Author: Mitsis, Phillip
Title: Sunt autem privata nulla natura: Cicero and the Early Modern History of Property
Review/Collection: in Hahmann, Andree & Vazquez, Michael, Cicero as Philosopher - New Perspectives on His Philosophy and Its Legacy, De Gruyter, 2025, 412 p.
Place edition: Berlin Boston
Editor: De Gruyter
Year edition: 2025
Pages: 347-366
Keywords: Droit - Diritto - Law, Héritage - Fortuna - Legacy, Philosophie - Filosofia - Philosophy
Description: Phillip Mitsis underscores the subtlety and nuance of early modern readings of Cicero. Placing more credence in historical interpretations of Cicero’s views on property, Mitsis cautions us against assimilating Cicero’s views to our own. The debate among contemporary scholars on this issue has centered on the extent to which Cicero’s theory of property is rooted in “possessive individualism” or in a natural law theory that embeds property in the social bonds of community. Through careful examination of current translations and comparison with their early modern predecessors, Mitsis argues that this debate is based in part on the intrusion of contemporary ideas into the interpretation of Cicero [Hahmann & Vazquez 2025, 9].
Author initials: Mitsis 2025
Title: Sunt autem privata nulla natura: Cicero and the Early Modern History of Property
Review/Collection: in Hahmann, Andree & Vazquez, Michael, Cicero as Philosopher - New Perspectives on His Philosophy and Its Legacy, De Gruyter, 2025, 412 p.
Place edition: Berlin Boston
Editor: De Gruyter
Year edition: 2025
Pages: 347-366
Keywords: Droit - Diritto - Law, Héritage - Fortuna - Legacy, Philosophie - Filosofia - Philosophy
Description: Phillip Mitsis underscores the subtlety and nuance of early modern readings of Cicero. Placing more credence in historical interpretations of Cicero’s views on property, Mitsis cautions us against assimilating Cicero’s views to our own. The debate among contemporary scholars on this issue has centered on the extent to which Cicero’s theory of property is rooted in “possessive individualism” or in a natural law theory that embeds property in the social bonds of community. Through careful examination of current translations and comparison with their early modern predecessors, Mitsis argues that this debate is based in part on the intrusion of contemporary ideas into the interpretation of Cicero [Hahmann & Vazquez 2025, 9].
Author initials: Mitsis 2025
