Cicero, On the Republic

Résumé du document

Marcus Tullus Cicero (106-43 B.C.) was a Roman politician and philosopher. He wrote De Republica in 51 BC while the Roman republic was experiencing a period of political turmoil. Caius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus were competing each other for the leadership of Rome dividing the whole empire and triggering a bloody civil war. Therefore, in this time of troubles, Cicero asserted himself as the defender of the Roman Republic, which he conceived to be the ideal system of government. In this review, I will attempt to show that while the political thought of Cicero was largely influenced by the teachings of the Greek philosophers, he nevertheless brought up new ideas in this work that could be closely related to modern political conceptions.

Extraits

[...] Cicero, On the Republic Marcus Tullus Cicero (106-43 B.C.) was a Roman politician[1] and philosopher. He wrote De Republica in 51 BC while the Roman republic was experiencing a period of political turmoil. Caius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus were competing each other for the leadership of Rome dividing the whole empire and triggering a bloody civil war. Therefore, in this time of troubles, Cicero asserted himself as the defender of the Roman Republic, which he conceived to be the ideal system of government. [...]

[...] However, on the other hand, Cicero didn't try to demonstrate which one was the best since he perceived the Roman republic as the ideal political system. The Roman model was neither a monarchy, nor an aristocracy, nor a democracy but a mixed constitution which brought elements of the three forms of regime described by the Greek philosophers. Moreover, Cicero brought up new ideas which could surprisingly be associated with modern conceptions. Firstly, he perceived the sociability of human nature saying that is not a solitary or unsocial creature, but born with such a nature that not even under conditions of great prosperity of every sort [is he willing to be isolated from his fellow (Cohen and Fermon: 124). [...]

[...] However, throughout this review, I rather attempted to highlight the fact that while Cicero's thought was largely influenced by Greek theories he also developed new ideas which would be later emphasized by modern philosophers. Member of the Senate of Rome, he was elected First Consul in 63 BC. For instance, this assertion could be linked to the conception of Pericles expressed in his Funeral Oration. Later, this Supreme Law would be called Constitution in liberal democracies. Theory of justice: some rules should be defined and equally apply in society. It should not serve the interest of a small group against the people. [...]

[...] Therefore, on the one hand, he reasserted the fact that the first aim of a republic is to serve the “common good” rather than the interest of some individuals[2]. On the other, he mentioned an idea which would be later developed by numerous philosophers such as Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau: a society can only be founded with the agreement of its members creating a kind of social contract between them. Indeed, Cicero wrote scattered and wandering multitude had become body of citizens by mutual agreement” (Cohen and Fermon: 124). An authority can then only rule a society if it was previously accepted by its members. [...]

[...] However, what is the law according to him? He defined the “true as the “right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions” (Cohen and Fermon: 125). On the one hand, the aim of such a law should be to prevent the creation of an arbitrary justice since “Justice is conformity to written laws and national customs”[4] (Cohen and Fermon: 126). [...]