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Cicero the younger
Cicero second catalinarian commentary
Cicero the younger
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Rome was the superpower of the Mediterranean area and after many rebellions and political changes Rome needed a high-class system to help spread news. Political news and social gossip became equally important through the people's eyes. News in the city was distributed by either the town’s forum, dinner parties, or convivia. While news outside was spread through letters. Letters allowed important information to reach elite members of society while traveling or to keep personal communication. Since some of the letters were more casual, the roman elite included abbreviations and other quirky writing styles within. The majority of where historians find their information on the different tones is from a man named Cicero. Cicero wrote the most diverse …show more content…
Tabellarii were messengers who carried the letters directly to the recipient, however, they were expensive to use or hire. If a common person desired to send a letter, they would ask friends who are traveling to deliver the message. Even when the Roman empire established a postal service, the majority of people stuck with the previous two methods. Due to the ease of sending mail, for the elite, daily communication could be possible. On the other hand, like today, some people did not see the point of always wanting mail or constant communication. Once the letter reached its destination it would be read aloud, since letters were of public matter and meant to be shared from person to person, due to what was written. Because of the letters being semi-public, writer usually excluded anything that would be politically dangerous to their careers. Copying letters were common since the material could be useful to others, and from this notion of sharing common knowledge the acta was formed. The acta was the roman equivalent to a newspaper. Originally formed by Julius Caesar to expose the senate and gain more power, it became a center for both political and personal …show more content…
Unfortunately, there is no surviving copy if the acta, so historians must make do with the comments of the citizens. Along with letters, books were ways of spreading information. Authors did not care for the sales of the books but wanted people to make many copies so their book could be spread throughout Rome. Books were scrolls that could have gone on for thirty-three feet, and handwritten by the author then rewritten to look nicer by librarius. Authors tried to not let their writings get to the public before being certain it is ready. In the event the book is published early, the author cannot change it easily since it is being read by large amounts of people. Reputation was very important to authors, and so they dedicated it to certain people they thought could expand the popularity of the book. Also, ways to expand a book's popularity was to either host a dinner party or attend a recitatio. Both situations allowed the book to be read to a crowd to generate more interest in the book. Since common people could not afford to send letters or buy books, they way to communicate was through graffiti. The Roman graffiti wasn’t defacing anything but allowing citizens to express views and easily
Cicero’s essay, titled On Duties, presents a practical approach concerning the moral obligations of a political man in the form of correspondence with his young son. Essential to the text, the incentive for Cicero to undertake On Duties emerges from his depleted hope to restore the Republic within his lifetime. Cicero therefore places such aspirations in the hands of his posterity. The foremost purpose of On Duties considers three obstacles, divided into separate Books, when deciding a course of action. Book I prefatorily states, “in the first place, men may be uncertain whether the thing that falls under consideration is an honorable or a dishonorable thing to do” (5). Cicero addresses the ambiguities present under this consideration and codifies a means through which one can reach a justifiable decision. Subsequently, he expounds the four essential virtues—wisdom, justice, magnanimity or greatness of spirit, and seemliness—all of which are necessary to conduct oneself honorably. As a result, the virtues intertwine to create an unassailable foundation upon which one can defend their actions. Cicero’s expatiation of the four virtues, though revolving around justice and political in context, illuminates the need for wisdom among the populace in order to discern a leader’s motivations. This subtly becomes apparent as Cicero, advising his son on how to dictate decision-making, issues caveats regarding the deceptions that occur under the guise of virtue.
In the early second century BC, the Roman Senate accrued a powerful ruling over the city’s civil government. Rome’s elite members lived at the heart of Rome and gave power to the members of the Senate. These elite citizens gained nobility through prior ancestors whom held consulships. With the prior influential heritage, they pushed the decisions of the Senate in order to gain more wealth and land. This often meant bribes, threats, and posturing to sway leaders to vote for laws that were favorable. This period did not last for long as for in the latter half of the second century growth in the cities occurred and meant change for the patrician nobility. Tribunes, such as Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus used this change to enforce social policies that were in favor of the plebeians, but also their eventual downfall.
...allow senate to have an active role in his leadership, a notion which had been a fatal mistake for past censors of the Roman republic. Julius Caesar, the last leader of the Roman republic was conclusively at fault for the demolition of the constitutional society. His dictatorship and lack of respect for the democratic system lead to his death and the death of the republic. “The most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power” (Plutarch)
...ee tasks are accomplished can vary to suit the orators purpose or the circumstances surrounding their speech. Cicero does just this and he does it with a purpose. He avoids heavy emotional appeals because they don’t suit the day and go against the relaxed almost careless tone he utilizes throughout the rest of his monologue. He emphasizes the use of persuasive arguments in order to detract from the claims of his opponent in the only way he can (since the case contains no material evidence) and Cicero flatters and entertains the jurors in the hopes that they will view his arguments more favorably. Everything he says and does in this speech of his drive toward his ultimate goal, an acquittal for his client, and from this speech one can see how Cicero not only achieves the three goals he sets forth, but how and why those three goals can and should be adapted at need.
Friendship’s Decay on Rome In looking at the late Roman Republic, one can find many different accounts of how politics worked in Rome. One of these accounts by Polybius gives us a sense of the way politics worked in Rome. Polybius believed, “in all politics, we observe two sources of decay existing from natural causes, the one external, the other internal and self produced” (Polybius 506). The second account by Cicero gives us a framework of how Roman politics play out, stating “The canvass for office resolves itself into an activity of two kinds, of which one is concerned with the loyalty of friends, the other with the feelings of the people” (Cicero 37).
...for success, he robs his audience of the right to make certain determinations about characters such as Tarquin Superbus and Romulus because of his bias toward the motivation behind their actions. Livy’s The Rise of Rome was a grand effort and an amazing undertaking. Cataloguing the years of Roman history consolidated rumor and legend into fact, creating a model for Rome to follow. Livy’s only error in this vast undertaking was in imprinting his own conception of morality and justice onto his work, an error that pulls the reader away from active thought and engaging debate. In doing so, Livy may have helped solidify a better Rome, but it would have been a Rome with less of a conception of why certain things are just, and more of a flat, basely concluded concept of justice.
In an article called, “Reading the Writing on Pompeii’s Walls” published by Smithsoniammag.com, graffiti is shown to be an art form. The writer says, "In a stairwell, people took turns quoting popular poems and adding their own clever twists.” This is showing how people that lived in Pompeii used the graffiti as a learning tool, and to create and recreate pieces of literature. For the citizens to quote popular poems and adding twists inspired other people to also start taking popular literatures and recreating them. T...
As we regained consciousness one by one, we found ourselves on a deserted island. After gathering all the food and supplies we could find, it was decided that certain rules should be enacted so we may live together civilly. We need to maintain our politeness and courtesy as we do not know how long we may be stranded on the island. To preserve what we have left, the first rule that should be enacted must benefit the group as a whole. The rule to have every able bodied individual work to benefit the group. That means that a person must work at gather food, water, build shelter, and any other tasks that are required. This should be the most important rule as it will maintain order and will provide justice in our group.
The Roman Way is basically an informal history of Roman civilization as Edith Hamilton interprets the writings of the greatest literary figures from around the time of 200 B.C. to 100 A.D. Some of these writers include Cicero, with his vast assortment of letters; Catullus, the romantic poet; and Horace, the storyteller of an unkind and greedy Rome. They are three affluent white men from around the same period of time, although each of them had very different styles of writings and ideologies. Edith Hamilton does a great job in translating the works of many different authors of Roman literature, discussing each author's exclusive stance in...
In 509 B.C. the Romans declared themselves a republic, free from rule of the Etruscan kings. (“The Rise of…”) From that point on, the Roman’s form of government would never include the title of “king”, in fear that a single person would gain absolute power. The republic included a dictator (in emergencies), the senate, two consuls, and several other positions. (Bishop) Although the goal of creating a republic was to have a government that represented the wishes of its people, the Roman senate consisted of men of wealth or power, leaving most of the plebeians, or common people, out of the picture. Many of the emperors’ policies strengthened the power of the government, and therefore weakened the power of the plebeians. By the end of Sulla’s rule in 78 B.C., grain prices had risen substantially and there was large gap between the rich and poor. (“The Rise of…”) When Julius Caesar took power, he initiated several reforms that were much needed at the time. Caesar spent large volumes of money on entertaining the citizens, while expanding citizenship to people of conquered lands and lessening the power of the senate. His policies threatened the method of income of senators and around 60 senators, in the name of saving the republic, murdered Julius Caesar at a senate hearing in 44 B.C. Civil war then erupted in Rome and lasted over a decade. At the end of the blood brawl, it was Octavian who emerged victorious; he would be the first Roman Emperor and would be known as Augustus. (Morey) Although the “Liberators” (Julius Caesar’s assassins), might not have realized it, the day that Julius Caesar died was the same day that the republic died; t...
Of Cicero it can be said he possessed a bias towards roman life and doctrine. For Cicero
Augustus Caesar was very ambitious leader. He is best known for bringing peace to Rome. Augustus was considered the first great roman emperor, because He didn’t care about wealth and fortune. Augustus cared about the people of Rome. He was a great military leader and was successful in most of his missions. He showed people that being a good ruler requires a lot of hard work and dedication. He was a very generous man. Augustus was greatly admired by the Roman people.
Pro Caelio is a speech given by Roman politician and famed orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defense of his former student and now political rival Caelius. Caelius was charged with political violence in the form of the murder of Dio. Caelius’ defense was structured so that Caelius first spoke in his own defense, following him was Crassus, and finally Cicero. Cicero attempted in his defense to not just refute the accusations brought forward by the prosecutors. Instead, he first demonstrates that Caelius is an upstanding citizen and provides many examples to prove this. He further defends Caelius by swaying the jury in his favor through the employment of comedy. Vice versa he turns the jury against the prosecutors through slander (i.e. he constantly
In this era everyone wrote letters, usually in the morning before the day actually started and when someone received a letter they usually read and kept it private. The characters writing styles reflected greatly on them as people. Miss. Bingley used very nice hot-pressed paper which showed her wealth and her writing style which showed her higher education. Jane cared about people and always saw the best in everyone no matter the situation and this showed very clearly in her letter to Elizabeth about their sister running off with Wickham. Mr. Collins in his writing style showed a selfish “all about me” attitude and perspective and that is how he acted in real life too. Each character had different writing styles that went right along with how they actually acted in the book which is not surprising because a person cannot change who they are and how they act in a just by
Philosopher A: In the Republic, the Senate was the primary branch of the Roman government and held the majority of the political power. It controlled funds, administration and foreign policy, and had significant influence of the everyday life of the Roman people. When Augustus came to power, he kept the Senate and they retained their legal position. The Emperor’s rule was legitimized by the senate as he needed the senators experience to serve as administrators, diplomats and generals. Although technically the most authoritative individual in Rome, Augustus strived to embody Republican values. He wanted to relate and connect to all parts of society including Plebeians. Through generosity and less extravagance, Augustus achieved a connection with the common people.