These orations by Cicero, especially "In Catilinam" and "Pro Murena", showcase his exceptional skills as a lawyer and supreme orator, his political foresight and vision as an eminent statesmen, his intellectual capacity and erudition in law, politics, history and philosophy, and, above all, his "masterful urbanity" as a fine specimen of human being.

"In Catlilinam" (Against Catiline) is the crowning achievement of Cicero's political career. In discovering the Catilinarian Conspiracy, exposing and suppressing the conspirators, and safeguarding the Roman Republic, he demonstrated outstanding ability as a statesman, and shrewdness in military stratagems characteristic of a general, though he was a civilian.

Some, including the translator of this book, criticized Cicero for self-aggrandizement. Their words would have carried more weight if they had been statesmen themselves, lived through the tumultuous times with honor and distinction and died with courage as Cicero did.

In "Pro Sulla", Cicero defends a man, whom he personally dislikes, from a sense of obligation and his compassionate nature, as well as political circumstances. In the process, he schools, nay squelches, the prosecutor who hurls personal insult at himself.

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