Friday, October 14, 2016
Cicero
Cicero is a very confusing person. On paper, he says he supports the republic and the people. He plays peacekeeper after Caesar is murdered. He was also a lawyer who defended controversial cases. However, he does not always live up to his own expectations. He executed conspirators without a trial. He thinks the people should hold power, not the military, however, he enacted martial law. To me it seems like he was very wishy-washy.
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6 comments:
Although I agree with you, I think that Cicero did what he thought he had to in order to win the support of the people. You cannot be a successful politician without the people's support. I think that Cicero still has good morals even though he prosecuted a man without trial.
I think it is also important to note that Cicero supported the murder of Caesar. Even though he did not know about the plot, he sympathized with the conspirators. He thought Caesar was getting to power, and he thought that all power should go to the people. But, since he supposedly believed in fair trials, this goes against his morals. Murder is not an ethical way to remove someone from power. I think this is just yet another way he was wishy-washy.
I would agree more with Bailey's point that Cicero did what he thought was necessary to ensure the well being of the Republic. As a public official, he had more power in shaping what efforts were made to improve the Republic and the lives of the people. He supported Caesar's murder because Caesar was a somewhat corrupt tyrant who went against the wishes of the people. Perhaps he was like Oedipus, and supported the well being of his people but acted too quickly and wanted everything done too fast. This expedition of wants shows that he believed in free trial but felt that he could fix the corruptness more efficiently by administering justice himself.
I also think Cicero did what was best for the Republic. However, after Caesar's death, I think Cicero tried to gain favor with the supporters of Caesar for his own benefit so he could gain back some political power and authority that he once had, but now lost. This shows Cicero as a ruler who looked out for himself along with the people.
I think that Cicero thought the Cataline conspirators no longer had their rights. To me, it seems like he no longer thought the conspirators deserved the rights of a basic citizen such as due process and in that way he justified killing 5 people. Also, I agree that he thought the killing of Caesar was best for the republic because he became too tyrannical. So in my perception, it seems as though he thought those who went against the ideals of the republic no longer had the rights associated with the republic and wanted them to be punished as a result.
I think Cicero is just blinded by his will to better the republic. Anything he sees as a threat to him is also a threat to the republic, so any threat must be eliminated. This is very common to see with tyrants. Most leaders want what is best for their people, but a lot of them go blind with power.
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