 Cicero’s main philosophical production can be divided into two chronological periods. The first, from around 54–51 BCE, sees the writing of his two main works of political philosophy, the Republic and the Laws (the latter apparently unfinished), each loosely based on a Platonic archetype, together with his great work on the nature and role of oratory, On the Orator. The second period, during which he composed the greater part of his philosophical oeuvre, occurred in an astonishing two-year burst of creativity towards the end of his life, in 45 and 44. Although Cicero’s writings on oratory (he composed several works on the topic) will not be discussed here, they should not be regarded as entirely distinct from his philosophical writings. That is because the relation between philosophy and oratory was of central importance to him. While this might sound arcane to a modern ear, what it encapsulated for Cicero was the vital question of how philosophy is best communicated.