On the Orator (lat. De Oratore) - a treatise by Marcus Tullius Cicero on the art of oratory. It is Cicero’s seminal work on this topic, which reveals the fundamentals of the art of eloquence. The treatise is written in the form of a dialogue between Lucius Licinius Crassus and Mark Antony, which allegedly took place in the summer of 91 BC. e., shortly before the death of Crassus. Cicero published it in 55 BC. e. and dedicated it to his brother Quintus. "Of all the works of Cicero, his works on oratory, perhaps most of all, currently require a new scientific edition. The reason for this is the state of the handwritten tradition of this group of works by Cicero. Treatises on oratory have reached us in two handwritten editions - “incomplete” and “complete”. Where the text of these editions coincides, we can assume with reasonable confidence that it corresponds to the Cicero original. But where it does not coincide, the publishers have no objective reason to prefer the version of one edition. version of the other, and they have to operate with arguments “from the meaning,” which are always disputable. Fortunately, discrepancies of this kind usually concern unimportant details and sometimes do not even affect the translation.”