Thursday, October 13, 2016
Cicero's perspective
I find Cicero's perspective and life very interesting. He is a person that lived and interacted with such well known Shakespearean figures such as Caesar, Pompey, and Brutus. He was also ordered to be executed by Marc Antony. Cicero seems to be a philosopher of worthy moral standards, but that is not the case for his entire life. He starts off by wanting to defend the poor in court and other times, and he believes in right to a fair trial. He follows the ideas of Plato and is an example of something similar to the philosopher king because he is a philosopher and he also was a Roman consul and political leader. Later in his career, it seems that the political power might have gone to his head. He was exiled for not giving someone a trial, even though this was one of his key beliefs earlier on. Perhaps Cicero's firm belief in justice led him to wrongly administer the justice himself...
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3 comments:
I agree with Joseph on Cicero's impressive outlook on life. Although Cicero was contemporaries with such highly renowned leader and had the opportunity to join them, he stuck to his own values. Cicero was offered to be part of what would become The First Triumvirate, but instead he chose to stay true to his support of the Republic. Cicero used his fame and power to give a voice to the people, and to fight for their representation. While he may have had a few times where he somewhat went against his word, I believe he still remain genuine at heart. I think that he still held strong importance on his virtues, considering he wrote "On Duties" only on year before his death. Cicero was brave to take the not so favorable path in order to help best represent the people of Rome
I also thought studying Cicero was very interesting. I like how he was such a strong believer in having a moral leader. I think that, especially with this upcoming election, the idea of having a moral and good leader is important to keep in mind. I think it was very interesting that he talked about how a leader must be a good person and nice to the people, but also had to have a sense of confidence in order to be respected. I think this is a lot easier said than done. It is hard to be super friendly and have everyone like you without being taken advantage of.
I also think it's significant that Cicero ruled for the people. In writing a letter to his son Marcus, Cicero is really directing his message towards the political leaders of the Republic. Since he knows his death is inevitable, Cicero attempts to leave some advice for the Roman people and their leaders to rule with respect and care, instead of fear. Also, he wants the leaders to form meaningful relationships by using money if necessary. Also, his letter shows less emphasis on the gods and more on logic and rationality of secular views. His letter suggests a change of times in the Republic.
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