Cicero

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Discuss the nature of Caesar’s relationship with Cicero. Did the two men genuinely like and respect one another, or did Caesar cynically use Cicero to his own advantage? In return, how did Cicero play off of Caesar?

2. One of ancient Rome’s most remarkable features is its small ruling class that governed an extensive empire without many of the usual mechanisms of government—a permanent civil service, a police force, a standing army, a professional judicial system, rapid communications and so forth. How did the Romans manage to accomplish so much with so little?

3. Evaluate Cicero’s relevance for us today. The founding fathers of the United States Constitution were influenced by his political ideas—especially the notion of the “mixed constitution,” which comprises elements of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. But is such thinking relevant in a democratic political system?

4. After his suicide following the battle of Utica, Cato won a reputation as a heroic idealist and defender of political freedom, which has echoed down through the ages. In your opinion, does Cato deserve this heroic reputation, or was he simply an obstinate reactionary who got what he deserved?

5. Pompey the Great was an outstanding general but a mediocre politician, and Cicero helped him several times by supporting legislation that was favorable to him and his troops. Do you feel Pompey let Cicero down in the 50s BC? Why did Pompey choose not to use Cicero’s political acumen to negotiate with Caesar in 49 BC?

6. Cicero is often criticized for speaking and writing so much about himself. Today, what media does a middle-class person with no family history in politics use to promote him- or herself? Are there similarities?

7. Everitt emphasizes Cicero’s inability to hold a grudge and his eagerness to mentor younger men. In light of this characterization, discuss why, in your opinion, Cicero did not simply forgive Mark Antony and try to work with him.

8. When the early Italian Humanist Francesco Petrarch found Cicero’s letters to Atticus, which had been virtually unknown since antiquity, he lamented that the ideal picture of Cicero conveyed in the speeches and philosophical works was forever shattered by the revelation of how Cicero acted in his daily life. Compare Cicero the lawyer and politician to the man who emerges in his letters.