How to tell a joke : an ancient guide to the art of humor / Marcus Tullius Cicero ; selected, translated, and introduced by Michael Fontaine.

Cover image for How to tell a joke : an ancient guide to the art of humor / Marcus Tullius Cicero ; selected, translated, and introduced by Michael Fontaine.

Title:

How to tell a joke : an ancient guide to the art of humor / Marcus Tullius Cicero ; selected, translated, and introduced by Michael Fontaine.

Author:

Cicero, Marcus Tullius

Additional Author(s):

Fontaine, Michael,

Container of (expression): Cicero, Marcus Tullius De oratore. Liber 2.216-290. English (Fontaine)

Container of (expression): Cicero, Marcus Tullius De oratore. Liber 2.216-290. Latin (Fontaine)

Container of (expression): Quintilian. Institutiones oratoriae. Liber 6. Caput 3. English (Fontaine)

Container of (expression): Quintilian. Institutiones oratoriae. Liber 6. Caput 3. Latin (Fontaine)

ISBN:

9780691206165

0691206163

Publication Info:

Princeton ;

Description:

xxxiii, 292 pages ; 18 cm.

Series:

Ancient wisdom for modern readers.

Contents:

Introduction -- How to tell a joke / Cicero -- On the art of humor / Quintilian -- Epilogue.

Summary:

"Everyone knows that Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the great statesmen, lawyers, and effective orators in the history of Rome. But did you also know he was regarded as one of the funniest people in Roman society as well? Five hundred years after his death, in the twilight of antiquity, the writer Macrobius ranks him alongside the comic playwright Plautus as the one of the two greatest wits ever. In this book, classicist Michael Fontaine, proposes to translate selections from Cicero's great rhetorical treatise, On the Ideal Orator (De Oratore). That larger work covered the whole of rhetoric and effective public speaking and debate. However, contained within it, is a long section focused on the effective use of humor in public speaking. In it, Cicero is concerned not just with various kinds of individual jokes, but with jokes that are advantageous in social situations. He advises readers on how to make the most effective use of wit to win friends, audiences, and achieve their overall ambitions. Cicero wants to teach his readers how to tell a joke without looking like a buffoon, and how to prevent or avoid jokes from backfiring. Hence, he does give scores of examples of jokes-some of which are timeless and translate easily, others that involve puns in Latin that challenged the translator's creativity. But overall, this work brings to the fore a little known, but important part of Cicero's classic work."--

Language Note:

Facing page translations with Latin on the versos and English on the rectos ; introduction and epilogue in English.

Subject(s):

Wit and humor -- Early works to 1800.

Joking -- Early works to 1800.

Holds: Copies (not including on-order items):

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Shelf Location	Status	Item Holds
Searching... High Prairie Library	Book	875.01 CICE	Nonfiction	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Timeless advice about how to use humor to win over any audience

Can jokes win a hostile room, a hopeless argument, or even an election? You bet they can, according to Cicero, and he knew what he was talking about. One of Rome's greatest politicians, speakers, and lawyers, Cicero was also reputedly one of antiquity's funniest people. After he was elected commander-in-chief and head of state, his enemies even started calling him "the stand-up Consul." How to Tell a Joke provides a lively new translation of Cicero's essential writing on humor alongside that of the later Roman orator and educator Quintilian. The result is a timeless practical guide to how a well-timed joke can win over any audience.

As powerful as jokes can be, they are also hugely risky. The line between a witty joke and an offensive one isn't always clear. Cross it and you'll look like a clown, or worse. Here, Cicero and Quintilian explore every aspect of telling jokes--while avoiding costly mistakes. Presenting the sections on humor in Cicero's On the Ideal Orator and Quintilian's The Education of the Orator , complete with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Tell a Joke examines the risks and rewards of humor and analyzes basic types that readers can use to write their own jokes.

Filled with insight, wit, and examples, including more than a few lawyer jokes, How to Tell a Joke will appeal to anyone interested in humor or the art of public speaking.

Author Notes

Born in Arpinum on January 3, 106 B.C., Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator, writer, and politician. In Rome, Cicero studied law, oratory, philosophy, and literature, before embarking on a political career. Banished from Rome in 59 B.C. for the execution of some members of the Catiline group, Cicero devoted himself to literature. Cicero was pardoned by Julius Caesar in 47 B.C., and returned to Rome to deliver his famous speeches, known as the "Philippics," urging the senate to declare war on Marc Antony.

Cicero's chief works, written between 46 and 44 B.C., can be classified in the categories of philosophical works, letters, and speeches. The letters, edited by his secretary Tiro, showcase a unique writing style and charm. The most popular work of the period was De Officiis, a manual of ethics, in which Cicero espoused fundamental Christian values half a century before Christ.

Cicero was murdered in Formiae, Italy, on December 4, 43 B.C., by Antony's soldiers after the triumvirate of Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius was formed.

(Bowker Author Biography)