Faculty Book Review--October 2002
Anthony
Everitt’s
Cicero:
The Life & Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
By John Booth
"The
people's good is the highest law"
--Marcus Tullius Cicero
Friends
and foes alike have found it rather amusing to criticize my distain for (and
perhaps considerable lack of
knowledge in) the Ancient Western world. For better or for worse,
rather than to continue in my ignorant ways, it seemed only proper to delve
into one of the newest available biographies covering a figure usually
revered by experts in the field of antiquity and the
West.
Anthony Everitt’s venture into the life and times
Marcus Tullius Cicero provides one with a clear sense of the political
zeitgeist during the latter years of the turbulent Roman Republic.
Furthermore, via Everitt's resplendent effort, the political ideals
espoused by Cicero shed considerable light as to the origins of popular
Western political thought, both in modern Europe as well as within the
United States.
The Cambridge-trained Professor Everitt bases much of
his narrative on Cicero’s letters to his good friend and confidant Atticus
as well as other scant sources of the time period. The story of Cicero’s
life is juxtaposed on the life of Rome’s Republic from the years 106 BCE. to
Cicero’s death in 43 BCE.. Early on, the reader finds not all is well in
Rome. The powers that be do not share in Cicero’s love of his unique
and "perfect" brand of government—one that favors “not monarchy nor
oligarchy nor democracy, but a combination of all three.” As the book
begins, Julius Caesar is in power but as we
all know too well, his reign will be short-lived, bloodied by the hands of
Brutus and other politicians who abhorred Caesar’s new political vision for
Rome.
Backtracking chronologically from that fateful moment, Everitt introduces us
to the teenage Cicero, slight in build but strong in mind and soul. From an
early age Cicero was admired by his schoolmates for his academic prowess as
well as his strong sense of humor. As was the norm for most Roman boys of
his era, Cicero acquired his vast base of knowledge through repetition and
imitation. Greek language (as well as Latin) and thought permeated the
curriculum. Rhetoric, the art of public speaking, was a skill highly
emphasized at a very early age. Over time, Cicero would learn to
master the art of oration better than any man alive in Rome.
With his abundant skills, Cicero entered his early adult years longing to enter the public/political sphere. Laws prevented him from doing so until the age of 26 when he finally became an advocate or lawyer for the people of Rome. His work took him daily to the hallowed grounds of the Forum where all matters of Roman life took place—be it political, religious or commercial. By positioning himself at the physical and intellectual center of Roman politics, Cicero became a Senator by age 30 and later assumed the lofty role of Consul by age 40.
Not solely focused on the rise of Cicero, Everitt’s book is best when it describes the “down and dirty” politics of the Forum and ancient Rome. Politics was seen as a contact sport and political opponents went for the jugular--not stopping with just character assassinations. Accusations of bribery, murder and like kept politicos on their proverbial toes. Attempts on one’s life were not uncommon as means to settle disputes or to wipe out one’s political opponents. When compared to the politics of today, Rome ironically enough, seemed like a pretty wild and uncivilized place at times.
Cicero’s dream for Rome was that it remain a Republic, free from the excesses of the masses or populares. It was the optimates or the conservatives that understood best the virtues of a country bound by a constitution and buoyed by tradition. Unfortunately, those in power like Pompey, Crassius and the increasingly powerful Julius Caesar saw the need for government to be more supportive of the common man--whether they actually believed this to be true or not--support of the masses was deemed critical to political success. Land redistribution plans and tax abatements threatened to throw the Republic into complete disarray. Cicero tried in vain to find "virtuous" men to run the government of Rome—even using less-than-savory means to promote the likes of Octavian (Caesar’s nephew), later know as Emperor Augustus.
Yet, when all else failed, Cicero was able to retire to his books and to his writings. His “compendium of classical thought had a huge influence on the continuing development of western philosophy.” Through Cicero's writings we come to learn of his zealous belief in loyalty to the state--a virtue that transcended all other virtues. In the end, his ideals cost him his life. Still, the early Christian church regarded him a as “virtuous pagan.” Everitt argues Cicero provided essential models to the thinkers of the Renaissance and those who revived the concepts of Republicanism were deeply indebted to the man and his ideals. America's own John Adams called him the greatest "statesman and philosopher combined."
Perhaps there might have been better ways for me to spend an early October fall weekend. Still, for a brief moment, I was able to share in the tensions, passions and upheavals of the last years of the Roman Republic. I saw debauchery, trickery, lechery, and downright dishonesty. But I also saw loyalty, fidelity, and the benefits of constancy. For by looking at the life of Cicero, one saw human nature at its worst and finest—not only in the man himself but also in his adopted motherland of Rome.