Cicero was a Roman lawyer, orator, statesman and political philosopher. He was a champion of Republican government in the last days of the Roman Republic and was assassinated on the orders of Mark Anthony. Cicero wrote extensively on many subjects but is best known for his writings and speeches which include influential expositions of liberty, republican government and justice. His Latin texts had a very significant influence on later philosophers such as St Augustine, Desiderius Erasmus, and John Locke. Cicero is considered the pre-eminent Master of Latin prose – writing with a unique freedom, clarity and directness. He is said to have rescued philosophy from the philosophers and brought it to the public/political realm. His most influential work is the concept of natural rights.
“Law in the proper sense is right reason in harmony with nature.”
Cicero, De Re Publica, 3.32
Birth
Marcus Tullius Cicero was born 106 BC to a wealthy family in Arpinum, Latium, [modern day Italy.] He was well educated in both Latin and Greek and undertook military training, but his greater interest was in training to be a lawyer. In 80 BC, he took a controversial case – the defence of Sextus Roscius who had been unjustly accused of fatricide. The difficulty was that the charges were made by those close to the powerful Roman statesman Sulla (who was briefly dictator of the Roman Republic 82-81 BC) Cicero’s defence placed him in opposition to these powerful interests. However, his skill in oratory enabled him to free the falsely accused man. The trial gained him a prominent reputation. Cicero’s skill as an orator and lawyer were based on his ability to rouse different emotions from righteous anger to laughter amongst the jury. He also avoided the excess of florid oratorary and got direct to the heart of the case.
With a rising reputation as lawyer and orator, Cicero then made an entrance into Roman politics and became a praetor or judicial officer. In Roman times it was rare to rise to prominence due to skill as a lawyer rather than military capacity. Public speaking was highly prised in Roman times as it was the main means of communication. Cicero took it seriously taking exercises to improve the strength of his lungs and voice. In the Senate, Cicero became allied with Pompey and he spoke against the leading Optimates – a conservative faction in the Roman senate who sought to uphold the interests and wealth of the aristocracy and oligarchy.
In 63 BC at the age of 43, he was elected consul. It was a tumultuous time with cracks appearing in the Roman Republic and threats to individual liberty. During his year of consul, there was a conspiracy aimed at killing Cicero and overthrowing the Republic. It was led by Lucius Sergius Catilina. However, Cicero came to discover the plot and Catilina and his four conspirators were unmasked. Cicero castigated the plotters in his speeches and the issue was brought to the Senate. Cicero agreed to have the plotters executed – even though Julius Caesar had spoken against the death penalty and for life imprisonment. The decision to execute Roman citizens without trial was considered a dangerous move. However, at the time, the decision to execute the plotters and save the Republic united all classes of Romans and Cicero became very popular. A feature of Cicero’s politics was that he was neither an aristocrat or plebian, but sought to unite the different classes in a Concordia ordinum, or “concord between the classes.”
Death
However, in the ensuing power struggle, Mark Anthony, allied with Octavian rose in prominence. Mark Anthony was brutal in turning on any enemy, and a proscribed list included Cicero (despite Octavian arguing against it). Cicero was still popular amongst many in Rome, but he was chased out of Rome to his villa in Formiae. Eventually, on 7 December 43 BC, Mark Anthony’s soldiers arrived, and Cicero was betrayed by one of his freed servants. Cicero had hoped to flee to Macedonia, but once captured and surrounded Cicero did not resist but is said to have held out his neck to make it easier for the killers to do their job. His last words were said to be:
“There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.”
His throat was cut and then beheaded, and his hands cut off and displayed on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum.