Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, orator, and philosopher whose extensive writings shaped Latin prose and had a lasting influence on Western philosophy and political thought. He played a pivotal role in the late Roman Republic, advocating republican ideals and the authority of the Senate.

Born in Arpinum to a wealthy equestrian family, Cicero trained as a lawyer and rose to prominence in Rome through high-profile prosecutions and powerful rhetoric. He reached the consulship in 63 BCE, where his suppression of the Catiline conspiracy boosted his national standing. His career was marked by fluctuating fortunes: he was exiled in 58 BCE after political conflict with Clodius, returned to power, and aligned with Pompey against Julius Caesar. After Caesar’s assassination, Cicero opposed Mark Antony, becoming a leading voice for the senatorial restoration, yet he was killed in 43 BCE during the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate; his head and hands were later displayed in the Forum’s rostrum.

Cicero’s literary output spans orations, letters, and philosophical treatises. His political speeches and forensic works, including the Catilinarian and Verrine orations, are studied for their rhetoric and legal argument. His philosophical writings in Latin, such as De Re Publica, De Legibus, De Natura Deorum, De Finibus, and De Officiis, reflect an eclectic method that integrates Academic Skepticism with Stoic and Peripatetic ideas. His dialogues, including De Oratore and Brutus, along with his Epistulae ad Atticum and other letters, illuminate his thought and the social world of his time.

Cicero’s legacy lies in the cultivation of a clear, polished Latin prose style, the articulation of republican and ethical principles, and a corpus that influenced medieval and Renaissance philosophy, as well as modern concepts of rhetoric, law, and natural rights.