Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Starting point is 00:00:00 In the final decades of the Roman Republic, power increasingly belonged to men who controlled armies. Yet one man rose to the highest levels of Roman politics without conquering territory or leading legions. His weapons were words, law, and an extraordinary ability to persuade. He exposed conspiracies, confronted dictators, shaped political philosophy for centuries, and ultimately paid for his speeches with his life. Learn more about the life, career, and legacy of Marcus Tullius Cicero. on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What does a sunny getaway with Air Canada sound like?

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Starting point is 00:01:14 Nice travels. We're some see heroes and others see egos. Bloomberg sees the era of billionaire athletes. While others follow the noise, we follow the money. Learn more at Bloomberg.com. Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the most important figures in the period marking the end of the Roman Republic, alongside such other notable figures as Julia Caesar, Augustus and Mark Anthony. However, in most retellings of this period, Cicero is given a supporting

Starting point is 00:01:49 role next to the other characters. Yet Cicero was a major figure in his own right, and his path to power was unique. Moreover, I've mentioned Cicero enough times in previous episodes that I figure it was time that he got his own. But before I start, I should note one important thing. Cicero's name in classical Latin wasn't pronounced Cicero. It was pronounced. It was pronounced. Kiki-Roh. The change in how the letter C was pronounced in Latin happened in the Middle Ages, and it's been passed down to us today. So for the rest of the episode, I will be using Cicero, but if you went back in time and called him that, he would have no clue who you were talking to. Marcus Tilius Cicero was born on January 3rd, 106 BC, near the town of Arpenum, roughly 100 kilometers

Starting point is 00:02:36 southeast of Rome. His family belonged to the local Italian elite. They were prosperous landowners and Roman citizens, but they were not members of the Roman senatorial class. Cicero therefore entered national politics as what Romans would call a novice homo, or a new man, meaning that he was someone who didn't have a consul among his ancestors. His family named Cicero probably came from the Latin word Kikere, meaning chickpe. Ancient writers later told stories about one of his ancestors having a chickpea-shaped mark on his face, although this may have been an explanation invented after the fact. Cicero's family was wealthy enough to provide him and his younger brother, Quintus, with an excellent education. As adolescents,

Starting point is 00:03:20 they were sent to Rome where Cicero studied rhetoric, literature, law, philosophy, and politics. He came into contact with leading intellectuals of his age, including the famous legal scholar Quintus Mukius Scyvola and Greek philosophers who had settled or lectured in Rome. From an early age, Cicero displayed an extraordinary talent for speaking and writing. Cicero grew up during an increasingly unstable period in Roman history. The Republic had conquered much of the Mediterranean, producing enormous wealth and territorial expansion. Yet Roman political institutions had originally been designed for a relatively small city state. Economic inequality grew. Wealthy senators and equestrians accumulated enormous estates. Dispossessed farmers migrated to

Starting point is 00:04:05 Rome. Roman generals commanded professional armies whose soldiers often felt greater loyalty to their commanders than to the Republic. Political disputes in this era became increasingly violent. When Cicero was a child, the Republic was still dealing with the consequences of the reforms and deaths of the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. During his adolescence, Rome fought the social war from 91 to 87 BC, where many of Rome's Italian allies rebelled after demanding Roman citizenship. Cicero briefly served in the military during this conflict, apparently under the command of Pompeius Strabo, the father of Pompey the Great.

Starting point is 00:04:44 Military life, however, was not where Cicero's talents lay. Soon after Rome descended into civil war between the supporters of Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The atmosphere of violence profoundly shaped Cicero's political thinking. Throughout his later career, he would repeatedly argue that political dispute should be settled through law, constitutional procedure, and debate rather than military force. Cicero began establishing his reputation through legal advocacy. His first major case came in ADBC when he defended Sextus Rochus of Amaria, who had been

Starting point is 00:05:19 accused of murdering his father. The case was politically dangerous because the people associated with Sulla's regime appeared to have benefited from the elder Rocius' death and confiscated property. Cicero argued that Rochus had been framed, and in any sort of. and Rocius was acquitted. Later writers sometimes portrayed this speech as Cicero courageously attacking Cella's dictatorship directly. The reality was more complicated, but the case nevertheless demonstrated Cicero's willingness to confront powerful interests. Soon afterwards, Cicero left Rome and traveled throughout Greece and Asia Minor where he continued his education. In Athens, he studied

Starting point is 00:05:57 philosophy. On Rhodes, he studied rhetoric with Apollonius Molan, one of the famous teachers of public speaking in the Greek world. Cicero later credited this training with refining his speaking style, making it less physically exhausting and more controlled. He was elected to the position of Quaistore in 75 BC. His assignment took him to Western Sicily, where he oversaw financial administration tied to grain shipments to Rome. The Sicilian posting would become unexpectedly important to his career. Several years later, Sicilians approached Cicero and asked him to prosecute their former governor, Gaius Varis, in 70 BC. Varis was accused of massive corruption, extortion, theft, and abuse of power during his governorship of Sicily. Opposing Cicero was one

Starting point is 00:06:45 of Rome's most famous lawyers, Quintus Hortensius Hortales, who represented Varies. Rather than relying solely on theatrical courtroom rhetoric, Cicero traveled through Cicely gathering documentation and testimony. His evidence was overwhelming. Cicero delivered the opening portion of the prosecution so effectively that Varis abandoned the trial and went into voluntary exile. Cicero later published additional speeches he had prepared, known collectively as the Varens, and the trial helped establish his reputation. Cicero was elected Adial in 69 BC and Praetor in 66 BC. During his praetorship, he delivered a major political speech supporting a proposal to give Pompey extraordinary military authority against King Mithridates the 6th of Pontus.

Starting point is 00:07:35 The speech, commonly known as pro-lege Manila, helped associate Cicero with Pompey, who was quickly becoming Rome's most celebrated general. The political challenges that Cicero faced were unusual for Rome at the time. He lacked the ancient family connections that normally helped aristocratic candidates achieve high office. Instead, he constructed coalitions among senators, equestrians, and ordinary voters. In 63 BC, he achieved the greatest political success of his life. He was elected consul.

Starting point is 00:08:09 Very few Novus Homo were ever elected consul. He was one of only around 15 new men to become consul between 366 and 63 BC, a span of about 300 years. Furthermore, he was elected Suoano, or in his year, which means he did it in the first year he was eligible to be consular. To have both distinctions was extremely rare, and something which he considered his proudest achievement. The most important event of Cicero's consulship was the conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catalina, better known as Cataline. Cataline was an aristocrat with considerable political ambitions who had repeatedly failed to win the consulship. According to Cicero and other ancient sources, Cataline organized a conspiracy involving political assassination, armed revolt, and the seizure of political power.

Starting point is 00:09:04 Cicero obtained intelligence about the plot and presented evidence to the Senate. His confrontation with Cattlein produced some of the most famous speeches in Roman history. Cicero denounced Cattlein before the Senate and accused him of plotting against the republic. Cataline soon left Rome and joined an armed force in northern Italy, but several conspirators remained behind. Cicero arranged for evidence against the war. them to be obtained and arrested several of the conspirators. The Senate then debated what to do with the prisoners.

Starting point is 00:09:35 Julius Caesar argued against execution without trial and recommended imprisonment. Marcus Porteus Cato, aka Cato the Younger, argued for execution. Cicero ultimately ordered the conspirators executed, and he announced their deaths to a crowd with a single word, Vixerent, meaning they have lived. Catiline was killed in battle the following year. Cicero was celebrated for supposedly saving the Republic. He received the honorary title, Pater Patriai, Father of the Fatherland. For Cicero, this moment became the defining achievement of his life,

Starting point is 00:10:12 but the decision to execute the conspirators without a trial would have repercussions later on. One of Cicero's most dangerous enemies was Publius Clodius Polker. Claudius was a controversial aristocratic politician who became a populist tribune. In 58 BC, he promoted a law prescribing exile for anyone who had executed Roman citizens without trial, and the law was clearly targeting Cicero. In response, Cicero fled Italy, and his house on the Palatine Hill was confiscated and partially destroyed. For Cicero, the exile was emotionally devastating. However, it didn't last long.

Starting point is 00:10:53 Poppy supported his recall, and in 57 BC, Cicero returned to Rome amid considerable public celebration. But by then, the first triumvirate ruled Rome, consisting of Julius Caesar, Pompe Magnus, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Cicero disliked the concentration of political power in their hands. He envisioned a republic governed by cooperation among respectable citizens, particularly the Senate and equestrian classes. But Cicero lacked a military power or wealth necessary to challenge the triumvors. So he oscillated between opposition, accommodation, and attempts to preserve his own political influence. Cicero increasingly turned towards writing. Around 55 BC, he composed De Oratorre, or On the Orator.

Starting point is 00:11:41 The work presented Cicero's ideal statesman orator as someone trained not merely in rhetoric, but in philosophy, law, history, and politics. Around 54 to 51 BC, he worked on D. Republica, or on the Republic. The work was heavily influenced by Plato, but focused on Roman government. In 51 BC, Cicero was sent as governor to the Roman province of Cilicia in what is today the southeast coast of Turkey. When he returned to Rome, the alliance between Caesar and Pompey was disintegrating. Without Crassus to balance them, who had died earlier in 53 BC, Caesar and Pompey started to become rivals. Cicero desperately hoped for compromise, believing civil war would be disastrous regardless of which side won.

Starting point is 00:12:26 However, in January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army and began a civil war. Eventually, Cicero joined Pompey's side, where he did not play an important military role. And after Pompey's defeat, Cicero returned to Italy, where Caesar eventually pardoned him. Cicero's relationship with Caesar was complicated. personally, the two men could be respectful towards each other. Caesar appreciated Cicero's literary and oratorical abilities. Politically, however, Cicero regarded Caesar's concentration of power as incompatible with Republican government.

Starting point is 00:13:02 Cicero largely withdrew from active politics. This period became one of the most productive literary phases of his life. He wrote extensively on rhetoric, ethics, theology, philosophy, friendship, aging, and political theory. Despite being against Caesar because, becoming a dictator for life, he did not take part in the assassination plot against him. Nonetheless, he approved of Caesar's death because he believed it created an opportunity to restore the Republic. However, that hope proved unrealistic as the assassins removed Caesar but had no

Starting point is 00:13:33 coherent plan to replace the political system that he had created. In the aftermath of the assassination, Cicero viewed Caesar's right-hand man, Marcus Antonius, aka Mark Antony, as the biggest threat to the Republic. Beginning in September of 44 BC, Cicero delivered a series of speeches attacking Antony. These became known as the Philippics, named after Demosthenes famous speeches against Philip the 2nd of Macedon. There were 14 surviving speeches. Cicero accused Antony of corruption, violence, drunkenness, tyranny, and seeking to become another Caesar. He viewed Caesar's posthumously adopted son Octavian as a possible defense against Anthony, but he grossly underest, underest, estimated his political savvy. He ended up supporting Octavian being elected to the consulship at

Starting point is 00:14:22 the age of just 19. And soon afterward, Octavian joined with Mark Anthony to create the second triumvirate. And this would prove to be fatal for Cicero. The triumvirate created a prescription list of its enemies which allowed anyone to kill them and take their property. Mark Anthony added Cicero to the list in revenge for the Philippics. Cicero traveled towards the coast hoping to escape by sea, but on December 7th, 43 BC, soldiers caught up with him. According to later accounts, Cicero ordered his litter to stop and presented his neck to his executioners. He was killed at the age of 63. His head and hands were cut off and taken to Rome.

Starting point is 00:15:05 Anthony ordered them to be displayed on the roster in the forum, the very platform from which Cicero had delivered many of his speeches. However, this wasn't the end of Cicero's impact. Cicero's speeches and writings had an enormous influence on later generations because they became the models for both Latin prose and political thought. For centuries, students across Europe learned Latin by reading and imitating Cicero, whose style helped to find what educated Latin was supposed to sound like. His work on rhetoric shaped ideas about effective public speaking, while his philosophical writings transmitted Greek ideas about ethics, natural law, and government to the Latin-speaking world. Renaissance humanists and enlightenment thinkers drew on his discussions of Republican government and civic virtue. Cicero ultimately failed in the cause that mattered most to him. The Roman Republic he spent his life defending collapsed, and he was murdered by the very political forces that he had tried to resist.

Starting point is 00:16:04 Yet, in another sense, Cicero outlived nearly everyone who defeated him. Caesar, Anthony, and Octavian commanded armies, but Cicero's greatest weapon, was the written and spoken word. And in the long run, those words proved remarkably durable. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon.

Starting point is 00:16:33 Your support helps make this podcast possible. And I also want to remind everyone about the community groups on Facebook and Discord. That's where everything happens that's outside the podcast. And links to those are available. in the show notes. As always, if you leave a review on any major podcast app or in the above community groups, you too can have it read in the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Marcus Tullius Cicero

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