en>Argentum 1976 |
|
| (31 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| '''Marcus Tullius Cicero''' ([[January 3]], [[106 BC]] – [[December 7]], [[43 BC]]) was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[philosopher]], [[statesman]], [[lawyer]], [[political theorist]], and [[Constitution of the Roman Republic|Roman constitutionalist]]. He was member of a wealthy family of the [[equestrian order]], and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest [[rhetoric|orators]] and prose stylists.<ref>[[Elizabeth Rawson|Rawson, E.]]: ''Cicero, a portrait'' (1975) p.303</ref><ref> Haskell, H.J.: ''This was Cicero'' (1964)p.300-301</ref> | | {{Stub}} |
| | [[File:cicero.png|thumb|Cicero]] |
| | '''Marcus Tullius Cicero''' was a [[Roman]] statesman, lawyer, [[fascist]], scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the [[Roman Empire]]. His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics, and he is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC. His influence on the Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime, and it has been said that subsequent prose was eiTher a reaction against or a return to his style, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century. For his faithful service, he became a model of Roman virtue, and a role model for such figures as [[Mussolini]], [[George Washington]]. |
|
| |
|
| Cicero is generally held to be one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome. He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of [[Greek philosophy]] and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as [[humanitas]], qualitas, quantitas, and essentia <ref>Conte, G.B.: "Latin Literature: a history" (1987) p.199</ref> ) distinguishing himself as a [[linguist]], translator, and philosopher. An impressive orator and successful lawyer, Cicero thought that his political career was his most important achievement. Today, he is appreciated primarily for his humanism and philosophical and political writings. His voluminous correspondence, much of it addressed to his friend [[Titus Pomponius Atticus|Atticus]], has been especially influential, introducing the art of refined letter writing to European culture. [[Cornelius Nepos]], the 1st-century BC biographer of Atticus, remarked that Cicero's letters contained such a wealth of detail "concerning the inclinations of leading men, the faults of the generals, and the revolutions in the government" that their reader had little need for a history of the period.<ref>Cornelius Nepos, ''[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nepos.htm#Atticus Atticus]'' 16, trans. John Selby Watson.</ref>. Cicero's speeches and letters remain some of the most important primary sources that survive on the last days of the [[Roman Republic]].
| |
|
| |
|
| During the chaotic latter half of the first century B.C. marked by [[Roman civil wars|civil wars]] and the dictatorship of [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]], Cicero championed a return to the traditional [[Roman Republic|republican]] government. However, his career as a statesman was marked by inconsistencies and a tendency to shift his position in response to changes in the political climate. His indecision may be attributed to his sensitive and impressionable personality; he was prone to overreaction in the face of political and private change. "Would that he had been able to endure prosperity with greater self-control and adversity with more fortitude!" wrote [[Gaius Asinius Pollio (consul 40 BC)|C. Asinius Pollio]], a contemporary Roman statesman and historian.<ref>Haskell, H.J.:"This was Cicero" (1964) p.296</ref><ref> Castren and Pietilä-Castren: "Antiikin käsikirja" /"Handbook of antiquity" (2000) p.237</ref>
| | == References == |
| | {{reflist|2}} |
|
| |
|
| {{wikipedia}}
| | [[Category:People]] |
| [[Category:106 BC births]] | |
| [[Category:43 BC deaths]]
| |
| [[Category:Roman]]
| |
| [[Category:Philosophers]] | | [[Category:Philosophers]] |
| ==References==
| | [[Category:Fascists]] |
| <references/>
| | [[Category:Politicians]] |
| | |
| [[da:Cicero]]
| |
| [[de:Marcus Tullius Cicero]]
| |
| [[es:Cicerón]]
| |
| [[hu:cicero]]
| |
| [[no:Cicero]]
| |
| [[ro:cicero]] | |
| [[sv:Cicero]] | |
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, fascist, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics, and he is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC. His influence on the Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime, and it has been said that subsequent prose was eiTher a reaction against or a return to his style, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century. For his faithful service, he became a model of Roman virtue, and a role model for such figures as Mussolini, George Washington.
References
