CICERO
CICERON, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Rome. polit. activist, speaker and writer. Supporter of the rep. building. From Op. 58 courts survived. and watered. speeches, 19 treatises on rhetoric, politics, philosophy and over 800 letters. Op. Ts. - a source of information about the era of civil. wars in Rome.
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(Cicero) Mark Tullius (106-43 BC) - Roman politician, philosopher, orator. Roman aedile (69), praetor (66), consul (63). Killed by political ... - CICERO in the Sayings of great people:
To live is to think. Cicero - If there is anything honorable, then it is the wholeness of all life. Cicero - Nature did not give ... - CICERO in the Dictionary of Generals:
(lat. Cicero) Mark Tullius (106-43 BC), an outstanding Rome. speaker, writer. Elected quaestor, praetor, consul. Joined Pompey, but was ... - CICERO in the Reference Dictionary Who's Who in the Ancient World:
Mark Tullius (106-43 BC) "New Man" from Arpina, Cicero was educated in Rome and Athens. Quickly became the greatest ... - CICERO in ancient literature:
(Cicero), Mark Tullius (106 - 43 BC) - Roman orator, writer and politician, ideological and literary opponent ... - CICERO
(Cicero) Marcus Tullius (106-43 BC) Roman politician, orator and writer. Supporter of the republican system. Of the works, 58 have survived ... - CICERO in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
(M. Tullius Cicero) - Roman orator, philosopher and statesman. Both for internal reasons (the versatility of his abilities and activities), so ... - CICERO in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
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(Cicero) Marcus Tullius (106-43 BC), Roman politician, orator and writer. Supporter of the republican system. Of the works, 58 have survived ... - CICERO
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(Cicero,?. Tullius). Greatest Roman orator, genus. January 3rd 106 BC Educated by the best Roman teachers, ... - CICERON MARK TULLIUS in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
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CICERON, MARK TULLIUS(Marcus Tullius Cicero) (106–43 BC) - Roman statesman, supporter of the ideals of the Republic, an outstanding orator and writer, popularizer of Greek philosophy. The peak of Cicero's political career was 63 BC, this was the year of his consulship and the exposure of the Catiline conspiracy, for which he was triumphantly proclaimed "father of the fatherland." But due to the refusal to support the triumvirate Caesar - Pompey - Crassus, Cicero is gradually losing influence and moving away from active politics, as a result, in April 58 BC. Cicero was forced into exile in Macedonia. He returned in September 57 BC, joined the party of Pompey, and after the defeat of the latter in the Battle of Pharsal (48 BC) surrenders to the mercy of Caesar, who actually became the sole dictator. Having approved the assassination of Caesar, he finds himself in opposition to Mark Antony, whom he considers to be the successor of the cause of the usurpation of power. A series of famous speeches against Anthony ("philippics") denotes a line that summed up both the political career and the very life of Cicero.
Cicero's literary legacy consists of his public speeches, essays on oratory, philosophical treatises, poetry and private letters. He first made the Latin language a full-fledged means of expressing philosophical ideas, seeking to provide the Roman enlightened public with material for serious reading and self-education. Cicero gives an overview of his writings on philosophy in a treatise About divination (The art of divination), book 2, ch. 1. This review begins with the words: “More than once I asked myself how I can be most useful for the republic, without leaving my worries about it, after many and long reflections, I came to the following conclusion: it will be best if I open my for fellow citizens the path to the noble sciences ”. In the 19th and 20th centuries. the legacy of Cicero was of interest to historians of philosophy mainly as a source of information about the Platonic philosophy of the Hellenistic period (the most valuable material about Philo from Larissa and Antiochus of Ascalon); Cicero reflected in his works and contemporary ideas of the Stoics and Epicureans (Panetius, Posidonius), deliberately imitated the dialogues of Aristotle.
Cicero touched upon the issues of the relationship between rhetoric and philosophy, state structure and, in particular, "the best state and the best citizen." Following the Greek historian Polybius and the Stoic Panetius, he sees in the Roman Republic of its heyday that "mixed politics" in which democracy (the free expression of the will of the people and their genuine participation in state affairs) is optimally combined with elements of the aristocracy (leadership from the most reasonable and worthy ). From theoretical epistemological questions, I was dealing with the question of the nature and status of knowledge: are there criteria for the truth of knowledge? can knowledge of anything be final? In accordance with the teachings of the New Academy, and in contrast to the Stoics, he answers this question in the negative. In work About the limits of good and evil Cicero consistently refutes the doctrine of the highest good of the Epicureans and Stoics, remaining skeptical about the impossibility of a theoretical substantiation of the highest good. In the field of practical morality, Cicero finds such a definitive defining concept - this is the concept of nature: “he who follows nature does not make mistakes,” which brings his position closer to the Stoic one. Stoicism was spiritually close to Cicero only in part: agreement on moral issues is accompanied by sharp criticism of belief in traditional gods, Stoic fatalism, and the related belief in divination art (see. On the nature of the gods, About witchcraft and About fate). One of the most significant works of Cicero - Tuskulan conversations in 5 books, which addresses a wide range of philosophical issues. In it, he calls philosophy "the science of the healing of the soul", "the seeker of virtue, the persecutor of vices", the force that united "people scattered across the earth into a society."
Cicero believed that true philosophy as a striving for wisdom and moral improvement enriches the basis of everyday existence - friendship, and softens and fills with meaning the inevitable hardships of any life: old age, pain, death of loved ones and the expectation of one's own ( About old age, About friendship). For all subsequent eras, Cicero, in one way or another, remained a philosopher-enlightener, a representative of humanism - this word itself goes back to his favorite concept of humanitas.
Mark Tullius Cicero (born January 3, 106 BC - death December 7, 43 BC) - ancient Roman politician, orator, philosopher, consul.
Childhood and youth
Mark Tullius Cicero was born on January 3 at an estate near Arpin. His family belonged to the class of horsemen. Cicero received a good education under the guidance of his parents. Then his father brought him and his younger brother Quintus to Rome, where he had his own house, and sent him to study at a public school with the best Greek teachers. At that time, the Greek poet Archias lived in Rome, who was engaged in explaining the works of Greek poetry to the wealthy Romans.
Cicero's father was not afraid of the costs in order to entrust his promising son to this mentor, and the 15-year-old boy was so much addicted to poetry that he tried his hand at it, not without success. His youthful poems were experiences that led Cicero to his real vocation - eloquence, in which he later distinguished himself with such extraordinary art.
At the age of 16, according to Roman custom, a child's dress was publicly removed from Cicero, and he was dressed in a man's toga. During this celebration, he was accompanied by all the friends and clients of the family to the forum, and from there to the Capitol, where they received a solemn dedication. From that time on, Cicero began to take care of acquiring the knowledge that is necessary for holding public office.
Education
Such sciences included eloquence and comprehensive knowledge of government and Roman law. Cicero studied Roman law under the guidance of remarkable experts, both Scovolus, an augur and a priest, listening to their conversations with great attention. At the same time, he engaged in rhetorical exercises with great zeal. Every day, Cicero read, wrote or translated something and, if he got acquainted with any wonderful work, then each time he repeated aloud the entire content and order of development of the main idea of the book or in front of himself, and even more often before a meeting of his friends; he did this until very old age.
Such intensive studies were interrupted only for a very short time, when Cicero in 89 took part in a campaign during the Allied war. At the end of the campaign, Cicero immediately resumed his scholarly pursuits and paid particular attention to philosophy. Philosophy was first taught to Cicero by the epicurean Phaedrus, then by the academician Philo, and finally by the Stoic Diodotus. Cicero studied the works of the great Greek philosophers and tried to assimilate their views on the gods and the world, on the purpose of man, on the essence of the soul, on truth and justice, on virtues and vices, on laws, manners and customs, on government institutions and education.
He was engaged in comparing their teachings with each other, entered into conversations about the subjects studied with experienced people and listened to their explanations of many difficult places in the works of other writers. Thanks to this method, Cicero soon acquired the art of speaking gracefully and coherently for hours on end, without preparing his speeches in advance. He did not interrupt his written studies and thus at the same time was able to achieve a wonderful art both in written and in oral presentation of his thoughts.
In order to practically prepare for eloquence classes, Cicero came to court sessions every day, where he could listen to accusatory and defense speeches. He chose the famous lawyer Hortense as a model in judicial eloquence. After this preparation, Marcus Tullius Cicero decided in the end to appear himself in public as a defender. 
He acted as a lawyer for a certain Roscius from Ameria. He was accused of parricide, and everyone knew that the accusers were hiding Sulla's favorite Chrysogon, who bought the victim's property for a pittance. In his speech, Cicero was not afraid to brand the almighty Chrysogon, and the young man was acquitted. Fearing persecution from Sulla, the young orator went with his brother to Greece and Asia Minor. Here he saw the sights of famous cities, visited the most famous, orators and philosophers, spent six months in Athens and daily practiced with the most skillful and experienced Greek teachers in philosophical conversations and ordinary conversations; at the same time he learned to speak Greek so well that a stranger was hardly noticed in him.
There, Cicero made a lifelong friendship with the Roman horseman Titus Pomponius, who for many years studied science in Athens and had the nickname Attica. On the way back, Cicero visited the island of Rhodes. There he was awarded the greatest praise for his art. In those days, one of the famous teachers of eloquence, Molon, lived in Rhodes.
Cicero began attending his school. When he arrived, the teacher gave him a topic for speech without prior preparation. Cicero immediately began to speak and, in presenting and developing the topic, expressed such an abundance of thoughts, such a rare grace of expression and such a noble smoothness and euphony of speech that when he finished, the audience resounded with loud applause. Only Molon remained to sit silently in his chair, and this worried the young speaker. But when one of the disciples asked Molon about the reason for his silence, he replied: “You have grieved me greatly, Cicero; your ancestors took away our freedom, wealth and power, but left us the glory of art and intelligence. You are taking this glory with you across the sea. "
The beginning of a political career
In the meantime, Sulla died. Cicero returned to Rome and began to practice law, until he reached the much desired 31, the age when, according to Roman law, he received the right to seek the title of quaestor, the lowest public office. In order for the people to get acquainted with the candidates, these candidates for some time walked among the people, greeted each citizen in his name (while using the services of slaves who knew all citizens in the face) and in a friendly shake of the hand asked to vote for them on election day. They wore a white toga, which was called "toga candida", hence the name "candidate", which has survived to this day.
Cicero, who had long been loved for his speeches, was chosen by an overwhelming majority to one of the 20 Quaestor positions that were handed out every year. Each proconsul and each praetor received such a quaestor in his province, and Sicily fell by lot to Cicero (in 76 BC). With his disinterestedness, justice and courteous treatment, Cicero earned such a general disposition there that when the city of Sicily departed, they chose him as their patron (patron) in Rome.
Only upon reaching the age of 36 was it possible to obtain the next public position - the title of aedile. Until this time, Cicero was engaged in the conduct of court cases. Of these, the most famous was the case against Verres. This Verres, as a praetor, for 3 years robbed Sicily: he took out statues from churches, expensive paintings and carpets from private houses, took bribes at every opportunity. The people of Sicily turned to Cicero as their patron, with a complaint about Verres. Cicero delivered a fiery and convincing speech in court, and Verres, despite the fact that Hortensius himself was his lawyer, was forced to retire into exile.
In 69, Cicero was elected an aedile. Those who held this position were required to observe buildings, streets, markets, public games. Supervising the games was a rather costly responsibility. In addition to government spending on performances, the aediles had to spend their own funds. The aediles used this circumstance to gain popularity for themselves. The people took this into consideration, and subsequently the aediles were rewarded either by the appointment to higher positions, or by the provision of wealthy governorships to the administration. With these expenses, Cicero stuck to the middle between extravagance and avarice, and during the year of his correction of the aedile post he was able to earn the love and respect of his fellow citizens.
Mark Tullius Cicero delivers a speech in the Senate
Then Cicero had to wait another 2 years again before getting the right to seek the next post - praetor. At that time there were 8 praetors, they were the presidents of the courts and by their rank occupied the first place after the consuls. In this judicial office, Cicero had the opportunity to show in the best light both his justice and his knowledge of the laws. The universal approval he earned in this position increased his fame and made his way to the consulate easier. He devoted all his free hours to defending his friends when they were accused in the courts of other praetors, daily exercises in eloquence, conducting extensive correspondence and listening to famous Greek orators who periodically visited Rome and gave their lectures here.
Finally, Mark Tullius Cicero reached the age of 43, before which no one could have been a consul. Already a year earlier, Cicero, in a white toga, began to tirelessly rotate among the citizens, tried to ingratiate himself with the most influential of them, and mainly was able to win over Crassus, Pompey and Caesar, these three powerful persons of that era, to his side.
On election day, happiness favored Cicero, and he was elected on the very first vote in 63 BC.
“At the same time, he uncovered a conspiracy to assassinate himself and to overthrow the Republic with the help of a foreign army led by Lucius Sergei Catiline. Cicero achieves a declaration of martial law, and expelled Catiline from the city with four passionate speeches, which are still the best examples of his rhetorical style.
Catiline fled and began calling for a coup d'état, but Cicero was able to force him and his supporters to publicly confess their guilt before the Senate. The conspirators were executed without any trial, and this will torment Cicero for many years.
End of Cicero's political career
60 BC - Cicero rejected the offer to join the First Triumvirate, which at that time included Julius Caesar, Pompey and Mark Licinius Crassus, because the orator was sure that the Triumvirate would undermine the foundations of the Republic.
58 BC - Publius Clodius Pulcher, tribune of the people, issued a law that threatened to exile anyone who killed a Roman inhabitant without trial. Therefore, Cicero is exiled to the Greek Tressalonica. Thanks to the intervention of the newly elected tribune Titus Annius Milo, Cicero is returned from exile.
57 BC - the speaker returned to Italy. Cicero is no longer allowed to engage in political activities, so he took up philosophy.
Between 55 and 51 BC. he wrote treatises "On oratory", "On the state" and "On the laws."
After the death of Crassus, the Triumvirate disintegrated, and in 49 BC. Caesar with his army crossed the Rubicon River, invaded Italy. Here begins a civil war between Caesar and Pompey. Cicero, though reluctantly, supported. Unfortunately, in 48 BC. Caesar's troops were victorious, and he became the first Roman emperor. He bestowed pardon on Cicero, but did not even close to political life.
Death of Cicero
44 BC - in the March Ides, as a result of a conspiracy of a group of senators,. And again the struggle for power began, the key figures in which were Mark Antony, Mark Lepidus and Octavian.
Cicero makes speeches, "philippics", named after the Greek orator Demosthenes, who called the inhabitants of Athens to revolt against Philip of Macedon and urged the Senate to support Octavian in his struggle by forgiving Mark Antony. But Mark Antony, Lepidus and Octavian came to an agreement to share power among themselves, from which it follows that each of them will give out the names of their likely opponents.
Cicero tried to flee to Italy - but, unfortunately, too late.
Mark Tullius Cicero was killed on December 7, 43 BC. e. by order of Mark Antony, while trying to escape to Italy.
Mark Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) - an outstanding figure in Ancient Rome. He was a philosopher, politician, lawyer, brilliant orator, political theorist, and at the height of his career became a consul. Thanks to his principles and devotion to the republican system, he made many powerful enemies. Among them are Gaius Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. He was declared an enemy of the state and executed, but the memory of this amazing man survived for centuries. Today, Cicero is known and remembered by everyone, and his influence on European culture surpasses the influence of any other prominent historical figure.
Brief biography of Cicero
Cicero was born in January 106 BC. e. in the city of Arpinum (100 km southeast of Rome) in the family of a Roman horseman. His father was well-to-do and well-connected in Rome. Little is known about Helvia's mother. She was the usual wife of a wealthy Roman citizen. She was in charge of housekeeping and was considered a thrifty housewife. Mark had a younger brother, Quintus Tullius Cicero. He was born in 103 or 102 BC. e. The brothers were friends all their lives and both were killed in 43 BC. e. by decision of the second triumvirate.
The father of Mark and Quint became disabled early, and therefore could not make a political career. He decided to embody his unfulfilled dreams in sons. In 91 BC. e. he moved with his family to Rome so that the boys would be in the thick of political events and receive a good education.
At that time, culture was understood as knowledge not only of Latin, but also of the Greek language. And Mark, having studied this language, got acquainted with the works of ancient Greek philosophers, poets and historians. In addition, he translated many ancient Greek works into Latin for a wide audience. It was his education that made it possible to get into the traditional circle of the Roman elite.
From the words of Plutarch, it is known that Cicero was an extremely capable student. This gave him the opportunity to study Roman law from Quintus Mucius Scauvola himself (one of the most popular lawyers in Rome). There he met and became friends with fellow students Servius Sulpicius Rufus and Titus Pomponius. The first became a brilliant lawyer, and Mark considered him superior to himself in his knowledge of legal issues. The sister of the second married Quintus, and Titus, according to Cicero himself, became his second brother. He corresponded with both friends all his life.
At that time, there were certain rules for people seeking to make a career. They had to go through military and political positions. As a result, Mark Tullius Cicero in 90-88. BC e. served in the army of Sulla, who by his convictions was the predecessor of the Roman emperors. Under him, the Allied War was unleashed, and during this period Mark realized that he had no taste for military life. He is an intellectual and gravitates towards philosophy, law and rhetoric.
Cicero began his career as a lawyer around 83-81. BC e. Protection brought him fame in 80 BC. e. Sexta Roscius, accused of parricide. The recording of Cicero's speech at this trial has survived to this day. At that time, paricide was considered one of the most heinous crimes, and Roscius' accusers were Sulla's favorites. Therefore, the defense of the young lawyer was an indirect challenge to the dictator.
Roscius was acquitted, and Mark in 79 BC. e. went to Athens, and then to the island of Rhodes, fearing the wrath of Sulla. There he continued to study philosophy and improve his oratory. In the latter type of activity, he succeeded so much that later they began to consider him the second orator of the Ancient World after Demosthenes.
Personal life
In 78 BC. e. Sulla died and Mark returned to Rome. In the "eternal city" he found himself a rich wife named Terence (98 BC - 6 AD). Everyone said it was a marriage of convenience. But it is well known that marriages of convenience are the strongest. Young Cicero needed money, and his young wife needed a husband with a promising political career. The interests of the young people coincided, and they lived together for 30 years. At the time of the wedding, Cicero was 27 years old, and Terence was 18 years old. Plutarch characterized Terence as a strong-willed and purposeful woman who took an active part in her husband's career.
In 45 BC. e., shortly before his death, Mark Tullius Cicero was carried away by a young girl named Publilia, who was her guardian. A divorce from his wife followed, but the relationship with the young creature did not last long. But the famous orator was very fond of his daughter Tullia (79-45 BC). When she suddenly fell ill and died, her father plunged into a state of deep grief, and even his enemies condoled with him.
And here is the son of Mark, born in 65 BC. e., outlived his father for many years. The great orator himself wanted his son to become a philosopher, but he gravitated towards military service. As a young man, he joined the army of Pompey, and after the defeat of the latter, he was pardoned by Caesar. The father sent his son to Athens to learn the basics of philosophy, but the son, having got rid of his father's watchful eye, began to drink and have fun.
In 43 BC. BC, after the murder of his father, he joined the rebellious politicians Cassius and Brutus. But at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. e. the rebels were defeated. Octavian pardoned the son of Cicero and subsequently made him an augur. In 30 BC. e. he was promoted to the post of consul. It was the son of Cicero who announced in the Senate the death of Mark Antony, who was the main culprit in the execution of the great orator. Thus, the son indirectly avenged the death of his father. Later he was appointed proconsul to Syria and Phrygia (a Roman province in Asia). The year of this man's death is unknown.
Cicero's political career
Cicero's political career began in 75 BC. e. At 31 he became a quaestor, then at the age of 37 in 69 BC. e. was appointed aedile, and at the age of 40 in 66 BC. e. became a praetor. At the age of 43 at 63 BC. e. Mark was elected consul. It was the highest elected office in the Roman Republic.
One of the losing candidates was Lucius Sergius Catiline. He put forward his candidacy for the next year, but realizing that he had no chance, he began to prepare a conspiracy to seize power. Cicero learned about the impending conspiracy and began to denounce Lucius in his speeches. In total, 4 speeches were made against Catiline. All of them were examples of oratory. Catiline fled from Rome, and his associates were arrested, taken to prison and strangled there.
In 60 BC. e. Guy Julius Caesar invited Cicero to become the fourth in an already existing partnership with Pompey and Crassus. But Mark turned down the offer, declaring his loyalty to the Republic and democracy. After his refusal, Caesar, Pompey and Crassus formed the first triumvirate, whose goal was to seize power.
Mark Tullius Cicero delivers a speech in the Senate
However, the refusal of an alliance with the powerful of this world turned out to be deplorable for Mark. Such a powerful opponent as the tribune of the people Publius Clodius came up against him. At one time, Cicero testified against him in court, which was the reason for the enmity. In 58 BC. e. Clodius achieved the adoption of a law that condemned an official who executed a citizen of the Roman Republic without trial to exile. There was such a moment in Mark's biography when he participated in the murder of Catilin's like-minded people. They were strangled without trial, even though they were citizens of Rome.
Nobody wanted to help Mark Tullius Cicero in this delicate matter. And he was forced to go into exile, leaving for Thessalonica (Ancient Greece) at the end of May 58 BC. e. At the same time, the property and property of the great speaker was confiscated. But the exile lasted just over a year. The newly elected tribune of the people, Titus Annius Milon, who was a supporter of Pompey, called on the Senate to vote for the return of Cicero. All voted in favor, only Clodius was against. And already in August 57 BC. e. the speaker who returned was greeted by a cheering crowd.
End of political career and death
In the "eternal city" Mark Tullius found himself in a difficult position. He owed his return to Pompey, and, therefore, had to support the triumvirate, ignoring the interests of the Republic and democracy. This contradicted the views of Cicero, and he ceased to engage in politics, focusing on legal and literary activities. But it was not so easy to escape from the world of intrigue and power struggles.
In 51 BC. e. the great orator was appointed proconsul to Cilicia (Asia Minor), and he went to a distant land with the greatest reluctance. There he faithfully performed his duties from May 51 BC. e. to November 50 BC e. Arriving at his duty station, the new proconsul found that most of the state property was being plundered. Theft was stopped, and the money went to the needs of the city. He managed to defeat the predatory tribes who settled on Mount Amanus, and for this the legionnaires began to welcome him as emperor.
On his return to Rome, Cicero again found himself in a difficult situation. A struggle began between Pompey and Julius Caesar. Mark Tullius sided with Pompey, seeing him as the defender of the Senate and republican traditions. At the same time, he avoided open confrontation with Caesar and tried to reconcile political opponents, realizing that if a civil war broke out, it would end in tyranny.
In the end, Mark Tullius had to make a choice and join Pompey. But he was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. e. and fled to Egypt. After this, the great orator came to Rome, and Caesar forgave him. Cicero had no choice but to adapt to the new situation, hoping that Caesar would revive the Republic and its democratic institutions. But for him, the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC came as a complete surprise. e.
Mark Tullius Cicero was not among the conspirators, but they treated him with sympathy. Immediately after the assassination of the dictator, Marcus Junius Brutus raised a bloody dagger and called out Cicero's name, asking him to restore the Republic. The great orator became a popular leader during the period of instability, but republican principles did not prevail.
In Rome, the closest associate of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, quickly gained strength. He became the unofficial executor of the public will of the murdered dictator. Brutus and Cassius fled Italy, and Cicero was left alone with a man who hated him. The reason for the hatred was that during the suppression of the Catiline conspiracy, Anthony's stepfather was killed without trial. Caesar's associate blamed this death primarily on Mark Tullius.
Soon there was an open conflict between Antony and Cicero. It happened at a meeting of the Senate on September 2, 44 BC. e. The great orator made a speech denouncing Caesar's companion. He called it "philippica", hinting at the speech of Demosthenes against the policies of Philip the Great. In the future, he pronounced 3 more "philippics" and called on the Senate to call Anthony an enemy of the state. The authority of the great orator was so high that many authoritative people united around him.
Mark Tullius also enlisted the support of Octavian, who was the adopted son of Caesar. He was considered the heir to the murdered dictator and initially supported Cicero. As a result of all this, Mark Antony left Rome, and the great orator became the head of the Republic. But politics is an unpredictable thing. In the month of October 43 BC. e. Octavian, Mark Antony and Mark Aemilius Lepidus created the second triumvirate. It was approved by the People's Assembly of Rome, and this union received the status of a legal body.
After that, the great orator himself and all his supporters were numbered among the enemies of the state. Legions of triumvirs entered Rome, and Cicero had no choice but to flee. He was caught on December 7, 43 BC. e., when slaves carried the great orator from his villa to a ship that was to sail to Macedonia.
Seeing the approaching pursuers, Mark Tullius ordered the slaves to put the palanquin on the ground and waited for the centurion Gerenius and the tribune Popilius to approach him. He said, "There is nothing special about wanting to kill me, but do it properly." After these words, the great orator bowed his head and made it clear that he was ready for death.
According to Plutarch, the centurion Genius cut off Cicero's head and hands, with which he wrote the "philippics." The severed parts of the body were taken to Rome by order of Mark Antony and nailed to the podium of the forum, from which the speakers spoke. According to the Greek historian Dion Cassius, the wife of Anthony Fulvius pulled out her tongue from the mouth of the dead head and stuck several pins into it, thereby emphasizing her hatred of the great orator of Ancient Rome.
This is how one of the most outstanding people of antiquity, Mark Tullius Cicero, ended his life. Contemporaries characterized him as an honest and deeply decent person. He fought for democracy, but lived at a time when the Roman Republic began to steadily turn into an empire. This process did not find understanding in the soul of the great speaker, and he became a victim of political intrigue, paying for his ideas and views with his life.
, Speaker
Cicero Mark Tullius(Cicero Marcus Tullius) - Roman politician, orator, philosopher and writer. Supporter of the republican system. Of his writings, 58 judicial and political speeches, 19 treatises on rhetoric, politics, philosophy and more than 800 letters have survived. The writings of Cicero are a source of information about the era of civil wars in Rome.
Cicero was born January 3, 106 AD, in Arpina (Italy), 120 km south-east of Rome, in a family of horsemen. From 90 he lived in Rome, studying eloquence from the jurist Mucius Scaevola Augur. At 76 he was elected a quaestor and served as magistrate in the province of Sicily. As a quaestor who completed his magistracy, he became a member of the Senate and went through all stages of the Senate career: at 69 - aedile, 66 - praetor, 63 - consul. As consul, Cicero suppressed the anti-Senate conspiracy of Catiline, receiving in the form of recognition of his merits the honorary title of Father of the Fatherland (for the first time in the history of Rome, awarded not for military exploits). In 50-51 - the governor of the province of Cilicia in Asia Minor.
The world by its nature is not only the creation of the artist, but also the artist himself.
Cicero Mark Tullius
From 81 onwards and throughout his life, Cicero delivered political and judicial speeches with unfailing success, gaining a reputation as the greatest orator of his time. As the most famous speeches: “In defense of Roscius from Ameria” (80), speeches against Verres (70), “In defense of the poet Archia” (62), four speeches against Catiline (63), “On the answer of the haruspics”, "On the consular provinces", in defense of Sestius (all three - 56), thirteen speeches against Mark Antony (the so-called Philippines) - 44 and 43.
Since the mid-50s, Cicero plunged more and more into the theory of state and law and the theory of eloquence: "On the state" (53), "On the orator" (52), "On laws" (52). After the civil war 49-47 (Cicero joined the Senate party of Cnaeus Pompey) and the establishment of the dictatorship of Caesar, Cicero until the end of 44 lived mainly outside Rome in his rural villas. These years were characterized by a special upsurge in the creative activity of Cicero. In addition to continuing to work on the theory and history of eloquence ("Brutus", "Orator", "On the best kind of orators", all three - 46), he created the main works on philosophy, among which the most important and famous are "Hortensius" (45 BC). ; preserved in numerous extracts and excerpts), "Teachings of Academicians" and "Tuskulan Conversations" (all - 45); the year 44 includes two works of a special genre - "Cato, or About Old Age" and "Lelius, or About Friendship", where Cicero created idealized and on the verge of an artistic image images of the spiritually especially close great Romans of the previous century - Cato Censorius, Scipio Emiliana, Gaya Lelia.
Caesar was killed in March 44; in December, Cicero returned to Rome to try to convince the Senate to defend the republican order from the heirs of Caesar's dictatorship - the triumvirs of Octavian, Antony and Lepidus. His speeches and actions were unsuccessful. At Antony's insistence, his name was included in the proscription lists, and on December 7, 43 Cicero was killed.
Between good people - everything is good.
Cicero Mark Tullius
The main problems of Cicero's creativity
The origin from a small Italian municipality, where the Tulliev clan was rooted from time immemorial, was the biographical basis for the doctrine of “two motherlands” developed by Cicero in the treatises On the Orator (I, 44) and On the Laws (II, 5): every Roman citizen has two homelands - by place of birth and by citizenship, and "the homeland that brought us into the world is no less dear to us than the one that adopted us." Here the fundamental fact of the history and culture of the ancient world was reflected: no matter how extensive the later state formations, monarchies or empires were, the socially and psychologically real initial cell of social life remained the city-state - the civil community that continued to live within them ("On Duties" I, 53).
Therefore, the Republic of Rome, which by the time of Cicero had covered vast territories, was not exhausted for him by its military-political and state-legal content. He saw in it a form of life, an intensely experienced immediate value, and considered its basis the solidarity of citizens, the ability of everyone, having understood the interests of the community and the state, to act in accordance with them. The whole point was to properly explain these interests to them, prove and convince them by the power of words - eloquence was for Cicero a form of spiritual self-realization, a guarantee of the social dignity of a citizen, the political and spiritual greatness of Rome (Brutus, 1-2; 7).
Two paths led to the heights of eloquence. One consisted in serving the state with words and its interests on the basis of selfless devotion to them, civic valor (virtus) and extensive knowledge of politics, law, philosophy (On finding material I, 2; On orator III, 76); another way consisted in mastering formal techniques that allowed the speaker to persuade any audience to make the decision he needed (On Finding Material I, 2-5; On Speaker 158; Speech in Defense of Cluentius 139); art of this latter kind was designated in Rome by the Greek term rhetoric in origin. The desire of Cicero to combine in teaching the orator, as in any teaching in general, high spiritual content with practical methods provided him with an important place in the theory and history of pedagogy.
There is nothing more resourceful than nature.
Cicero Mark Tullius
However, in the specific conditions of Ancient Rome, both of these sides of the matter became less and less compatible: the crisis of the republic in the 1st century, which led to its replacement by an empire, was precisely the fact that its political practice was increasingly focused on the interests of only the ruling elite of the city of Rome and came into more and more acute conflicts with the interests of the development of the state as a whole and with its conservative system of values. The moral perspective, on the one hand, and the provision of direct interests, be it the state leadership, the client in court or one's own, on the other, were in constant and deepening contradiction, and the unity of virtus and political - even broader: life - practice was more and more revealed as trait of not real, but ideal Rome, as its artistic and philosophical image.
All the key moments of the activity of Cicero and his work, as well as the perception of him in subsequent centuries, are associated with this contradiction. The moral code of the Roman Republic was based on conservative loyalty to the traditions of the community, on the rule of law and right and respect for the success achieved on their basis. Cicero strove to be faithful to this system of norms (see the speech "In Defense of Sestius", in particular chapters 98-101) and as a statesman and orator he repeatedly followed it. (See the speeches in defense of Roscius, against Verres, against Antony, said above about the suppression of the Catiline conspiracy). But faithful to the code of the senate nobility, which was increasingly striving - and with great success - to use this code to their advantage, Cicero just as often turned to purely rhetorical methods and made speeches in defense not of moral norms, but of benefits: see agreement to speak in two years before the conspiracy of Catiline in his own defense, speech in defense of the indisputably criminal Gaius Rabirius or Annius Milo, etc. This inconsistency was blamed on him and considered as its fundamental feature by the humanists of the Renaissance and scientific historians of the 19th century (T. Mommsen and his school).
Against the background of the practical activities of the politician and judicial orator in Cicero, the need to overcome this fundamental contradiction lived and grew. One of the ways for Cicero was the constant enrichment of his theory of eloquence with Greek philosophy, and the Roman tradition and the system of values in general - with the spiritual experience of Hellas. He lived three times for a long time in Greece, translated a lot from Greek, constantly referred to Greek thinkers, called Plato "our deity" (Letters to Atticus IV, 16), saw the dignity of the Roman magistrate in his ability to be guided in his activities by the practical interests of the Senate republic, but at the same time, philosophy (letter to Cato, January 50), “and since the meaning and teaching of all sciences, which show a person the right path in life, is contained in the mastery of that wisdom, which the Greeks call philosophy, then I thought it necessary to put it in Latin ”(Tuskulan conversations I, 1).
