Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) was a Roman orator, statesman, and man of letters who was born near Arpinum, in Latium. He was involved in many political events of his time, and he also wrote about them. That was the time of decline and fall of the Roman Republic.

He was trained for political life partly at Rome and partly at Athens, distinguished himself as the first orator at the Roman bar when he was 30, and afterwards rose through the successive grades of civic rank till he attained the consulship in 63 BC. During this period he acquired great popularity by his exposure and defeat of the conspiracy of Catiline, by which he earned the title of Father of his Country, though there were those who condemned his action and procured his banishment for a time. On his recall, which was unanimous, he took sides first with Pompey, then with Cæsar after Pharsalia, on whose death he delivered a Philippic against Antony.

Cicero was proscribed by the second triumvirate, and put to death by Antony's soldiers. He was, without doubt, the foremost of Roman orators, the most elegant writer of the Latin language, and has left behind him orations, letters, and treatises, very models of their kind, though he was not a deep thinker, and his philosophy was more eclectic than original.

Wisdom & Quotes

• Persistence in one opinion has never been considered a merit in political leaders.

- Ad Familiare

• Justice is the crowning glory of the virtues.

- De Officiis

• The function of wisdom is discriminating between good and evil.

- De Officiis

• Laws are silent in time of war.

- Pro Milone

• Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.

- De Oratore

• The works of nature must all be accounted good.

- De Senectute

• Nothing quite new is perfect.

- Brutus

• The name of peace is sweet and the thing itself is good, but between peace and slavery there is the greatest difference.

- Philippics

• The sinews of war , unlimited money.

- Philippic, V

• In the common people there is no wisdom, no penetration, no power of judgement.

- Pro Planchio

• The people's good is the highest law.

- De Legibus

• Let the punishment match the offence.

- De Legibus

• There is nothing so ridiculous but some philosopher has said it.

- De Devinatione

• We are all motivated by a keen desire for praise, and the better a man is, the more he is inspired by glory.

- Pro Archia

• Reason is the ruler and queen of all things.

- Tusculanae Disputationes

• O tempora! O mores!

O the times ! O the manners!
- In Catilinam

• Victory is by nature insolent and haughty.

- Pro Marcello

Gaius Julius Caesar