Cicero's political ideas

What were the key problems of late Republican Rome? (5 Points)

• Landless plebs and veterans

• The debts of Roman and provincial citizens hindering trade and taxation

• Corrupt behaviour of Roman politicians both in Rome and when governing the provinces

• Political violence: urban gangs organised by politicians fighting on the streets of Rome

• A disunited Senate

What political ideal did Cicero develop during the Catiline Revolt in 63?

Concordia Ordinum

What does the term ‘Concordia Ordinum’ mean?

‘harmony of the orders’, where the senatorial class and the equestrian class work together to govern the res publica

When did Cicero develop his political ideal ‘Come dignitate otium’?

When he defended a young senator, Sestius in 56 against the charge of violence.

What does the term ‘Come dignitate otium’ mean?

‘Peace with dignity’, is the goal of the boni and optimates when captaining the ship of state and so maintaining the religious, legal and political status quo of the res publica

What were the strengths of Cicero’s Concordia Ordinum and Come Dignitate Otium? (3 Points)

a) some recognition that late Republic has serious problems

b) he identified specific problems in Rome e.g. mob violence & provincial

corruption

c) a vision of how the two top classes (senatorial and equestrian) might work together

What were the weaknesses of Cicero’s Concordia Ordinum and Come Dignitate Otium? (4 Points)

a) no solutions for socio-economic problems,

b) no solutions for dealing with the expansion of the Empire

c) no solutions for the Increasingly professional army

d) no solutions for dealing with excessive aristocratic competition

How did Cicero challenge provincial corruption?

He aimed to expose and stop the exploitation of the provinces by corrupt governors e.g. the verres trial

What was Cicero’s ‘Rhetoric of crisis’?

The fight against tyranny and domination: during the civil war where he argued that the SPQR had two options ‘war or slavery’

What does Gwynn (2012) say in criticism of Pompey’s political ideals?

‘His state was an ideal, not a reality’