empire for almost 500 years. Some, like Nero, were tyrants. Some, like
Commodus, were stupid and cruel. But most ruled well, and a few, like Trajan,
were outstanding. When Roman emperors died, they were worshiped as gods.
Each province (region) of
the empire was ruled by a governor. The governor was helped by trained officials
and sometimes by local kings and chiefs. Everyone in the empire had to pay Roman
taxes and obey Roman laws. They had to use Roman money, as well. Roman coins
showed the emperor’s portrait. That way, everyone knew who was in charge!
WHO LIVED IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE?
Rome ruled over almost 50 million
people in 27 bc. They included
Greeks, Egyptians, Celts, Africans, Arabs, and Jews. Traditionally, Roman
society was divided into two upper classes and two lower classes. Senators
belonged to the highest class, and slaves to the lowest class. Over time, class
became less important than wealth. After ad 212, each free person in the empire
was treated equally, as a Roman citizen.
Everywhere they ruled, the Romans
introduced their own language, Latin. They also brought their technology, art,
entertainment, and building styles. Many Roman temples, theaters, roads, and
aqueducts (bridges that carried water) still survive in many parts of
Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
CAPITAL OF THE EMPIRE
The city of Rome was the center of
the empire. It had temples for worship, law courts, houses and apartment
buildings, sports arenas, and shops. It also had crowded streets, smells, dirt,
and noise. About 1 million people lived in Rome in 27 bc, making it the largest city in the
world.
People moved all the time from the
countryside to Rome, but many could not find work. Emperors provided food and
spectacles like gladiator shows to keep them content and stop them from rioting.
One Roman writer said that emperors ruled by “bread and circuses.”
CONQUEST, THEN COLLAPSE
In the early years, the Roman
Empire kept on growing. But later Roman emperors found the lands of the empire
too vast and too varied to control. In ad 284, the Roman Empire was divided
among four rulers. Emperor Constantine united it again in ad 324. Constantine became a Christian,
and gave Christianity a favored position in the empire.
Soon after Constantine’s rule,
the empire was attacked by fierce tribes from the north and east. Their raids
caused terror and food shortages. In ad 395, the empire split into an Eastern
Empire and a Western Empire. The wealthy Eastern Empire was ruled from
Constantinople (now Istanbul). It remained strong. But poor and weak Western
emperors could not defend their land. The last Western emperor was forced out of
Rome by invaders in ad 476. The
Eastern Empire survived as the Byzantine Empire.
The fall of the Roman Empire in
476 did not mean the end of Roman civilization. The Latin language lived on, and
it developed into modern European languages such as French, Spanish, and
Italian. Roman art, buildings, and writings influenced later cultures.
Also in Encarta Kids
| All articles about world cultures |
| All articles about world history |
| Ancient Egypt |
| Ancient Greece |
| Christianity |
| Cleopatra, defeated by the armies of ancient Rome |
| Europe |
| Government |
| Italy |
| Julius Caesar |
| Roman law |
| Rome |
On the Web
| • | Discover more about the daily life of ancient Rome. |
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