Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a
Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and
academic skeptic, who tried to uphold
optimate principles during
the political crises that led to the establishment of the
Roman Empire.
His extensive writings include treatises on
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
, philosophy and politics, and he is considered one of Rome's greatest
orators and
prose stylists. He came from a wealthy
municipal family of the
Roman equestrian order, and served as
consul in 63 BC.
His influence on the
Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime, and it has been said that subsequent prose was either a reaction against or a return to his style, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century.
Cicero introduced into Latin the arguments of the chief schools of
Hellenistic philosophy
Hellenistic philosophy is a time-frame for Western philosophy and Ancient Greek philosophy corresponding to the Hellenistic period. It is purely external and encompasses disparate intellectual content. There is no single philosophical school or cu ...
and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary with
neologisms such as , , , , and , distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher.
Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the
second Catilinarian conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero suppressed the revolt by summarily and controversially executing five conspirators without trial. During the chaotic middle period of the first century BC, marked by
civil wars and the dictatorship of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican government. Following Caesar's death, Cicero became an enemy of
Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a
series of speeches. He was
proscribed as an enemy of the state by the
Second Triumvirate
The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a ...
and consequently executed by soldiers operating on their behalf in 43 BC having been intercepted during an attempted flight from the Italian peninsula. His severed hands and head were then, as a final revenge of Mark Antony, displayed on the
Rostra.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century
Renaissance in
public affairs,
humanism, and classical Roman culture.
According to Polish historian
Tadeusz Zieliński, "the Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...
." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the 18th-century
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
, and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers and political theorists such as
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
,
David Hume,
Montesquieu, and
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in global culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of
Roman history
The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced ma ...
, especially the last days of the
Roman Republic.
Personal life
Early life
Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on 3 January 106 BC in
Arpinum, a hill town southeast of Rome. He belonged to the ''
tribus'' Cornelia. His father was a well-to-do member of the
equestrian order and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being a semi-invalid, he could not enter public life and studied extensively to compensate. Although little is known about Cicero's mother, Helvia, it was common for the wives of important Roman citizens to be responsible for the management of the household. Cicero's brother
Quintus
Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth".
Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...
wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife.
Cicero's
cognomen, or personal surname, comes from the Latin for
chickpea
The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...
, .
Plutarch explains that the name was originally given to one of Cicero's ancestors who had a cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. However, it is more likely that Cicero's ancestors prospered through the cultivation and sale of chickpeas. Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames. The famous family names of
Fabius,
Lentulus, and
Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils, and peas, respectively. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this deprecatory name when he entered politics, but refused, saying that he would make ''Cicero'' more glorious than ''
Scaurus'' ("Swollen-ankled") and ''
Catulus'' ("Puppy").
During this period in Roman history, "cultured" meant being able to speak both Latin and Greek. Cicero was therefore educated in the teachings of the
ancient Greek philosophers,
poets
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and
historians
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
; as he obtained much of his understanding of the theory and practice of
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
from the Greek poet
Archias and from the Greek
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
ian
Apollonius. Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience. It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite.
[Everitt, A.: "Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician" (2001) p. 35]
Cicero's interest in philosophy figured heavily in his later career and led to him providing a comprehensive account of Greek philosophy for a Roman audience, including creating a philosophical vocabulary in Latin. In 87 BC,
Philo of Larissa, the head of the
Platonic Academy that had been founded by
Plato in Athens about 300 years earlier, arrived in Rome. Cicero, "inspired by an extraordinary zeal for philosophy", sat enthusiastically at his feet and absorbed
Carneades'
Academic Skeptic philosophy.
Cicero said of Plato's Dialogues, that if Zeus were to speak, he would use their language. He would, in due course, honor them with his own convivial dialogues.
According to Plutarch, Cicero was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome, affording him the opportunity to study Roman law under
Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Cicero's fellow students were Gaius Marius Minor,
Servius Sulpicius Rufus (who became a famous lawyer, one of the few whom Cicero considered superior to himself in legal matters), and
Titus Pomponius
Titus Pomponius was a member of the ''Gens Pomponia'' and a direct descendant in male line of Pomponius, the first son of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, and came from an old but not strictly noble Roman family of the equestrian class. He ...
. The latter two became Cicero's friends for life, and Pomponius (who later received the nickname "Atticus", and whose sister married Cicero's brother) would become, in Cicero's own words, "as a second brother", with both maintaining a lifelong correspondence.
In 79 BC, Cicero left for Greece,
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
and
Rhodes. This was perhaps to avoid the potential wrath of
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
, as Plutarch claims, though Cicero himself says it was to hone his skills and improve his physical fitness. In
Athens he studied philosophy with
Antiochus of Ascalon, the 'Old Academic' and initiator of
Middle Platonism. In Asia Minor, he met the leading orators of the region and continued to study with them. Cicero then journeyed to
Rhodes to meet his former teacher,
Apollonius Molon Apollonius Molon or Molo of Rhodes (or simply Molon; grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Μόλων), was a Greek rhetorician. He was a native of Alabanda, a pupil of Menecles, and settled at Rhodes, where he opened a school of rhetoric. Prior to that, ...
, who had previously taught him in Rome. Molon helped Cicero hone the excesses in his style, as well as train his body and lungs for the demands of public speaking. Charting a middle path between the competing
Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
and
Asiatic styles, Cicero would ultimately become considered second only to
Demosthenes among history's orators.
Family
Cicero married
Terentia probably at the age of 27, in 79 BC. According to the upper class
mores of the day it was a marriage of convenience, but lasted harmoniously for nearly 30 years. Terentia's family was wealthy, probably the
plebeian
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
noble house of Terenti Varrones, thus meeting the needs of Cicero's political ambitions in both economic and social terms. She had a half-sister named Fabia, who as a child had become a
Vestal Virgin, a great honour. Terentia was a strong willed woman and (citing Plutarch) "she took more interest in her husband's political career than she allowed him to take in household affairs."
In the 50s BC, Cicero's letters to Terentia became shorter and colder. He complained to his friends that Terentia had betrayed him but did not specify in which sense. Perhaps the marriage could not outlast the strain of the political upheaval in Rome, Cicero's involvement in it, and various other disputes between the two. The divorce appears to have taken place in 51 BC or shortly before. In 46 or 45 BC, Cicero married a young girl, Publilia, who had been his
ward. It is thought that Cicero needed her money, particularly after having to repay the
dowry of Terentia, who came from a wealthy family.
[Rawson, E.: ''Cicero'' p. 225] This marriage did not last long.
Although his marriage to Terentia was one of convenience, it is commonly known that Cicero held great love for his daughter
Tullia. When she suddenly became ill in February 45 BC and died after having seemingly recovered from giving birth to a son in January, Cicero was stunned. "I have lost the one thing that bound me to life" he wrote to Atticus.
[Haskell, H.J.: "This was Cicero" (1964) p. 249] Atticus told him to come for a visit during the first weeks of his bereavement, so that he could comfort him when his pain was at its greatest. In Atticus's large library, Cicero read everything that the Greek philosophers had written about overcoming grief, "but my sorrow defeats all consolation." Caesar and
Brutus as well as
Servius Sulpicius Rufus sent him letters of condolence.
Cicero hoped that his son
Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44
* Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...
would become a philosopher like him, but Marcus himself wished for a military career. He joined the army of
Pompey in 49 BC and after Pompey's defeat at
Pharsalus 48 BC, he was pardoned by Caesar. Cicero sent him to Athens to study as a disciple of the
peripatetic
Peripatetic may refer to:
* Peripatetic school, a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece
* Peripatetic axiom
*Peripatetic minority, a mobile population moving among settled populations offering a craft or trade.
*Peripatetic Jats
There are severa ...
philosopher
Kratippos in 48 BC, but he used this absence from "his father's vigilant eye" to "eat, drink and be merry." After Cicero's death he joined the army of the ''
Liberatores'' but was later pardoned by
Augustus. Augustus's bad conscience for not having objected to Cicero's being put on the
proscription
Proscription ( la, proscriptio) is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated ...
list during the
Second Triumvirate
The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a ...
led him to aid considerably Marcus Minor's career. He became an
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
, and was nominated
consul in 30 BC together with Augustus. As such, he was responsible for revoking the honors of
Mark Antony, who was responsible for the proscription, and could in this way take revenge. Later he was appointed
proconsul of
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and the province of Asia.
Public career
Early legal activity
Cicero wanted to pursue a public career in politics along the steps of the . In 90–88 BC, he served both
Pompeius Strabo and
Lucius Cornelius Sulla as they campaigned in the
Social War, though he had no taste for military life, being an intellectual first and foremost.
Cicero started his career as a lawyer around 83–81 BC. The first extant speech is a private case from 81 BC (the ), delivered when Cicero was aged 26, though he refers throughout to previous defenses he had already undertaken. His first major public case, of which a written record is still extant, was his 80 BC defense of
Sextus Roscius on the charge of
patricide. Taking this case was a courageous move for Cicero; patricide was considered an appalling crime, and the people whom Cicero accused of the murder, the most notorious being
Chrysogonus Chrysogonus (''Golden birth'') was the name of the following people in Ancient Greece and Rome:
* Chrysogonus of Athens flutist and poet (~407 BC)
* Chrysogonus of Macedon nobleman and general of Philip V of Macedon, father of poet Samus)
* Luciu ...
, were favorites of
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
. At this time it would have been easy for Sulla to have the unknown Cicero murdered. Cicero's defense was an indirect challenge to the dictator Sulla, and on the strength of his case, Roscius was acquitted. Soon after, Cicero again challenged Sulla, by criticising his disenfranchisement of Italian towns in a lost speech on behalf of a woman from
Arretium.
Cicero's case in the was divided into three parts. The first part detailed exactly the charge brought by Ericius. Cicero explained how a rustic son of a farmer, who lives off the pleasures of his own land, would not have gained anything from committing patricide because he would have eventually inherited his father's land anyway. The second part concerned the boldness and greed of two of the accusers, Magnus and Capito. Cicero told the jury that they were the more likely perpetrators of murder because the two were greedy, both for conspiring together against a fellow kinsman and, in particular, Magnus, for his boldness and for being unashamed to appear in court to support the false charges. The third part explained that Chrysogonus had immense political power, and the accusation was successfully made due to that power. Even though Chrysogonus may not have been what Cicero said he was, through rhetoric Cicero successfully made him appear to be a foreign freed man who prospered by devious means in the aftermath of the civil war. Cicero surmised that it showed what kind of a person he was and that something like murder was not beneath him.
Early political career
His first office was as one of the twenty annual
quaestor
A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times.
In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...
s, a training post for serious public administration in a diversity of areas, but with a traditional emphasis on administration and rigorous accounting of public monies under the guidance of a senior magistrate or provincial commander. Cicero served as quaestor in western
Sicily in 75 BC and demonstrated honesty and integrity in his dealings with the inhabitants. As a result, the grateful Sicilians asked Cicero to prosecute
Gaius Verres, a governor of Sicily, who had badly plundered the province. His prosecution of Gaius Verres was a great forensic success for Cicero. Governor Gaius Verres hired the prominent lawyer of a noble family
Quintus Hortensius Hortalus. After a lengthy period in Sicily collecting testimonials and evidence and persuading witnesses to come forward, Cicero returned to Rome and won the case in a series of dramatic court battles. His unique style of oratory set him apart from the flamboyant Hortensius. On the conclusion of this case, Cicero came to be considered the greatest orator in Rome. The view that Cicero may have taken the case for reasons of his own is viable. Hortensius was, at this point, known as the best lawyer in Rome; to beat him would guarantee much success and the prestige that Cicero needed to start his career. Cicero's oratorical skill is shown in his
character assassination of Verres and various other techniques of persuasion used on the jury. One such example is found in the speech ''
Against Verres I'', where he states "with you on this bench, gentlemen, with
Marcus Acilius Glabrio as your president, I do not understand what Verres can hope to achieve". Oratory was considered a great art in ancient Rome and an important tool for disseminating knowledge and promoting oneself in elections, in part because there were no regular newspapers or mass media. Cicero was neither a
patrician nor a plebeian
noble; his rise to political office despite his relatively humble origins has traditionally been attributed to his brilliance as an orator.
Cicero grew up in a time of civil unrest and war.
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
's victory in the first of a series of civil wars led to a new constitutional framework that undermined (liberty), the fundamental value of the Roman Republic. Nonetheless, Sulla's reforms strengthened the position of the
equestrian class, contributing to that class's growing political power. Cicero was both an Italian and a , but more importantly he was a
Roman constitutionalist. His social class and loyalty to the Republic ensured that he would "command the support and confidence of the people as well as the Italian middle classes". The faction never truly accepted Cicero, and this undermined his efforts to reform the Republic while preserving the constitution. Nevertheless, he successfully ascended the , holding each magistracy at or near the youngest possible age: in 75 BC (age 30), in 69 BC (age 36), and in 66 BC (age 39), when he served as president of the "Reclamation" (or extortion) Court. He was then elected at age 42.
Consulship
Cicero, seizing the opportunity offered by optimate fear of reform, was elected consul for the year 63 BC;
[John Leach, ''Pompey the Great'', p. 106.] he was elected with the support of every unit of the
centuriate assembly
The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred ...
, rival members of the post-Sullan establishment, and the leaders of municipalities throughout post–Social War Italy. His co-consul for the year,
Gaius Antonius Hybrida, played a minor role.
He began his consular year by opposing a land bill proposed by a plebeian tribune which would have appointed commissioners with semi-permanent authority over land reform.
Cicero was also active in the courts, defending
Gaius Rabirius from accusations of participating in the unlawful killing of plebeian tribune
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (died late 100 BC) was a Roman populist and tribune. He is most notable for introducing a series of legislative reforms, alongside his associate Gaius Servilius Glaucia and with the consent of Gaius Marius, during the l ...
in 100 BC. The prosecution occurred before the and threatened to reopen conflict between the Marian and Sullan factions at Rome. Cicero defended the use of force as being authorised by a , which would prove similar to his own use of force under such conditions.
The Catilinarian Conspiracy
Most famouslyin part because of his own publicityhe thwarted a conspiracy led by
Lucius Sergius Catilina
Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...
to overthrow the
Roman Republic with the help of foreign armed forces. Cicero procured a ''
senatus consultum ultimum'' (a recommendation from the senate attempting to legitimise the use of force) and drove Catiline from the city with four vehement speeches (the
Catiline Orations), which to this day remain outstanding examples of his rhetorical style. The Orations listed Catiline and his followers' debaucheries, and denounced Catiline's senatorial sympathizers as roguish and dissolute debtors clinging to Catiline as a final and desperate hope. Cicero demanded that Catiline and his followers leave the city. At the conclusion of Cicero's first speech (which was made in the
Temple of Jupiter Stator), Catiline hurriedly left the Senate. In his following speeches, Cicero did not directly address Catiline. He delivered the second and third orations before the
people, and the last one again before the Senate. By these speeches, Cicero wanted to prepare the Senate for the worst possible case; he also delivered more evidence, against Catiline.
Catiline fled and left behind his followers to start the revolution from within while he himself assaulted the city with an army of “moral and financial bankrupts, or of honest fanatics and adventurers”. It is alleged that Catiline had attempted to involve the
Allobroges, a tribe of
Transalpine Gaul, in their plot, but Cicero, working with the Gauls, was able to seize letters that incriminated the five conspirators and forced them to confess in front of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The senate then deliberated upon the conspirators' punishment. As it was the dominant advisory body to the various
legislative assemblies rather than a
judicial body, there were limits to its power; however, martial law was in effect, and it was feared that simple house arrest or exile – the standard options – would not remove the threat to the state. At first
Decimus Junius Silanus spoke for the "extreme penalty"; many were swayed by Julius Caesar, who decried the precedent it would set and argued in favor of life imprisonment in various Italian towns.
Cato the Younger rose in defense of the death penalty and the entire Senate finally agreed on the matter. Cicero had the conspirators taken to the
Tullianum, the notorious Roman prison, where they were strangled. Cicero himself accompanied the former consul
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, one of the conspirators, to the Tullianum.
Cicero received the honorific "''
pater patriae''" for his efforts to suppress the conspiracy, but lived thereafter in fear of trial or exile for having put Roman citizens to death without trial. While the ''
senatus consultum ultimum'' gave some legitimacy to the use of force against the conspirators, Cicero also argued that Catiline's conspiracy, by virtue of its treason, made the conspirators enemies of the state and forfeited the protections intrinsically possessed by Roman citizens. The consuls moved decisively. Antonius Hybrida was dispatched to defeat Catiline in battle that year, preventing Crassus or Pompey from exploiting the situation for their own political aims.
After the suppression of the conspiracy, Cicero was proud of his accomplishment. Some of his political enemies argued that though the act gained Cicero popularity, he exaggerated the extent of his success. He overestimated his popularity again several years later after being exiled from Italy and then allowed back from exile. At this time, he claimed that the
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
would be restored along with him. Many Romans at the time, led by
Populares
Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...
politicians
Gaius Julius Caesar and patrician turned plebeian
Publius Clodius Pulcher believed that Cicero's evidence against Catiline was fabricated and the witnesses were bribed. Cicero, who had been elected consul with the support of the Optimates, promoted their position as advocates of the status quo resisting social changes, especially more privileges for the average inhabitants of Rome.
Shortly after completing his consulship, in late 62 BC, Cicero arranged the purchase of a large townhouse on the
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
previously owned by Rome's richest citizen,
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...
. It cost an exorbitant sum, 3.5 million
sesterces
The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin.
The na ...
, which required Cicero to arrange for a loan from his co-consul
Gaius Antonius Hybrida based on the expected profits from Antonius's proconsulship in Macedonia.
[Dunstan, William (2010). ''Ancient Rome''. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. pp. 163–164. .] At the beginning of his consulship, Cicero had made an arrangement with Hybrida to grant Hybrida the profitable province of Macedonia that had been granted to Cicero by the Senate in exchange for Hybrida staying out of Cicero's way for the year and a quarter of the profits from the province.
In return Cicero gained a lavish house which he proudly boasted was ''"in conspectu prope totius urbis"'' (in sight of nearly the whole city), only a short walk away from the
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
.
Exile and return
In 60 BC,
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
invited Cicero to be the fourth member of his existing partnership with
Pompey and
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...
, an assembly that would eventually be called the
First Triumvirate. Cicero refused the invitation because he suspected it would undermine the Republic.
During Caesar's consulship of 59 BC, the triumvirate had achieved many of their goals of land reform, publicani debt forgiveness, ratification of Pompeian conquests, etc. With Caesar leaving for his provinces, they wished to maintain their stranglehold on politics. They engineered the adoption of patrician
Publius Clodius Pulcher into a plebeian family and had him elected as one of the ten
tribunes of the plebs for 58 BC. Clodius used the triumvirate's backing to push through legislation that benefited them all. He introduced several laws (the ''
leges Clodiae'') that made him very popular with the people, strengthening his power base, then he turned on Cicero by threatening exile to anyone who executed a Roman citizen without a trial. Cicero, having executed members of the Catiline conspiracy four years previously without formal trial, was clearly the intended target. Furthermore, many believed that Clodius acted in concert with the triumvirate who feared that Cicero would seek to abolish many of Caesar's accomplishments while consul the year before. Cicero argued that the ''
senatus consultum ultimum'' indemnified him from punishment, and he attempted to gain the support of the senators and consuls, especially of Pompey.
Cicero grew out his hair, dressed in mourning and toured the streets. Clodius' gangs dogged him, hurling abuse, stones and even excrement. Hortensius, trying to rally to his old rival's support, was almost lynched. The Senate and the consuls were cowed. Caesar, who was still encamped near Rome, was apologetic but said he could do nothing when Cicero brought himself to grovel in the proconsul's tent. Everyone seemed to have abandoned Cicero.
After Clodius passed a law to deny to Cicero fire and water (i.e. shelter) within four hundred miles of Rome, Cicero went into exile. He arrived at
Thessalonica, on 23 May 58 BC. In his absence, Clodius, who lived next door to Cicero on the Palatine, arranged for Cicero's house to be confiscated by the state, and was even able to purchase a part of the property in order to extend his own house.
After demolishing Cicero's house, Clodius had the land consecrated and symbolically erected a temple of
Liberty (''aedes Libertatis'') on the vacant spot.
Cicero's exile caused him to fall into depression. He wrote to
Atticus: "Your pleas have prevented me from committing suicide. But what is there to live for? Don't blame me for complaining. My afflictions surpass any you ever heard of earlier". After the intervention of recently elected tribune
Titus Annius Milo, acting on the behalf of Pompey who wanted Cicero as a
client, the Senate voted in favor of recalling Cicero from exile. Clodius cast the single vote against the decree. Cicero returned to Italy on 5 August 57 BC, landing at
Brundisium. He was greeted by a cheering crowd, and, to his delight, his beloved daughter
Tullia. In his ''Oratio De Domo Sua Ad Pontifices'', Cicero convinced the
College of Pontiffs to rule that the consecration of his land was invalid, thereby allowing him to regain his property and rebuild his house on the Palatine.
Cicero tried to re-enter politics as an independent operator, but his attempts to attack portions of Caesar's legislation were unsuccessful and encouraged Caesar to re-solidify his political alliance with Pompey and Crassus. The
conference at Luca in 56 BC left the three-man alliance in domination of the republic's politics; this forced Cicero to recant and support the triumvirate out of fear from being entirely excluded from public life. After the conference Cicero lavishly praised Caesar's achievements, got the Senate to vote a thanksgiving for Caesar's victories and grant money to pay his troops. He also delivered a speech 'On the consular provinces' () which checked an attempt by Caesar's enemies to strip him of his provinces in Gaul. After this, a cowed Cicero concentrated on his literary works. It is uncertain whether he was directly involved in politics for the following few years.
Governorship of Cilicia
In 51 BC he reluctantly accepted a
promagistracy
In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex- consul or ex- praetor whose '' imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetor ...
(as proconsul) in
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...
for the year; there were few other former consuls eligible as a result of a legislative requirement enacted by Pompey in 52 BC specifying an interval of five years between a consulship or praetorship and a
provincial command. He served as
proconsul of Cilicia from May 51 BC, arriving in the provinces three months later around August. He was given instructions to keep nearby
Cappadocia loyal to King
Ariobarzanes III Ariobarzanes III, surnamed ''Eusebes Philorhomaios'', "Pious and Friend of the Romans" ( grc, Ἀριοβαρζάνης Εὐσεβής Φιλορώμαιος, Ariobarzánēs Eusebḗs Philorōmaíos), was the king of Cappadocia from ca. 51 BC until ...
, which he achieved 'satisfactorily without war'. In 53 BC Marcus Licinius Crassus had been defeated by the
Parthians at the
Battle of Carrhae. This opened up the Roman East for a Parthian invasion, causing much unrest in Syria and Cilicia. Cicero restored calm by his mild system of government. He discovered that a great amount of public property had been embezzled by corrupt previous governors and members of their staff, and did his utmost to restore it. Thus he greatly improved the condition of the cities. He retained the civil rights of, and exempted from penalties, the men who gave the property back. Besides this, he was extremely frugal in his outlays for staff and private expenses during his governorship, and this made him highly popular among the natives. Previous governors had extorted enormous sums from the provincials in order to supply their households and bodyguards.
Besides his activity in ameliorating the hard pecuniary situation of the province, Cicero was also creditably active in the military sphere. Early in his governorship he received information that prince
Pacorus, son of
Orodes II the king of the Parthians, had crossed the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the ...
, and was ravaging the Syrian countryside and had even besieged
Cassius (the interim Roman commander in Syria) in
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
. Cicero eventually marched with two understrength legions and a large contingent of auxiliary cavalry to Cassius's relief. Pacorus and his army had already given up on besieging Antioch and were heading south through Syria, ravaging the countryside again, Cassius and his legions followed them, harrying them wherever they went, eventually ambushing and defeating them near Antigonea. Another large troop of Parthian horsemen was defeated by Cicero's cavalry who happened to run into them while scouting ahead of the main army. Cicero next defeated some robbers who were based on
Mount Amanus and was hailed as
imperator
The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...
by his troops. Afterwards he led his army against the independent Cilician mountain tribes, besieging their fortress of
Pindenissum. It took him 47 days to reduce the place, which fell in December. On 30 July 50 BC Cicero left the province to his brother
Quintus
Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth".
Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...
, who had accompanied him on his governorship as his
legate. On his way back to Rome he stopped over in
Rhodes and then went to
Athens, where he caught up with his old friend
Titus Pomponius Atticus and met men of great learning.
Julius Caesar's civil war
Cicero arrived in Rome on 4 January 49 BC. He stayed outside the
pomerium, to retain his promagisterial powers: either in expectation of a triumph or to retain his independent command authority in the coming civil war. The struggle between
Pompey and Julius Caesar grew more intense in 50 BC. Cicero favored Pompey, seeing him as a defender of the senate and Republican tradition, but at that time avoided openly alienating Caesar. When Caesar invaded Italy in 49 BC, Cicero fled Rome. Caesar, seeking an endorsement by a senior senator, courted Cicero's favor, but even so Cicero slipped out of Italy and traveled to Dyrrachium (
Epidamnos), Illyria, where Pompey's staff was situated. Cicero traveled with the Pompeian forces to
Pharsalus in 48 BC, though he was quickly losing faith in the competence and righteousness of the Pompeian side. Eventually, he provoked the hostility of his fellow senator
Cato, who told him that he would have been of more use to the cause of the ''optimates'' if he had stayed in Rome. After Caesar's victory at the
Battle of Pharsalus on 9 August, Cicero refused to take command of the Pompeian forces and continue the war. He returned to Rome, still as a promagistrate with his lictors, in 47 BC, and dismissed them upon his crossing the pomerium and renouncing his command. Caesar pardoned him and Cicero tried to adjust to the situation and maintain his political work, hoping that Caesar might revive the Republic and its institutions.
In a letter to
Varro on c. 20 April 46 BC, Cicero outlined his strategy under Caesar's dictatorship. Cicero, however, was taken completely by surprise when the ''
Liberatores'' assassinated Caesar on the
ides of March, 44 BC. Cicero was not included in the conspiracy, even though the conspirators were sure of his sympathy.
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
called out Cicero's name, asking him to restore the republic when he lifted his bloodstained dagger after the assassination. A letter Cicero wrote in February 43 BC to
Trebonius
Gaius Trebonius (c. 92 BC – January 43 BC) was a military commander and politician of the late Roman Republic, who became Roman Consul, suffect consul in 45 BC. He was an associate of Julius Caesar, having served as his legate and having fought o ...
, one of the conspirators, began, "How I could wish that you had invited me to that most glorious banquet on the
Ides of March!" Cicero became a popular leader during the period of instability following the assassination. He had no respect for
Mark Antony, who was scheming to take revenge upon Caesar's murderers. In exchange for amnesty for the assassins, he arranged for the Senate to agree not to declare Caesar to have been a
tyrant, which allowed the Caesarians to have lawful support and kept Caesar's reforms and policies intact.
Opposition to Mark Antony and death
Cicero and Antony now became the two leading men in Rome: Cicero as spokesman for the Senate; Antony as consul, leader of the Caesarian faction, and unofficial executor of Caesar's public will. Relations between the two were never friendly and worsened after Cicero claimed that Antony was taking liberties in interpreting Caesar's wishes and intentions.
Octavian was Caesar's adopted son and heir. After he returned to Italy, Cicero began to play him against Antony. He praised Octavian, declaring he would not make the same mistakes as his father. He attacked Antony in a series of speeches he called the
''Philippics'', after
Demosthenes's denunciations of
Philip II of Macedon. At the time Cicero's popularity as a public figure was unrivalled.
Cicero supported
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus as governor of
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.
After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
(''Gallia Cisalpina'') and urged the Senate to name Antony an enemy of the state. The speech of
Lucius Piso, Caesar's father-in-law, delayed proceedings against Antony. Antony was later declared an
enemy of the state when he refused to lift the siege of
Mutina
Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' ( municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
A town, and sea ...
, which was in the hands of Decimus Brutus. Cicero's plan to drive out Antony failed. Antony and Octavian reconciled and allied with
Lepidus
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (; c. 89 BC – late 13 or early 12 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Octavian and Mark Antony during the final years of the Roman Republic. Lepidus had previously bee ...
to form the
Second Triumvirate
The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a ...
after the successive battles of
Forum Gallorum
Castelfranco Emilia ( Western Bolognese: ; Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, north-central Italy. The town lies about northwest of Bologna.
Castelfranco either occupies or lies near the site of the ancient For ...
and
Mutina
Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' ( municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
A town, and sea ...
. The Triumvirate began
proscribing their enemies and potential rivals immediately after legislating the alliance into official existence for a term of five years with consular ''
imperium''. Cicero and all of his contacts and supporters were numbered among the enemies of the state, even though Octavian argued for two days against Cicero being added to the list.
Cicero was one of the most viciously and doggedly hunted among the proscribed. He was viewed with sympathy by a large segment of the public and many people refused to report that they had seen him. He was caught on 7 December 43 BC leaving his villa in
Formiae in a
litter heading to the seaside, where he hoped to embark on a ship destined for Macedonia.
[Haskell, H.J.: ''This was Cicero'' (1964) p. 293] When his killers – Herennius (a Centurion) and Popilius (a Tribune) – arrived, Cicero's own slaves said they had not seen him, but he was given away by Philologus, a
freedman
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
of his brother
Quintus Cicero.
As reported by
Seneca the Elder
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder (; c. 54 BC – c. 39 AD), also known as Seneca the Rhetorician, was a Roman writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Corduba, Hispania. He wrote a collection of reminiscences about the Roman schools of rheto ...
, according to the historian
Aufidius Bassus, Cicero's last words are said to have been:
He bowed to his captors, leaning his head out of the litter in a gladiatorial gesture to ease the task. By baring his neck and throat to the soldiers, he was indicating that he would not resist. According to
Plutarch, Herennius first slew him, then cut off his head. On Antony's instructions his hands, which had penned the Philippics against Antony, were cut off as well; these were nailed along with his head on the
Rostra in the
Forum Romanum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
according to the tradition of
Marius and
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
, both of whom had displayed the heads of their enemies in the Forum. Cicero was the only victim of the proscriptions who was displayed in that manner. According to
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, in a story often mistakenly attributed to Plutarch, Antony's wife
Fulvia took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin in final revenge against Cicero's power of speech.
Cicero's son,
Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor, during his year as a consul in 30 BC, avenged his father's death, to a certain extent, when he announced to the Senate Mark Antony's naval defeat at
Actium in 31 BC by Octavian and his commander-in-chief,
Agrippa Agrippa may refer to:
People Antiquity
* Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa
* Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century
* Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century
* Agr ...
.
Octavian is reported to have praised Cicero as a patriot and a scholar of meaning in later times, within the circle of his family. However, it was Octavian's acquiescence that had allowed Cicero to be killed, as Cicero was condemned by the new triumvirate.
Cicero's career as a statesman was marked by inconsistencies and a tendency to shift his position in response to changes in the political climate. His indecision may be attributed to his sensitive and impressionable personality; he was prone to overreaction in the face of political and private change.
"Would that he had been able to endure prosperity with greater self-control, and adversity with more fortitude!" wrote
C. Asinius Pollio, a contemporary Roman statesman and historian.
Legacy
Cicero has been traditionally considered the master of Latin prose, with
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...
declaring that Cicero was "not the name of a man, but of eloquence itself." The English words ''
Ciceronian'' (meaning "eloquent") and ''
cicerone'' (meaning "local guide") derive from his name. He is credited with transforming Latin from a modest utilitarian language into a versatile literary medium capable of expressing abstract and complicated thoughts with clarity.
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
praised Cicero's achievement by saying "it is more important to have greatly extended the frontiers of the Roman spirit than the frontiers of the Roman empire". According to
John William Mackail, "Cicero's unique and imperishable glory is that he created the language of the civilized world, and used that language to create a style which nineteen centuries have not replaced, and in some respects have hardly altered."
Cicero was also an energetic writer with an interest in a wide variety of subjects, in keeping with the
Hellenistic philosophical and rhetorical traditions in which he was trained. The quality and ready accessibility of Ciceronian texts favored very wide distribution and inclusion in teaching curricula, as suggested by a graffito at Pompeii, admonishing: "You will like Cicero, or you will be whipped".
Cicero was greatly admired by influential
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
such as
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
, who credited Cicero's
lost ''
Hortensius'' for his eventual conversion to Christianity, and St.
Jerome, who had a feverish vision in which he was accused of being "follower of Cicero and not of Christ" before the judgment seat.
This influence further increased after the
Early Middle Ages in Europe, which more of his writings survived than any other Latin author. Medieval philosophers were influenced by Cicero's writings on
natural law and innate rights.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters provided the impetus for searches for ancient Greek and Latin writings scattered throughout European monasteries, and the subsequent rediscovery of
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...
led to the
Renaissance. Subsequently, Cicero became synonymous with classical Latin to such an extent that a number of humanist scholars began to assert that no Latin word or phrase should be used unless it appeared in Cicero's works, a stance criticised by
Erasmus.
His voluminous correspondence, much of it addressed to his friend
Atticus, has been especially influential, introducing the art of refined letter writing to European culture.
Cornelius Nepos, the first century BC biographer of Atticus, remarked that Cicero's letters contained such a wealth of detail "concerning the inclinations of leading men, the faults of the generals, and the revolutions in the government" that their reader had little need for a history of the period.
Among Cicero's admirers were
Desiderius Erasmus,
Martin Luther, and
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
. Following the invention of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, ''
De Officiis
''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'' or ''On Obligations'') is a political and ethical treatise by the Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero written in 44 BC. The treatise is divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds h ...
'' was the second book printed in Europe, after the
Gutenberg Bible. Scholars note Cicero's influence on the rebirth of religious toleration in the 17th century.
Cicero was especially popular with the
Philosophes of the 18th century, including
Edward Gibbon,
Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...
,
David Hume,
Montesquieu, and
Voltaire. Gibbon wrote of his first experience reading the author's collective works thus: "I tasted the beauty of the language; I breathed the spirit of freedom; and I imbibed from his precepts and examples the public and private sense of a man...after finishing the great author, a library of eloquence and reason, I formed a more extensive plan of reviewing the Latin classics..." Voltaire called Cicero "the greatest as well as the most elegant of Roman philosophers" and even staged a play based on Cicero's role in the
Catilinarian conspiracy, called ''Rome Sauvée, ou Catilina'', to "make young people who go to the theatre acquainted with Cicero." Voltaire was spurred to pen the drama as a rebuff to his rival
Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon's own play ''Catilina'', which had portrayed Cicero as a coward and villain who hypocritically married his own daughter to Catiline.
Montesquieu produced his "Discourse on Cicero" in 1717, in which he heaped praise on the author because he rescued "philosophy from the hands of scholars, and freed it from the confusion of a foreign language". Montesquieu went on to declare that Cicero was "of all the ancients, the one who had the most personal merit, and whom I would prefer to resemble."
Internationally, Cicero the republican inspired the
Founding Fathers of the United States and the revolutionaries of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
.
John Adams said, "As all the ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher united than Cicero, his authority should have great weight." Jefferson names Cicero as one of a handful of major figures who contributed to a tradition "of public right" that informed his draft of the Declaration of Independence and shaped American understandings of "the common sense" basis for the right of revolution.
Camille Desmoulins said of the French republicans in 1789 that they were "mostly young people who, nourished by the reading of Cicero at school, had become passionate enthusiasts for liberty".
Jim Powell starts his book on the history of liberty with the sentence: "Marcus Tullius Cicero expressed principles that became the bedrock of liberty in the modern world."
Likewise, no other ancient personality has inspired as much venomous dislike as Cicero, especially in more modern times. His commitment to the values of the Republic accommodated a hatred of the poor and persistent opposition to the advocates and mechanisms of popular representation.
Friedrich Engels referred to him as "the most contemptible scoundrel in history" for upholding republican "democracy" while at the same time denouncing land and class reforms. Cicero has faced criticism for exaggerating the democratic qualities of republican Rome, and for defending the Roman oligarchy against the popular reforms of Caesar.
Michael Parenti admits Cicero's abilities as an orator, but finds him a vain, pompous and hypocritical personality who, when it suited him, could show public support for popular causes that he privately despised. Parenti presents Cicero's prosecution of the Catiline conspiracy as legally flawed at least, and possibly unlawful.
Cicero also had an influence on modern astronomy.
Nicolaus Copernicus, searching for ancient views on earth motion, said that he "first ... found in Cicero that
Hicetas supposed the earth to move."
Notably, "Cicero" was the name attributed to size 12 font in typesetting table drawers. For ease of reference, type sizes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 20 were all given different names.
Works
Cicero was declared a
righteous pagan
Virtuous pagan is a concept in Christian theology that addressed the fate of the unlearned—the issue of nonbelievers who were never evangelized and consequently during their lifetime had no opportunity to recognize Christ, but nevertheless l ...
by the
Early Church
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
, and therefore many of his works were deemed worthy of preservation. The
Bogomils considered him a rare exception of a pagan saint. Subsequent Roman and medieval Christian writers quoted liberally from his works ''
De re publica'' (''On the Commonwealth'') and ''
De Legibus
The ''De Legibus'' (''On the Laws'') is a dialogue written by Marcus Tullius Cicero during the last years of the Roman Republic. It bears the same name as Plato's famous dialogue, ''The Laws''. Unlike his previous work ''De re publica,'' in whi ...
'' (''On the Laws''), and much of his work has been recreated from these surviving fragments. Cicero also articulated an early, abstract conceptualization of rights, based on ancient law and custom. Of Cicero's books, six on rhetoric have survived, as well as parts of seven on philosophy.
Of his speeches, 88 were recorded, but only 52 survive.
In archaeology
Cicero's great repute in Italy has led to numerous ruins being identified as having belonged to him, though none have been substantiated with absolute certainty. In
Formia, two Roman-era ruins are popularly believed to be Cicero's mausoleum, the ''Tomba di Cicerone'', and the villa where he was assassinated in 43 BC. The latter building is centered around a central hall with Doric columns and a coffered vault, with a separate
nymphaeum
A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.
These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
, on five acres of land near Formia. A modern villa was built on the site after the Rubino family purchased the land from
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies in 1868. Cicero's supposed tomb is a 24-meter (79 feet) tall tower on an ''
opus quadratum'' base on the ancient Via Appia outside of Formia. Some suggest that it is not in fact Cicero's tomb, but a monument built on the spot where Cicero was intercepted and assassinated while trying to reach the sea.
In
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
, a large villa excavated in the mid 18th century just outside the Herculaneum Gate was widely believed to have been Cicero's, who was known to have owned a holiday villa in Pompeii he called his ''Pompeianum''. The villa was stripped of its fine frescoes and mosaics and then re-buried after 1763 – it has yet to be re-excavated. However, contemporaneous descriptions of the building from the excavators combined with Cicero's own references to his ''Pompeianum'' differ, making it unlikely that it is Cicero's villa.
In Rome, the location of Cicero's house has been roughly identified from excavations of the Republican-era stratum on the northwestern slope of the
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
.
Cicero's ''domus'' has long been known to have stood in the area, according to his own descriptions and those of later authors, but there is some debate about whether it stood near the base of the hill, very close to the
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
, or nearer to the summit.
During his life the area was the most desirable in Rome, densely occupied with Patrician houses including the ''Domus Publica'' of Julius Caesar and the home of Cicero's mortal enemy Clodius.
Notable fictional portrayals
In
Dante's 1320 poem the ''
Divine Comedy'', the author encounters Cicero, among other philosophers, in
Limbo.
Ben Jonson dramatised the
conspiracy of Catiline in his play ''
Catiline His Conspiracy
''Catiline His Conspiracy'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Ben Jonson. It is one of the two Roman tragedies that Jonson hoped would cement his dramatic achievement and reputation, the other being ''Sejanus His Fall'' (1603).
Background
Jonso ...
'', featuring Cicero as a character. Cicero also appears as a minor character in
William Shakespeare's play ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
''.
Cicero was portrayed on the motion picture screen by British actor
Alan Napier in the 1953 film ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'', based on Shakespeare's play. He has also been played by such noted actors as
Michael Hordern (in ''
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
''), and
André Morell (in the 1970 ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
''). Most recently,
Cicero was portrayed by
David Bamber
David James Bamber (born 19 September 1954) is an English actor. He has worked in television and theatre. He is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Early years
Bamber was born in Walkden, Lancashire. By September 1973, he was ...
in the HBO series ''
Rome'' (2005–2007) and appeared in both seasons.
In the historical novel series ''
Masters of Rome'',
Colleen McCullough presents a not-so-flattering depiction of Cicero's career, showing him struggling with an inferiority complex and vanity, morally flexible and fatally indiscreet, while his rival
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
is shown in a more approving light. Cicero is portrayed as a hero in the novel ''
A Pillar of Iron'' by
Taylor Caldwell (1965).
Robert Harris' novels ''
Imperium'', ''
Lustrum'' (published under the name ''Conspirata'' in the United States) and ''
Dictator'' comprise a three-part series based on the life of Cicero. In these novels Cicero's character is depicted in a more favorable way than in those of McCullough, with his positive traits equaling or outweighing his weaknesses (while conversely Caesar is depicted as more sinister than in McCullough). Cicero is a major recurring character in the ''
Roma Sub Rosa'' series of mystery novels by
Steven Saylor. He also appears several times as a peripheral character in
John Maddox Roberts'
''SPQR'' series.
Samuel Barnett portrays Cicero in a 2017
audio drama series pilot produced by
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
. A full series was released the following year. All Episodes are written by
David Llewellyn and directed and produced by
Scott Handcock. Llewellyn, Handcock and Barnett re-teamed in the
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores th ...
audio-drama
Tartarus (also produced by Big Finish) starring
Peter Davison
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...
as
the 5th Doctor. It is not intended to be a part of the Cicero series; in Vortex (Big Finish's official free online magazine) Llewellyn revealed that he was "worried that if we had Cicero meeting aliens people might go back to the Cicero series and see it through a
sci-fi lens. Then I remembered that
Simon Callow still performs as
Charles Dickens, and that he played Dickens before reprising him in the Doctor Who TV episode, ''
The Unquiet Dead
"The Unquiet Dead" is the third episode of the first series of the British science-fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on 9 April 2005 on BBC One. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Euros Lyn.
In the epis ...
'' – so I got over myself!".
See also
*
Caecilia Attica
Attica (born ca 58–51 BC, perhaps died around 32–29 BC) was the daughter of Cicero's Epicurean friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. She was also the first wife of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, close friend of the emperor Augustus.
Early life
Attica is ...
*
Caecilia Metella (daughter of Metellus Celer)
* ''
Civis romanus sum''
*
Clausula (rhetoric)
* ''
A Dialogue Concerning Oratorical Partitions
''A Dialogue Concerning Oratorical Partitions'' (also called ''De Partitione Oratoria Dialogus'', ''Partitiones Oratoriae'', or ''De Partitionbus Oratoriae'', translated to be "On the subdivisions of oratory") is a rhetorical treatise, written by C ...
''
* ''
E pluribus unum''
* ''
Esse quam videri''
* ''
Ipse dixit''
*
List of ancient Romans
*
Lorem ipsum
*
Marcantonius Majoragio
*
Marcus Tullius Tiro
*
Marius Nizolius
* ''
O tempora, o mores!''
*
Otium
* ''
Socratici viri''
*
Tempest in a teapot
Tempest in a teapot (American English), or storm in a teacup (British English), is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion. There are also lesser known or earlier variants, such as ''tempest in a teacup'', ''sto ...
*
Translation
*
Writings of Cicero
The writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero constitute one of the most renowned collections of historical and philosophical work in all of classical antiquity. Cicero was a Roman politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, philosopher, and constitut ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
Badian, E: "Cicero and the Commission of 146 B.C.", ''Collection Latomus'' 101 (1969), 54–65.
*
*
* Cicero, Marcus Tullius, Cicero's letters to Atticus, Vol, I, II, IV, VI,
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambr ...
, Great Britain, 1965
* Cicero, Marcus Tullius, Latin extracts of Cicero on Himself, translated by Charles Gordon Cooper,
University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 1963
* Cicero, Marcus Tullius, Selected Political Speeches, Penguin Books Ltd, Great Britain, 1969
* Cicero, Marcus Tullius, De Officiis (On Duties), translated by
Walter Miller. Harvard University Press, 1913,
* Cicero, Marcus Tullius, Selected Works, Penguin Books Ltd, Great Britain, 1971
* Cowell, F.R. (1948). ''Cicero and the Roman Republic''. Penguin Books
*
*
*
*
*
*
Plutarch Penguins Classics English translation by Rex Warner, ''Fall of the Roman Republic, Six Lives by Plutarch: Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, Cicero'' (Penguin Books, 1958; with Introduction and notes by Robin Seager, 1972)
* Rawson, Beryl: ''The Politics of Friendship: Pompey and Cicero'' (
Sydney University Press, 1978)
*
*
*
*
Scullard, H.H. From the Gracchi to Nero, University Paperbacks, Great Britain, 1968
* Smith, R.E: ''Cicero the Statesman'' (Cambridge University Press, 1966)
* Stockton, David: ''Cicero: A Political Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 1971)
*
*
* Uttschenko, Sergej L. (1978): ''Cicero'', translated from Russian by Rosemarie Pattloch, VEB
Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin, German
Cicero*
*
*
Further reading
* Boissier, Gaston, Cicéron et ses amis. Étude sur la société romaine du temps de César (1884)
*
*
* Gildenhard, Ingo (2011). ''Creative Eloquence: The Construction of Reality in Cicero's Speeches''. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
*
* Hamza, Gabor, L'optimus status civitatis di Cicerone e la sua tradizione nel pensiero politico. In: Tradizione romanistica e Costituzione. Cinquanta anni della Corte Costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana. vol. II. Napoli, 2006. 1455–1468.
* Hamza, Gabor, Ciceros Verhältnis zu seinen Quellen, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Darstellung der Staatslehre in De re publica. KLIO – Beiträge zur alten Geschichte 67 (1985) 492–497.
* Hamza, Gabor, Cicero und der Idealtypus des iurisconsultus. Helixon 22–27 (1982–1987) 281–296.
* Hamza, Gabor, Il potere (lo Stato) nel pensiero di Cicerone e la sua attualità. Revista Internacional de Derecho Romano (RIDROM) 10 (2013) 1–25
Revista Internacional de Derecho Romano – Index* Hamza, Gabor, Zur Interpretation des Naturrechts in den Werken von Cicero. Pázmány Law Review 2 (2014) 5–15.
*
*
*
*
*
* Treggiari, S. (2007). ''Terentia, Tullia and Publilia. The women of Cicero's family. ''London: Routledge
*
External links
Works by Cicero
Works by Cicero at Perseus Digital Library*
*
*
*
Works by Ciceroat the Stoic Therapy eLibrary
*
The Latin Library (Latin)
Works of CiceroDickinson College Commentaries: ''Against Verres 2.1.53–86''Dickinson College Commentaries: ''On Pompey's Command (De Imperio) 27–49''Biographies and descriptions of Cicero's time
Plutarch's biography of Cicero contained in the
''Parallel Lives''
* ''Life of Cicero'' by Anthony Trollope,
Volume I &
Volume II Volume Two, Volume 2, Volume II or Vol. II may refer to:
* '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life'', a 1998 album by rapper Jay-Z
* ''Volume 2'' (Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass album), 1963
* '' Vol. 2 (Breaking Through)'', by The West Coast Pop Art Experimenta ...
*
''Cicero'' by Rev. W. Lucas Collins (''Ancient Classics for English Readers'')
*
''Roman life in the days of Cicero'' by Rev. Alfred J. Church
*
''Social life at Rome in the Age of Cicero'' by
W. Warde Fowler
William Warde Fowler (16 May 1847 – 15 June 1921) was an English historian and ornithologist, and tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was best known for his works on ancient Roman religion.
Among his most influential works wa''The Roman F ...
*
Dryden's translation of ''Cicero'' from Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives''*
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