Define: Cicero?

Question

Define: Cicero?

Answer 1

Marcus Tullius Cicero (his full name in Latin) was a statement, political theorist, lawyer, philosopher and orator of Ancient Rome. He was born in Arpinum in 106 BC. He received from his father an excellent philosophical and rhetoric education in Rome. After his first oration (Pro Quinctio, 81 BC) he became very famous in 82 BC when he defended with a great success Roscius Amerinus from the accusation of parricide. Then he was elected consul in 63 BC and he took a decisive part in denouncing Catilina's conspiracy. In his Catiline Oration he boasted of saving Rome from the disaster. Unfortunately he was exiled from Rome in 58 BC after being accused of an illegal behaviour but one year later he came back Rome with all of his honours. At that time he wrote his best works and he took part only in a marginal way in the politics that it was interested in the triumviral between Caesar Crassus and Pompeus. In these years Cicero puplished his 2 works "De oratore" (55 BC) and "De republica" (51 BC). He was elected proconsul in Cilicia in from 51 to 50 BC. After his return in Rome he had to decided in taking side of Caesar Crassus or Pompeus and after a long indecision he decided to reach the Pompeians in Greece. After being forgiven from Caesar, he came back Italy but in the senate he pronounced the "Caesarian orations" in which he asked leniency towards other Pompeians. Owing to his political irresolution he was not invited in taking part of the cospirancy against Caesar (44 BC). He got close to the politics again and he persuaded the Senate in declaring Antonius public enemy and he approached near Octavianus but when it was formed the second triumviral, he was reached and assassinated in Formia (43 BC) by Antonius' hired killers.

It is difficult and controversial for many people to form an opinion of a complicated personality like Cicero; he has a weak character, he was a vain person, a very cultured man but poor in speculative abilities. But we cannot ignored the importance of his political figure, his great literary contribution and his divulgation of Greek literature in Rome.

Some of his quotes are:

1- "Aegroto dum anima est, spes est."

Translation: "As long as a sick person is conscious, there is still hope." Commonly "While there's life there's hope."

2- "Fortuna caeca est."

(Fortune is blind)

Answer 2

it's the latin name for Cicerone, we can think at him as the most important lawyer in the ancient Rome

he was very good in speech, at senators or judges, and this made his name become symbol of "Guida"=when someone brings someone else to visit some places he's been called cicerone if he knows a lot of informations about it and he can explain that very well...