Cicero's Letter To Brutus Analysis

Marcus Tullius Cicero can be noted as many things; orator, statesman, lawyer, and writer to name a few. Through friendships, that were both personal and strategic, and even disdain, Cicero’s role and his position in Roman society were neither static nor steady. The correspondence Cicero shared with some of Rome’s more prominent figures between 68 and 43 B.C serve as evidence of Rome’s political climate and the key leaders involved. Cicero’s letters are more than simple social interactions among comrades. Rather there is a strategy in whom, how and why these letters are addressed and written the way they are.

In writing to some of the most prominent Roman leaders of the time, including all three members of the First Triumvirate, the polite manner in which these men address one another is not surprising. For example, Cicero conveniently ends his letter to Lentulus Spinther complimenting both him and his son (#6). Some of most outward examples of politeness are found in Cicero’s writings to Brutus and Brutus’ responses thereof, in which they both refer to one other frequently as “my dear.” Their exchanges also end with a compliments of one anther’s children. Cicero writes that there is “no better training in manly excellence” than the imitation of Brutus himself (#2, #3). But

In a letter to Cassius, this dual purpose is stated very clearly by Cicero, who keeps Cassius public standing in mind “both for the sake of the commonwealth, which has always been dearer to [him] than anything else in the world, and for that of [their] mutual affection” (#5). This, though written to Cassius specifically, speaks to the general advantageous nature of a relationship of the sort. Further, Cicero’s letter to Crassus, to which he regards as no ordinary letter but as a “covenant,” is another example which proves that these letters are much social works as they are political negotiations, which include both an exchange of information and influence aimed at an agenda