"The nature of the law is not to change under external influence, not to succumb to strong oppression, not to corrupt under the temptation of money."
He was one of the most talented philosophers in Rome and the second encyclopedic figure since Aristotle, on par with St. Augustine.
He was one of the most influential statesmen in Rome, serving as consul, senate, and governor, and was among the ranks of Caesar, Pompey, and Augustus, and was conferred the title of "Father of the Fatherland" by the Senate.
He was known as the "King of Latin", making Latin replace Greek as a carrier of european high culture.
He was the most famous orator in Roman history, forming the "Cicero style".
Julius Caesar said, "Your merits are higher than those of a great military general." Expanding the realm of human knowledge is more valuable in the sense than expanding the territory of the Roman Empire. ”
He was Cicero.
Cicero's name has always been associated with ancient Roman history.
Cicero bust, 1st century BC, in the Museum of the Temple of Jupiter
For one day that humanity lives on earth, the glorious Cicero will not fade from their memories for a single day!
—Villejuius Patelkurus
Cicero has been used for completely different purposes by authors of very different positions throughout his long history. Inspired by Cicero, Augustine interpreted Cicero in such a variety of ways that he became one of the few must-read authors for medieval scholastic scholars. During the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, his work remained a classic text recognized by scholars of all schools.
--McIntyre
Cicero Anti-Catillin, Mural, 1881, Cesare Maccari
1. The philosophy of "On divinity" is a gift from God, a skill of healing the soul
Does God exist?
What is God's nature?
What is God's relationship with the world?
Man is not only a creature of the earth, but also an observer of the firmament, able to see everything in the firmament above his head.
Only an arrogant fool would think there is nothing greater in the world than himself. Therefore, there must be something greater than man.
There is a skill of healing the soul, and I mean philosophy, and asking for help from philosophy must not be sought outwardly in the same way as it is in the treatment of physical ailments, and we must do everything in our power to make ourselves our own doctors.
Theology is an integral part and extension of Cicero's philosophical study. In Cicero's view, the so-called nature of the gods, the existence of the gods, and other issues are philosophical problems. These questions are closely related to life beliefs and happiness in life, and philosophers must think deeply.
2. "The State Chapter, The Law Chapter", a must-read book to understand the development of classical politics and legal culture in the West
What nature gives to mankind
What is the most outstanding wealth that people enjoy
What is the purpose of our birth and living in this world to pursue and achieve
What unites people
Only when it is all clear can the source of law and justice be revealed.
Human similarity is clearly manifested in human tendencies toward goodness as well as in evil tendencies. For pleasure attracts all men; although it is a temptation that leads to evil, it also has certain possibilities for leading to the goodness of nature.
Greatness belongs to Greece, and glory belongs to Rome. The state is the property of a nation. A people is a collective of many people united by an agreement on justice and a partnership for the common good.
Law is intellect. The source of justice should be found in the law, because the law is a force of nature. It is the intellect and rationality of intelligent people, the measure of justice and injustice.
The book is written with the most successful use of dialogue, and Cicero's law is in fact the law of his ideal republic. His republican ideas, based on the wisdom of his predecessors, originated in the Roman Republic, and at the same time made the necessary improvements. Cicero's greatest contribution to the development of Roman law was that he introduced the idea of natural law derived from ancient Greece into Roman law, thus greatly promoting the development of Roman law.
3. "On Old Age, On Friendship, on Responsibility" Cicero summed up his lifelong experience in politics, making friends, and asking for studies, and inspired modern people to settle down and live a classic
Green apples are difficult to pluck from trees, and ripe apples automatically fall to the ground. Life is like an apple, death in youth is the result of external forces, and death in old age is a natural phenomenon after maturity. I think the 'mature' stage of approaching death is very cute.
A man, his true friend, is his other self. In addition to wisdom, friendship is the best thing that the immortal gods have given to mankind. What is the point of living without the comfort that can be seen in mutual goodwill among friends? Wherever you go, friendship is always by your side. It's everywhere, and it's never out of place, never unpopular.
Nothing is more damaging to friendship than flattery and flattery. It can completely destroy sincerity, and without sincerity, friendship will be in vain. Because, in essence, friendship is the union of two hearts. Another useful principle of friendship is not to prevent your friend's big things because you don't have the good intentions of proportions.
Man is the most helpful and the most harmful. The most effective way to win people's love is to serve with goodwill, and the most clumsy means is to make people feared; to win people's trust, two conditions are needed, namely wisdom and justice. To win people's admiration, it is necessary to have a certain outstanding talent and a great and noble spirit.
At the age of 62, Cicero summed up his lifelong experience in politics, making friends, and asking questions, and made a comprehensive and profound exposition of major issues in life such as friendship, responsibility, moral code, old age, and even personal and national interests. Wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance are a tone that runs through the "three perditions" and gives modern people many enlightenments for settling down and establishing a life.
4. The Cambridge History of Greco-Roman Political Thought, the first comprehensive study of Greco-Roman political thought in the English-speaking world, and an authoritative guide to how Greeks and Romans governed the country
The republic is the foundation, but for Cicero, what does it actually mean? At the very least, a stable government that respects the law and precedent. The republic prospers when the government is arranged by free aristocratic debate; when violence or bribery controls honor and policy, the republic is lost.
In the heyday of the Senate, aristocratic debates determined foreign policy and internal disputes, and military glory was a reward for those who fought against the enemies of Rome.
Plato's ideal city-state existed in the imagination, and Aristotle's collective polity was imperfect. By making the Heyday Roman Republic the embodiment of the finest form of government that could possibly exist, Cicero romanized the Platonic tradition from within. This is what theory can describe, but only experience can create city-states and politicians.
Fresco of Cicero in Reading, Vincenzo Foppa, 1646
5. "Ancient Roman Religious Reader" recognizes and approaches the religious world of the roman ancients, and feels the spiritual atmosphere of the world that has disappeared far away
Roman civilization was not a civilization "without myths", but regarded the history of the city-state as the basis of a new type of mythological narrative, and the origin of the city-state as the source of various mythological archetypes.
Whether it is domestic affairs or military affairs, people never forget to ask birds. According to the divination of the offal of the sacrificed livestock, this technique is said to be very important, and is generally used to predict the future, properly handle events, or explain miracles.
— Cicero, On Divination
O judges, I declared Murina the election of Consul after the Citizens' Assembly of the Hundred, and on that day I prayed to the living gods in accordance with the customs and traditions of my ancestors... I pray that your faith and judgment will be in accordance with the aspirations and elections of the Roman people: peace, serenity, tranquility and harmony.
— Cicero: Public Prayer and Citizens' Assembly (In Defense of Murina)
On the Idols is a collection of Cicero's famous speeches against the Sicilian consul Viles, from which we can learn about the local worship at that time and how these worship activities prompted the local believers to unite with the outside world.
This book selects 22 classic essays of various genres of ancient Roman philosophers such as Cicero, Livy, Virgil, Oviide, Del Turian, Augustine, etc., through the three-dimensional presentation of the original text, lexical annotations, translations, annotations and other plates, supplemented by a large number of exquisite pictures of sculptures, buildings, and paintings that reflect the religious culture of the ancient Roman period and note the source in detail, so that readers can personally feel the faith and thoughts of the Roman ancients, and understand the particularity of the ancient Roman religion in human, social and spiritual cognition. Think better about the encounter and confrontation between the religions of Rome and Christianity – after all, this event has a fundamental impact not only on the history of the West, but also on the modern history of humanity as a whole.
6. The Biography of Cicero is the most detailed biography of Cicero's life published in China
For me, death is even unattainable, after all, I have achieved fame. I have only two wishes, one is that, on the eve of my death, I will be free to leave the people of Rome, that the immortal gods will be able to give me greater favors, and that every citizen can make a great achievement as long as he has made a contribution to the republic.
- Cicero
Although both of his actions were aimed at defending the Republic, he, as the leader of the Republic, did not put his actions in the cage of the system, and was thus subjected to misfortune.
Cicero's refusal to accept Caesar's Empire and his continued struggle for an irredeemable republican system was the root cause of the calamity and tragedy that led to his death.
Cicero argues that the only best form of government to be praised is the mixed constitution, a mixture of three formal forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy). He opposed three deformed regimes (tyranny, oligarchy, and mob politics), and in particular the worst form of government that evolved from a monarchy, tyranny.