The statesman, orator, and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero remains a writer whose influence has been felt for many centuries. Tusculan Disputations is his most wide-ranging philosophical work, and was intended to introduce the Roman people to the pleasures and benefits of the study of philosophy. In a series of stimulating dialogues, Tusculan Disputations examines some of the most fundamental questions of human life: the fear of death, the endurance of pain, the alleviation of sorrow, the various disorders of the soul, and the necessity of virtue for a happy life. These dialogues--accessible yet movingly profound--are perhaps even more relevant today than when they were first written. This is the first complete translation of Tusculan Disputations to appear in English in nearly a hundred years. It uses a modern, vigorous idiom and a clear formatting of the dialogues to enhance understanding and readability. Translator Quintus Curtius, who has also translated Cicero's On Duties and On Moral Ends , has returned to the original Latin text to produce an edition that is accessible for the general reader, while rigorous enough for the serious student. It contains: 1. A detailed foreword and introduction 2. Summaries of the arguments of each book 3. Over six hundred and thirty annotations that explain places, names, and nuances in the text 4. Illustrations and photographs 5. A comprehensive index 6. Modern formatting of the dialogues for ease of reading and comprehension This new translation restores Cicero's classic to its proper place in the history of Western philosophy. "[N]ow a step has been made in the right direction, as the new translation I have quoted above brings a compelling immediacy to the text. It is the latest success by an American essayist and trial lawyer who writes under the suitably Latinate name Quintus Curtius. Over the last few years, Curtius has published impressive translations of Cicero's On Duties, Stoic Paradoxes, On Moral Ends , and other works...By refreshing Tusculan Disputations after a century of neglect, Curtius has brought a forgotten and contentious side of Cicero's thinking back to light."--Michael Fontaine, "The New Criterion," Oct. 2021 (Vol. 40, No. 2) One of the goals Cicero had for  Tusculan Disputations  was to give the average Roman an acquaintance with the beauty and profound significance of moral philosophy.  "For if I have been useful to my fellow citizens during my political career," he announces, "my hope is that I may likewise prove useful to them, if possible, in my retirement."  The five books of the  Tusculans  deal with questions that are just as essential in the modern era as they were in Cicero's day.  The first book discusses the fear of death; the second, enduring pain; the third, the management of anxiety and distress; the fourth, the various other disorders of the mind; and the fifth, whether virtue alone is sufficient for leading a happy life.  What questions in life could be more important than these? The  Tusculans  is a less technical work than  On Moral Ends , and covers a much broader range of topics than  On Duties .  Although there is a subtle unity and organization to the treatise, Cicero does not feel bound to follow a rigid set of didactic formulas.  The tone is relaxed, intimate, and yet commanding. Someone suggests a topic for discussion and offers his view; Cicero then attempts to rebut that view.   Although each of the five books of the  Tusculans  deals with a discrete topic, there is a common theme pulsing through the work, centered on the question of how to live a happy life.  What principles form the basis of the happy life?  How should we go about acquiring and implementing these principles?  The fact that Cicero was able to focus his mind on such profound human questions while mired in extreme personal grief says a great deal about his character and intellect.   The reader of the  Tusculan Disputations  is carried along not just by the nobility of the ideas, but by the striking grandeur and loftiness of the language.  It remains one of the greatest and most accessible works of Western philosophy; and, in raw honesty, depth of sentiment, and stylistic power, it would find no prose rival in Europe until the advent of Montaigne, Bacon, and Descartes. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 B.C.--43 B.C.) was a Roman statesman, author, and philosopher. He is considered one of the most influential writers in European history, and composed a number of treatises in philosophy and rhetoric.Quintus Curtius is the pen name of writer, attorney, and translator George J. Thomas.  After graduating from MIT in 1990, he served as an active duty officer in the US Marine Corps for a number of years.  After leaving active service, he enrolled in law school and began practicing law in 1998.  He lives in Overland Park, Kansas.  Thomas has translated Cicero's  On Moral Ends, On Duties,  and  Stoic Paradoxes , as well as the works of the Roman