Marcus tullius cicero biography

1. Cicero’s Life and Times

There are a number of good studies of Cicero’s life (e.g. Fuhrmann , Rawson , Tempest ); some background knowledge is salient to an understanding of his philosophical outlook. As already mentioned, Cicero lived through a turbulent historical period. Under the strains of empire, the Roman republican system of government had fractured, and was eventually to prove unsustainable. Cicero was both witness to and participant in some of the events that hastened the collapse of republican government and that ushered in, within fifteen years or so of his death, the rule of Augustus, first of the Roman emperors.

Cicero rose to the highest political office in the republic – the consulship – in 63 BCE. His period as consul was both the high-water mark of his political career and a fateful turning-point. While consul, he put down the conspiracy against the republic led by Catiline. But his actions led to his being exiled in 58; and, while he was restored to Rome the following year through the influence of Pompey, he could do little other than contemplate with horror the deterioration of relations between Caesar and Pompey that led to civil war and the ascendancy of Caesar to the dictatorship. Caesar’s assassination in 44 brought only brief respite. Cicero himself was put to death on Mark Antony’s orders in

2. Philosophy and Roman Society

As a staunch republican himself, Cicero frequently despaired of the state of the republic. Writing philosophy provided both consolation and a resource that, at least in more hopeful moments, he believed could help ameliorate the political crisis. One of the things that makes Cicero an interesting philosophical figure is his conviction that philosophy has the potential to change lives and make societies better. This belief in philosophy’s practical purpose explains why much, though by no means all, of Cicero’s philosophical production has a broadly ethica

Cicero: Early Life, Education, Entry into Politics

Marcus Tullius Cicero was born in the hill town of Arpinum, about 60 miles southeast of Rome. His father, a wealthy member of the equestrian order, paid to educate Cicero and his younger brother in philosophy and rhetoric in Rome and Greece. After a brief military service, he studied Roman law under Quintis Mucius Scaevola. Cicero publicly argued his first legal case in 81 B.C., successfully defending a man charged with parricide.

Cicero was elected quaestor in 75, praetor in 66 and consul in 63—the youngest man ever to attain that rank without coming from a political family. During his term as consul he thwarted the Catilinian conspiracy to overthrow the Republic. In the aftermath, though, he approved the key conspirators’ summary execution, a breach of Roman law that left him vulnerable to prosecution and sent him into exile.

Cicero: Alliances, Exiles and Death

During his exile, Cicero refused overtures from Caesar that might have protected him, preferring political independence to a role in the First Triumvirate. Cicero was away from Rome when civil war between Caesar and Pompey broke out. He aligned himself with Pompey and then faced another exile when Caesar won the war, cautiously returning to Rome to receive the dictator’s pardon.

Cicero was not asked to join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar in 44 B.C., but he was quick to celebrate it after the fact. In the infighting that followed Caesar’s death, Cicero made brief attempts at alliances with key figures, first defending Mark Antony before the Senate and then denouncing him as a public enemy in a series of withering speeches. For some time he supported the upstart Octavian, but when Antony

Roman statesman and lawyer (–43 BC)

For other uses, see Cicero (disambiguation).

"Ciceronian" redirects here. For the imitation of Ciceronian style, see Ciceronianism.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (SISS-ə-roh; Latin:[ˈmaːrkʊsˈtʊlli.ʊsˈkɪkɛroː]; 3 January BC&#;– 7 December 43&#;BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63&#;BC.

He greatly influenced both ancient and modern reception of the Latin language. A substantial part of his work has survived, and he was admired by both ancient and modern authors alike. Cicero adapted the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy in Latin and coined a large portion of Latin philosophical vocabulary via lexical innovation (e.g. neologisms such as evidentia,generator, humanitas, infinitio, qualitas, quantitas), almost of which were the result of translating Greek philosophical terms.

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 Catiline conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero (by his own account) suppressed the revolt by summarily and controversially executing five conspirators without trial, an act which would later lead to his exile. During th

Marcus Tullius Cicero was born outside of Rome in B.C.E. Born to a wealthy family, Cicero received a quality education. After he served in the military, Cicero studied Roman law. He went on to be elected to each of Rome’s principal offices, becoming the youngest citizen to attain the highest rank of consul without coming from a political family.

Cicero remained loyal to the Roman Republic during his career. He viewed the informal alliance known as the First Triumvirate to be in direct opposition to the principles of the republic and authority of the Senate. By refusing to join this alliance, Cicero left himself vulnerable to attacks from his political enemies. This became an issue for Cicero when he came under fire for speaking out against the political figure and tribune Publius Clodius.

When Clodius was elected as a tribune, he introduced a bill that revoked the citizenship of anyone who killed a Roman citizen without granting them a trial. This was designed to strike at Cicero for his role in thwarting the Catilinarian conspiracy, the aristocrat Lucius Sirgius Catiline’s plot to assassinate multiple government officials and burn the city of Rome. Cicero ordered the execution of the revolutionaries without a trial due to the urgency that the rebellion needed to be ended. With no allies remaining to protect him from Clodius’s attacks, Cicero fled Rome and became an exile. After a year and a half, however, he was allowed to return back to Rome as a result of Pompey’s intervention following Clodius’s term as tribune.

When Cicero returned to Rome, he was forced to stay out of politics, so he turned to writing. He wrote many works relating to philosophy, such as On the Republic, On Invention, and On the Orator. He established himself as a prolific Roman author. He also made many speeches and wrote letters that have been preserved, allowing the modern world to gain knowledge of the politics and culture of Cicero’s era.

Cicero made a fatal misstep wh