June 4th, 2024
The book starts with a preface on why the author wrote the book and about his historical significance. An absurd amount of his letters have survived. Then it goes into a very dramatic account of the assassination of Julius Caesar, not bad. The first chapter describes the Roman government by the time of Cicero. The Roman system was very, very complicated and not always logical. The Republic was designed to keep a single man from amassing power. I’ve read about consuls and quaestors and what have you multiple times and I still don’t get it. It worked because nobody tried to break it, though it was impossible to change. With a static constitution, the government could not adapt to the large expansion out of Italy and the increase of plebians. There were layers of class tension, between rich and poor, citizen and non-citizen. The citizen soldier was dead by now, replaced by the professional. They wanted land in retirement, land the rich did not want to give. Reformers like the Gracchi were killed outright. A fire waiting to happen. The next chapter starts on Cicero’s family. His grandfather was a rich conservative local politician, not of Roman but Volscian descent. Thus Cicero had competing identities. His father was sickly and more studious.
July 12th, 2024
Back to this book. I’m not really reading at home anymore, so the dual book days are on home. I read the second chapter a while back but never wrote about it. It wasn’t so much about Cicero as about Rome when he arrived. Cicero was a teen and student in the era of Sulla’s dictatorship and all the uncertainty and violence that went with it. He was associated with some of the leading men at this time, though I can’t remember them. He would have leaned towards Sulla’s conservative ways, but did not approve of the violence and purges. Once he was older and Rome cooled down, he began his career as a lawyer. There was quite a bit about the cursus honorum and the Forum, but you can look all that up on Wikipedia. I didn’t retain much of it, but there were some nice maps and pictures of the Forum. Most of Cicero’s cases came through connections, since he was then an unknown. He gained some fame for one of his first cases, which was a a ballsy one. He defended a man who was a target of a conspiracy by one of Sulla’s leading men. Cicero persuaded the jury and thinks were set aright. What happened to those guys is lost to history, but at least Cicero did not get any retribution from Sulla.
July 15th, 2024
Cicero gained fame and got more cases. In 79 BC, at age 27, he married. Soon after he and some dudes left for Greece. They spent a lot of time in Athens and then studied some rhetoric to improve his speaking. Cicero was a big fan of Athens. Soon after returning home he had a daughter, but when exactly is unknown. Once he turned 30 he ran for Questor, this being the minimum age set by Sulla (who died while Cicero was away). He won, presumably urging his friends, family, and the people of his rural hometown to vote for him. This did not have much power but allowed one to join the Senate. His position took him to Sicily while his family stayed in Rome. He was in charge of tax collection and he also did some advocating. Sicily owed 10% of its grain to Rome, with possible additional compulsory purchase as necessary. He planned ahead to get fair prices and didn’t skim off the top, earning him much esteem and respect from the locals. He also found Archimedes’ tomb. After his term he returned to Rome with the understanding that he needed to be seen. He would always be available and not take another foreign office. At this time, the Senate’s main adversaries seemed to be Pompey and Crassus. Pompey was a young general who gained fame under Sulla, was well liked and popular, and had just put down the rebellion in Spain. Crassus was a general in his 40s and seemed to not have real political convictions, just advancing himself. He used people as needed, and Cicero was not a fan of him. Crassus just put down Spartacus’ rebellion, but, to his chagrin, Pompey arrived in time to do little and get lots of credit. They did not like each other but teamed up to run as Consuls, knowing the Senate liked strong generals very little. They won, though Pompey was technically not qualified, being too young and not holding the correct offices.
July 16th, 2024
Cicero’s career was going well. He mostly defended but took a prominent prosecution case from the people of Sicily against their governor. Note that at this time, Sulla had reformed juries so that only senators could sit on them. Very corrupt. The governor was extorting and using his position for insane levels of monetary gain. He was well connected and things were being arranged so that the case would drag on until the new consul could take office and drop the charge. Cicero acted fast and aggressively and dominated the court case. The governor fled before he could be convicted, but he was declared guilty in absentia. Cicero would go on to defend men just like that, saying it’s the judges job to determine truth and that a defender must argue plausibility. He then was climbing up the ladder, becoming Aedile and then Praetor. His goal was to become Consul “in his year” and his chances were pretty good.
July 18th, 2024
His main competitor for Consul was Catilina. A lot of terrible things were said about Catilina, but most of it was probably exaggeration and propaganda. That said, he did commit murders in the Sulla purges, specifically a cousin of Cicero. His main platform was debt cancellation, since the economy was rough as Mithridates was rebelling again in the Pontus. Pompey was sent to deal with that. Crassus and his lackey, Caesar, were backing Catilina, though not very openly. The optimates begrudgingly backed Cicero since he was the only conservative leaning contender, though he espoused popular sentiments for votes. There was an alleged plot by Catilina to overthrow the government, but this one probably was not true. Cicero won the election along with an Antonius, who essentially let Cicero run the show in return for his future governorship (that is, free money). Caesar created a problem with some sort of show trial against a guy who allegedly killed someone back in the Sulla days or the class war. It was some strange ancient law and it kind of went nowhere, but I guess Caesar made his point. I think he became Pontifex Maximus at this time. The next year Cicero ran for Consul again and so did Catilina. Catilina lost again and now really plotted against the government. He was going to kill Cicero and other leading Senators. The plot was leaked by a woman to Cicero’s wife, but Cicero could not convince the Senate to act without more evidence. He started to wear a breast plate. The day for the killing was supposed to be election day, but that came and passed without incident.
July 24th, 2024
Cicero doesn’t do much as a Senator. He started to stay in the country and relax. I think this Pulcher fellow was one of Cicero’s followers at first, but Cicero prosecuted him and now there was bad blood. Cicero couldn’t keep his mouth shut with rumors about Pulcher and his sister, either. Pulcher was in the populares camp and wanted power. Caesar had use for him. Caesar became Consul and formed a secret alliance with the most important men in Rome: Pompey and Crassus. Cicero was approached, but declined, hoping to still save the Roman government from itself. The Triumvirate schemed to get their agendas through, succeeded, and then Caesar set himself up for a nice governorship, in which he will conquer Gaul. Before this he was governor in Spain and put down a rebellion, finding generalship natural to him. Meanwhile, Pulcher gave up his patrician rank to be a plebeian and run for Tribune. As Tribune, he target Cicero for his execution of Catilina’s conspirators. He essentially took over the city with gangs, a full time force. Cicero was forced to leave the city and go into exile.
July 23rd, 2024
No time to write yesterday. The consulship is essentially the highlight of Cicero’s life, especially the foiling of Catilina’s plot. Crassus came to Cicero with an unsigned, possibly forged, letter warning him of Catilina. Plus he had an inside woman, so he had plenty of information. My sequence of events is probably wrong. Cicero argued in front of the Senate, including Catilina. Something happened, maybe a lawsuit, and eventually Catilina left Rome and raised some forces nearby. Then his lackey tried to bribe some Gauls to attack Rome, who then went to their patron who sent them to Cicero. This was what he needed. Cicero arrested the men and there was debate about whether Cicero could have theme executed without trial. Only Caesar fought against the death penalty. Ultimately the Senate decided to execute them. An army was sent to fight Catilina’s ragtag group, and Catilina died fighting. Soon Pompey returned from war, with King Mithridates committing suicide. Pompey had spent some administrative time and created several governorships in the east. Returning to Italy, he disbanded his army and entered Rome as a private citizen. The Senate still feared him and fought everything he did, even though he leaned towards the conservative side. Things were not going well for Pompey, and though Cicero tried to have an ally in him, it was not reciprocated. Something else was going on with a Clodius Pulcher and his family, don’t remember, but he’s going to be a thorn for Cicero.
July 26th, 2024
Yesterday and today read the exile chapter, but he’s not in exile for long. He spends a year or so in Greece at a friend’s, but is pretty depressed and mopey. Not too interesting except a lot of his property is destroyed in Italy. In Rome it is chaos and Clodius and his gangs hold the city hostage. They even go against the triumvirate. Eventually some order is restored and new elections are held. With Pompey’s help, and Cicero’s friend Atticus’, Cicero is allowed to return. To his chagrin, Cicero more or less becomes a puppet for the triumvirate. If his goal is peace and order, I guess he didn’t have much choice. With some bloodshed, the gangs are dispersed. Cicero gains some influence on Pompey, but Caesar wins in the end. He comes up with a new scheme to keep the triumvirate together and it works. Some years pass (Clodius is killed in a highway brawl). Two big events lead to the destruction of the triumvirate. First, Caesar’s daughter, the wife of Pompey, dies. Second, Crassus, fighting in Parthia, dies. Now it’s Caesar and Pompey with no intermediate. A recipe for disaster.
July 29th, 2024
In the late 50s Cicero writes two books: De Res Publica and De Legibus. Both only survive partially. I thought they’d be interesting but the author makes them seem dull. It seems Cicero is more of an idealist in these books than a realist, discussing how great the Roman constitution and laws are in idea, but the don’t address the problems of his day. The main problems being the government-toppling strength individual generals have and the timebomb that is the rivalry between populari and optimates. Next chapter we see how Caesar and Pompey fall apart. Pompey, sole consul, gets some laws through that foil some of Caesar’s plans to become consul and keep his diplomatic immunity, namely forcing a delay from consulship to governorship of 5 years. He also marries a conservative senator’s daughter, tying him close to the optimate camp. Thus these two men are just another product of the century long battle. That 5-year law has the effect of making the planned governorships fall apart, and Cicero is called to govern in Asia Minor. He does this begrudgingly, especially since his predecessor is another Clodius. Cicero is successful, as in Sicily, because he does not abuse the people and is fair. He does have some Parthian problems on his hands and so brings Quintus and another guy for military knowledge. There are some fights and Cicero is hailed imperator, then I think he aids a vassal border king against rebellion. An interesting year.
July 30th, 2024
The rest of his governorship was less eventful. He mediated some conflicts between tax collectors and the populace. One shock was the outrageous moneylending schemes of Brutus, supposedly an up-and-up fellow, despite the prohibition on Senators from doing such. He expected Cicero to help him, and with rude letters. Cicero then sailed home and the situation in Rome was not good. The climax was coming to a head and the city was paralyzed. The Senate and Pompey were unprepared for Caesar’s armed return. He crossed the Rubicon in the night, “iacta alea est”, and was unopposed all the way to Rome. The Senate fled the city and Pompey had no army prepared. Cicero left for his villa and was tasked by Pompey with defending Campania, to his chagrin. Cicero was on team Pompey, and still on good terms with Caesar, but was disappointed with Pompey’s conduct after fleeing Rome.
July 31st, 2024
Cicero remained publicly uncommitted, hoping to broker peace, but privately was an optimate. Caesar was actively wooing Cicero, but Cicero still waivered and seems to have been quite useless to any sort of negotiations. Caesar took Rome without a fight and was lenient towards his prisoners, releasing them on parole. Most went right back to fighting. He did lose some face after taking the treasury. After a face-to-face meeting with Cicero, it was seen that any alliance was not going to happen. Cicero snuck off for Greece to meet Pompey, where he was again unhelpful and depressed. Caesar eventually took the fight to Pompey. Though Pompey had more men, he was not the better general. The Battle of Pharsalus was a total rout and Pompey fled. Quintus angrily went back to Caesar after following his brother and Cicero sulked back to Italy. Brutus was a Pompey man despite Pompey killing his father in the Sulla wars, plus he was a nephew of Cato. After this defeat, he went to Caesar who, awkwardly to me, used to bang his mom on the side. Regardless of the reason, they were close and Caesar was glad to have him. It was Brutus who told Caesar that Pompey would likely be in Egypt. The war continues.
August 1st, 2024
Pompey did head to Egypt but never made it. He was deceived by the Egyptians and killed. They presented his head to Caesar, who allegedly wept. Then he and Cleopatra had their alliance and he spent half a year or more going native. The optimates were still organizing in Africa and Mark Antony was poorly managing Italy. Mithrandates son started another rebellion and Cicero was on house arrest, essentially, in Brundisium. Eventually Caesar returns, reconquers the Pontus in 5 days (veni, vidi, vici), and either goes to Africa or Italy, I forget which first. He meets Cicero and forgives him, and Cicero returns to Rome for some ennui. Caesar defeats the optimates in Africa, who allied with the Mauritians, and Cato commits suicide before bowing to Caesar. A huge blow to Caesar’s popularity. Caesar has his triumph and I guess gets to leading the government. Cicero turns to writing, as he has little to do and few friends in this post-Republic pre-Empire Rome. Oh, he got divorced, too.
August 2nd, 2024
Now Caesar administers. As far as Cicero goes, he and Caesar were still on friendly terms and he acted as intermediary between Caesar and the optimates. He still hoped for a return to Constitutional order. However, Pompey’s sons raised rebellion in Spain which Caesar barely crushed. Back in Rome, Caesar was planning to fight the Parthians next. It became clear by 46 BC that Caesar, now elected Dictator for 10 years, would not relinquish power. Cicero angered him by writing a book on Cato, and Caesar wrote one against Cato, which was bad PR. Sometime during this the worst thing that could happen to Cicero happened: his daughter died. Tullia had not recovered after giving birth and a few weeks later died, and the son only lived a few months. Cicero was destroyed and left Rome for his most secluded villa to hide in the woods. It took him months to have be able to act “normally” and reappear in public. Poor fella.
August 5th, 2024
The next chapter is about all the things Cicero wrote between 46 and 44 BC. It was a pretty boring chapter. He wrote mostly about philosophy and speaking. He wanted to remind people what a good orator he was and knock down the current trend of speaking plainly and correctly without emotion (aka boringly). The next few chapters will be solely about 44 BC and 43 BC, the years Caesar and Cicero are killed. Even in 45 there was some discussion of killing Caesar. Marc Antony was invited into a conspiracy and did not report it to Caesar. Very disloyal of him. Caesar had some major Senators in his camp while there was hope he would restore the constitution and their power. Caesar had other plans. He was the executive, but I guess his clemency was his undoing. If he had killed his opposition in the Senate he would have likely made it to his Parthian campaign. What happened after that is too much speculation, but it would definitely be a different history. Caesar was appearing more and more the monarch, which men like Brutus and Cassius could not stand.
August 7th, 2024
There was no way out for Caesar. Some things were staged to make him look less the monarch, but the conspirators wanted him gone, permanently. Maybe a few years fighting the Persians would have lowered tensions, but we’ll never know. There were no compromises being made, so Caesar got got. The Senators did not have much of a plan for afterwards and thought everything would just go back to the old ways. Cicero would’ve killed Antony, too, as Cassius wanted to do. However, Brutus thought that was plain murder. The conspirators did little to quell the two big groups who favored Caesar: the loyal soldiery and the bureaucrats. Antony also neglected the bureaucrats in his aims to be Caesar’s political heir. Caesar’s actual heir, Octavius, was made public at the funeral, which was a big spectacle leading to rioting. Octavius came to get his rights, possibly urged by the bureaucratic camp. He was only 18, and his step-father was Cicero’s neighbor.
August 8th, 2024
Now we have a three-way rivalry for power: Octavian, Antony, and the Senate. All are competing for soldiers and the moderates. Antony is still Consul so has real power, while Octavian is illegally recruiting soldiers. The Senate has no one. The tide ebbs and flows and eventually Octavian tries to ally with Cicero and get the Senate on his side. It takes months for Cicero to agree to anything. Meanwhile, Antony is making for Italian Gaul before his Consulship is up to take over and get its legions from a conspirator. Technically legal as Consul, but questionable. The Senate is convened in December, against tradition, with Cicero speaking in favor of Octavian. Somehow he hoped this would lead to Senatorial strength. Brutus and Cassius had taken foreign postings and in theory had access to troops. Will a showdown happen? Octavian has little experience. He fought with Caesar in Gaul, but he is no soldier.
August 12th, 2024
Finished the book. Things at first looked like they were going Cicero’s way. The Consuls met Antony in battle at Messina (or something like that) and drove him from the field. Unfortunately, both Consuls died in battle and the Republican government was then at a standstill. Antony was still at large and brought legions in the nearby provinces to his side. Octavian and Cicero were not as close as they may have seemed, and both were only using each other as needed. Octavian and Antony met and formed a new triumvirate with Lepidus. Part of this meeting was how to gain power and money: proscriptions. The irony seems to me that by killing Julius Caesar, the conspirators brought about a much worse and authoritarian outcome. At least Caesar was, and hopefully would have continued to be, a lenient man. Certainly on Antony’s list was his number one enemy in the Senate: Cicero. And that was it. Cicero and Quintus tried to flee the country but made some mistakes along the way. Quintus went back for money and he and his son Quintus were killed. Cicero went every which way except out to sea and was caught and killed. His head and hand were cut off and given to Antony, who displayed them on the Rostrum. That ends the story of Cicero. Brutus and Cassius commit suicide after the triumvirate win at Phillipi the following year. Octavian and Antony split the empire west & east for 10 years before another war, ending with Antony’s suicide. Little Marcus would be Consul and had a good career, like his father, though he was troubled by drink. Atticus would survive and eventually Cicero’s correspondences would be made public. His daughter, a favorite of Cicero, would marry Agrippa. Augustus, despite his hand in Cicero’s death, would speak positively of the man who once was his ally.