Cicero, caesar and the civil war - Henriette van der Blom on

Cicero in the Late Roman Republic (50s–40s BC)

1. Cicero after Exile

  • After his consulship (63 BC) and later exile and recall, Cicero returned to a changed political environment.

  • His political influence had declined, forcing him to adjust his role.

  • He turned increasingly to writing philosophical and political treatises, including:

    • De Re Publica

    • De Legibus

  • In 51 BC, Cicero served as governor of Cilicia (southern modern Turkey).

  • He returned to Rome in 50 BC, but his return went largely unnoticed due to escalating tensions between Caesar and Pompey.

2. Rising Conflict: Caesar vs Pompey

Key figures:

  • Julius Caesar

  • Pompey the Great

  • Marcus Tullius Cicero

Political Situation

  • Pompey had been sole consul in 52 BC and was the most powerful political figure in Rome.

  • Caesar governed Gaul since 58 BC and sought to stand for consulship in absentia to maintain immunity.

  • Debate over this issue intensified political tensions.

Senate Actions

  • 1 January 49 BC: Senate ordered Caesar to lay down his command or be declared a public enemy (hostis).

  • Tribunes:

    • Marcus Antonius

    • Quintus Cassius Longinus
      attempted to veto the decree but failed and fled to Caesar.

Emergency Decree

  • The Senate issued the senatus consultum ultimum, giving magistrates extraordinary power to protect the state.

  • Similar decree had been used during Cicero’s consulship in 63 BC.

3. Caesar Crosses the Rubicon (Start of Civil War)

  • Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the boundary between his province and Italy.

Key significance:

  • Crossing with an army was illegal.

  • The act effectively declared war on the Senate.

Event:

  • Caesar Crossing the Rubicon

Military situation:

  • Caesar had 11 legions.

  • Pompey had senatorial support and legitimacy but fewer immediate troops.

4. Cicero’s Moral Dilemma

Cicero struggled with which side to support.

Two philosophical options:

Expedient Course

  • Supporting Caesar

  • He had military power and stronger prospects of victory.

Honourable Course

  • Supporting Pompey

  • Represented the Senate and legal authority.

Cicero debated this in letters, especially to:

  • Titus Pomponius Atticus

Eventually:

  • Cicero joined Pompey’s camp in Greece, though reluctantly.

5. Pompey’s Defeat

  • Caesar defeated Pompey at:

Event:

  • Battle of Pharsalus

Aftermath:

  • Pompey fled to Egypt.

  • He was murdered at Alexandria.

Cicero’s reaction:

  • Quickly recognised Caesar’s victory.

  • Returned to Italy seeking Caesar’s pardon.

6. Caesar’s Clemency

Caesar was famous for pardoning political enemies.

Cicero eventually received pardon after a long and humiliating wait.

Cicero avoided political confrontation and:

  • withdrew from public life

  • delivered few speeches

  • focused on defence speeches and philosophical writing

7. Speech for Marcellus (46 BC)

Cicero gave a Senate speech praising Caesar’s pardon of:

  • Marcus Claudius Marcellus

Purpose:

  • Thank Caesar

  • Attempt to influence his political direction.

However, Cicero’s political influence remained limited.

8. Caesar’s Rule

Before the civil war, Cicero feared Caesar would:

  • cancel debts

  • recall exiles

  • elevate disreputable men

  • begin proscriptions

But Caesar ruled relatively moderately and attempted reforms addressing:

  • economic issues

  • social instability

  • military organisation

9. Cicero’s Philosophical Writing

During Caesar’s dominance, Cicero focused on writing.

Purpose:

  • Translate Greek philosophy into Latin

  • Create Latin philosophical terminology

  • Discuss political themes indirectly.

His works often addressed:

  • ideal state

  • moral behaviour in society

  • political ethics

Thus philosophy became an outlet for political thought.

10. Caesar’s Assassination (44 BC)

Event:

  • Assassination of Julius Caesar

Date:

  • 15 March 44 BC (the Ides of March)

Result:

  • Major power vacuum in Rome.

11. Cicero vs Mark Antony

Cicero opposed:

  • Mark Antony

He temporarily allied with:

  • Augustus

to defeat Antony.

Cicero delivered a series of speeches attacking Antony:

Work:

  • Philippics

There are 14 surviving speeches.

12. Second Triumvirate and Cicero’s Death

Antony eventually allied with:

  • Augustus

  • Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

Event:

  • Second Triumvirate

Their first actions included proscriptions (state-sanctioned killings).

Cicero was high on the list and was killed in December 43 BC.

13. Cicero’s Legacy

  • Cicero’s works survived and shaped historical understanding of the late Republic.

  • His depiction of Antony as a drunken, immoral brute influenced later historical perceptions.

Key Quotes

Cicero’s reduced influence

“He returned to a Rome where his own situation was quite different – he was not as politically influential as he had been before.”

Caesar’s legal justification

“This fact, that the veto was not allowed, was later used by Caesar to claim law and justice on his side.”

Crossing the Rubicon

“By crossing the Rubicon, Caesar in effect declares war on the Senate.”

Cicero’s moral dilemma

“Caesar was the expedient course… but Pompey was the honourable course.”

Cicero’s political anxiety

“For months, Cicero wavered.”

Pompey’s failure

“Cicero considered this departure… as very stupid and as a cowardly act which ignored the duty towards the fatherland.”

Caesar’s moderation

“Although Caesar was in a very powerful position… he tried to be quite moderate in his reforms.”

Philosophy as politics

“These treatises can also be seen as a kind of outlet for Cicero’s political views.”

Cicero’s lasting influence

“Cicero’s version still lives on in our notion of what the late Republic was.”