Born in Cirta in North Africa in the late first century A.D., M. Cornelius Fronto was educated at Rome, and soon won a reputation as the foremost orator and legal advocate of his day. In the 140s A.D., Fronto was appointed tutor to the young Marcus Aurelius, educating the heir apparent in the two decades before he ascended to the throne. Fronto’s extensive correspondence preserves the letters written by the teacher and his illustrious pupil, as well as his letters to leading senators, members of the imperial family, and Marcus Aurelius’ adoptive father, Antoninus Pius.This edition includes an English translation and historical commentary on thirty-five selected letters from this important collection. The correspondence offers a unique insight into the aristocratic society of the Roman empire in the age of the Antonine emperors, shedding light on a wide range of issues in Roman history, including patronage, literary society, the lives of slaves and freedmen, and the imperial court. The letters' relevance to these aspects of social and cultural history allow the reader to construct a sophisticated picture of the Roman world and its political narrative in the late second century A.D.The introduction provides a concise and accessible overview of Fronto’s life and career, literary and aristocratic society at Rome, the Antonine emperors, and the epistolary genre.
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