The ancients captivated my imagination when I enrolled in Latin during my tenth grade year. At the time, I knew very little about the Roman empire and even less about Latin, but I believed I was signing up for higher test scores and academic distinction. In actuality, I was encountering my destiny. Five years later, I was majoring in Classics at university and pursuing the path to teacher certification. In the course of my studies, I met the Latin authors of poetry, satire, and epic; but a summer course with the statesman Cicero inspired my passion for oratory.  “Who is this Cicero?” you ask. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a popular Roman politician…