Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero (3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, consul, lawyer, political theorist and philosopher. He is often thought to be one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Born	3 January 106 BC Arpinum, Italy
Died	7 December 43 BC Formia, Italy
Occupation	Politician, lawyer, orator and philosopher
Nationality	Ancient Roman
Subject	politics, law, philosophy, oratory
Literary movement	Golden Age Latin
Notable works	Politics: Pro Quinctio Philosophy: De Inventione

His Latin is thought to be the model of Classical Latin. He introduced Greek philosophy to the Romans.

Cicero was heavily involved in the politics of the Roman Republic. After Julius Caesar's death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony. In the power struggle, Cicero attacked Antony in a series of speeches. Cicero was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate. He was executed in 43 BC by soldiers working for the Triumvirate.

Cicero Media

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  The Young Cicero Reading by Vincenzo Foppa (fresco, 1464), now at the Wallace Collection

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  Arpino, Italy, birthplace of Cicero

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  A fresco by Cesare Maccari (1840-1919) depicting Roman senator Cicero (106-43 BCE) denouncing Catiline's conspiracy to overthrow the Republic in the Roman senate. (Palazzo Madama, Rome). Note: illustrations commonly show the senators arranged in a semicircle around an open space where orators were deemed to stand; in reality the structure of the existing Curia Julia building, which dates in its current form from the Emperor Diocletian, shows that the senators sat in straight and parallel lines on either side of the interior of the building. The Senate was also larger and more dull.

• Cicero – First speech against Catilina in Latin (English subtitles)

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  Marcus Tullius Cicero dragged from his litter and assassinated by soldiers under the command of Marc Antony 43 BC (1880 illustration)

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  The Vengeance of Fulvia by Francisco Maura y Montaner, 1888 depicting Fulvia inspecting the severed head of Cicero

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  Cicero about age 60, from a marble bust

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  Henry VIII's childhood copy of De Officiis, bearing the inscription in his hand, "Thys boke is myne Prynce Henry"

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  Marci Tullii Ciceronis Opera Omnia (1566)

Sources

• Everitt, Anthony 2001, Cicero: the life and times of Rome's greatest politician, Random House, hardback, 359 pages, ISBN 0-375-50746-9
• Haskell, H.J.: (1946) This was Cicero, Fawcett publications, Inc. Greenwich, Conn. USA
• Rawson, Elizabeth (1975) Cicero, A portrait, Allen Lane, London ISBN 0-7139-0864-5
• Taylor, H. (1918). Cicero: A sketch of his life and works. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.

General

• • Links to Cicero resources Archived 2006-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  • University of Texas Cicero Homepage Archived 2005-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
  • The Internet Encyclopædia of Philosophy

Works by Cicero

• • Works by Cicero at Project Gutenberg
  • Perseus Project (Latin and English): Classics Collection (see: M. Tullius Cicero)
  • The Latin Library (Latin): Works of Cicero
  • UAH (Latin, with translation notes): Cicero Page Archived 2006-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  • De Officiis, translated by Walter Miller
  • Cicero's works: text, concordances and frequency list
• Biographies and descriptions of Cicero's time:
  • At Project Gutenberg
    • Plutarch's biography of Cicero contained in the Parallel Lives
    • Life of Cicero by Anthony Trollope, Volume I – Volume II
    • Cicero by Rev. W. Lucas Collins (Ancient Classics for English Readers)
    • Roman life in the days of Cicero by Rev. Alfred J. Church
    • Social life at Rome in the Age of Cicero by W. Warde Fowler
  • At Heraklia website Archived 2006-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
  • Dryden's translation of Cicero from Plutarch's Parallel Lives Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
  • At Middlebury College website
  • Prætor Brutus Archived 2008-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
• News article on a museum-guide robot named after him

Preceded by Lucius Julius Caesar and Gaius Marcius Figulus

Consul of the Roman Republic with Gaius Antonius Hybrida 63 BC

Succeeded by Decimus Junius Silanus and Lucius Licinius Murena