Cicero vs. Cato: The Martyr for Roman Liberty

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Cicero vs. Cato: The Martyr for Roman Liberty

Cicero and Cato the Younger were the premier orators and statesmen that the Roman Republic produced. Both enjoyed political success within Rome during the waning years of the Republic. In addition, both were participants and witnesses of the collapse of the Republic. Before Caesar could gain full control over Rome, Cato committed voluntaria mors, voluntary death or more commonly known, suicide. After Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.E., Cicero was murdered in 43 B.C.E. as he was placed on the proscription list during the triumvirate of Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus. Cato and Cicero were the defenders of the republic and in their eyes freedom as well. Following their deaths Cato enjoyed fame for his supposed martyrdom, such as Lucan’s Bellum Civile, while Cicero was lauded for his work on ethics, philosophy, and the ideal statesman. However, Cicero, not Cato, should be considered the martyr on behalf of the Republic and freedom due in a part to his insistence on maintaining the republic after the assassination of Caesar. Cato was the supposed martyr that Rome received but Cicero is the martyr Rome deserved and needed. To navigate this proposal a foundation of the concept of martyrdom is required. Secondly, define how the republic equates to freedom. Followed by the exploration how Cato is falsely elaborated upon and remembered as a martyr, and finally the illumination of why Cicero is the martyr the republic deserved.
When describing a martyr or martyrdom one often thinks the terms within the ecclesiastical way in which a person dies for his or her religious cause often against his or her own desire. We must therefore look to the concept of dying for ones belief or cause by broaden...

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...t he did not die for the republic, he died for his personal liberty. With the passage of time Cato’s suicide was transcribed over and over taking on a new life eventually becoming the martyr that died for the Republic. Upon completion of the paper it is shown how Cato should never be considered a martyr where in fact it is Cicero that is the true martyr because of what he offered to Rome in the context of the ideal statesman. The ideal statesman embodies the virtue of liberty but more importantly Cicero stressed that the ideal statesman should look to Rome’s citizens and not only for themselves. This is in stark contrast to Cato’s personal stoic act of taking his own life in the name of his own liberty. He did this without regard of the good he could have done for the Republic if he remained alive. Because of this, Cicero becomes Rome’s martyr on behalf of liberty.

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