Cicero and Liberty in Modern Era - Article Example

Cicero and liberty in modern era Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC –43 BC) Marcus Cicero was one of the greatest iconic figures in theRoman Empire in its early civilization. As an orator, philosopher, linguists, lawyer and statesman, Cicero impacted the development of the modern day English and Latin languages and extensively contributed to the development of philosophy as a discipline currently taught in schools across the world. His greatest achievement in the stabilization of the Roman Empire was his suppression of the Catiline conspiracy (Everitt 56). Despite being a well-established lawyer and an orator of his own category, Cicero considered himself a born politician. It was during his service as a consul that an outside forces attempted to overthrow the Roman government from outside the city, he ordered the execution of five of the conspirators thereby re stabilizing the roman government. Back in the times, a person’s worth was determined based on his family. Marcus Cicero was therefore a lucky man and a worthier Roman citizen. He was born to senior Roman citizen, one serving in the equestrian order and had good connection within Rome. The roman society attached very little worth on its women, therefore no much is written about Cicero’s mother. However, it is understood that she was a humble housewife who effectively took care of his two sons. Cicero was born in 106 BC in a small hill town southeast of Rome called Arpinum. It was here that his father owned a fortune. Cicero was bright from childhood, he took much pride in studying works of previous iconic personalities, and most of his readings were political and philosophical manuscripts. He therefore became knowledgeable on the history and the structures of the Roman government (Tempest 47). Cicero derived his greatest motivation to read from his surname which he never liked and therefore never used, Cognomen. Loosely translated, this name meant that Cicero was named after one of his ancestors who had a cleft on his left nose. This became a joke and an origin of ridicule among his family and peers. He therefore resented the name and from the public ridicule and humiliation, he denied himself a social life as a child and took to books. His childhood dream was to become a politician, he read all the manuscripts and books he could find on politics, through his father’s connections, he gained access to the best literature material within Rome and in the process of learning politics, he redeveloped his other abilities. He studied philosophy and was a fosterer of rational thought on public management, through his oratory ability; he became a charming leader one capable of championing for an idea and through rationalization make it come through. He had an effective and an informed way of arguing his issues thereby winning the love of the common Roman citizen while gaining respect among his accolades (Stockton 44). The first half of the first century was characterized by chaos in the Roman Empire, Gaius Julius Caesar, rose to the helm of leadership amidst several oppositions and counter accusations. He therefore out rightly turned into a dictator in a bid to retain his rule. Cicero opposed his leadership and kept championing for the return to the previous republican type of governance. Through his hawk eyed analysis of the Roman constitution and other laws and statutes, he developed philosophies illegitimating Julio Caesar’s dictatorial rule. He soon began becoming a darling to the public. His fame with the citizen climaxed at about the same time that Julio Caesar was murdered. Mark Antony took over the governance of the emperor in unclear circumstances and introduced systems similar to those of his predecessor. Once again, Cicero became a critic of the governance and would always attack Mark Antony in most of his public speeches. Mark Antony labeled him an enemy of the state which back them was synonymous to being charged with treason in the modern day society. he had two options which included either surrendering to the state officer and be murdered or flee the country. He was captured trying to flee the city and was executed. His execution took place in 43BC thereby claiming from the world a great hero and champion of equality in governance. His ideas live on to this day over two thousand years after his death. Latin is considered the most optimal language and is used by different countries in the practice of law and science. What is never told is that the very Latin was a small little known language mostly referred to as a utilitarian language. However, Cicero developed interest in the language and single handedly earned the language a versatile literary medium. Cicero kept using Latin in most of his works and took great interest in Latin prose. In writing these, he would interchange words and use them more analytically; this way a word or sentence could therefore have more than one meaning. This way, Latin easily became recognized as the most versatile language ion the world capable of conveying a number of meanings through the manipulation of usage and context. Biologists currently use Latin to name organisms in a naming scheme referred to as binomial nomenclature. Lawyers and practitioners of law acknowledge the language in coining some of the most technical legal terms most of which were coined by Cicero himself in his Latin prose(Tempest 81). Philosophy refers to the study of fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence. With the right set of mind, one can use philosophy to rationalize virtually any sphere of life. Cicero was an esteemed politician, he employed extensive reasoning to the political actions of his fellow politicians and in an attempt to explain the constitution. He developed a number of concepts of law through his understanding of philosophy and rational thought. While Julio Caesar turned to dictatorship, he championed for the return to the republican form of governance. He could not have coined the term republican but Cicero believed in the role of the populace in the process of governance. He believed that the power of free will is the key essence to human survival and trying to confine one into a particular line of reasoning is not only binding the right of free will but is overly detrimental to the process of governance (Everitt 106). These among other reasoning therefore formed his basis in his quest to oppose Julio Caesar’s regime and the subsequent Mark Antony’s. He championed his ideas without fearing the dire ramifications. He was a scholar of law and knew the Roman constitution with the punitive measures imposed against every crime committed against the state. He however continued to commit one of the most serious crimes well aware of the extreme consequences. Belief in such a course did not form the inception of nationalism but it later motivated nationalists especially those fighting their own governments. Cicero fostered the idea of free will; he opposed the dictatorial regimes of both Mark Antony and Julio Caesar. He believed that every one is entitled to some equal freedom. This freedom should be felt at all aspects of human life, one has the ability to choose an option from the other, this largely implies that everyone is free to make a decision and have his or her decision respected. The two regimes showed little regards to this as they set to restructure the social order by imposing ides into people through very unfamiliar policies. Dictatorial policies are oppressive and seek to serve the ruler at the expense of the subjects. Cicero’s belief on liberty as a fundamental human right forms the platform for the development of the bill of rights as in the constitutions of most countries worldwide (Stockton 51). The United States of America is normally referred to as the greatest democracy in the world. The country gains such prestigious title following its detailed expression of the fundamental human nights. Most countries emulate the American bill of rights not knowing that the American document borrowed greatly on the ideas and beliefs of Marcus Cicero. Most of the provisions in the American bill of rights express the importance of liberty. Liberty is the freedom from oppression or imprisonment. The Julio Caesar and the subsequent Mark Antony regimes were characterized with great instances of oppression and forceful imprisonment through poorly legislated laws or imprisonment without trial. The two regimes used these tools to suppress any form of opposition from whichever coffers, Mark Antony further worsened his history by using the very tools to suppress Marcus Cicero through execution without trail. Bill of rights are therefore developed to safeguard the numerous liberties enjoyed by man in the modern day society. The right to life is the basic provision of the American bill of right. This implies that everyone is entitled to live his or her lives without anyone cutting it short. This provision illegalizes murder and any physical or mental harm that one would ever impose on another. This provision ensures that governments are in check, a dictatorial government does not ever value its citizens thereby resulting on the use of force and murder as ways of reducing resistance from their subjects. the bill of right further safeguards the right to choice and the freedom to decide. Without the right to make a decision, a person becomes mentally oppressed, a feature that negatively affects innovation and patriotism. Cicero explained that freedom is a state of the mind, anybody imposing decision on others as was the case with the two Roman regimes jails its subjects within themselves. This therefore later affects their other abilities and other rights (Everitt 86). He further asserted to the equality before the law, everyone is entitled to enjoy his or her rights fully provided this does not infringe on another person’s rights. History holds accounts of world-renowned leaders democratically elected into positions of leadership and thereafter turning into dictators. They do so after considering themselves as being above the law, this makes them unaccountable for their actions while leaders. They thus trample on their subjects rights and show very little empathy to humanity. The provision on the right to life and the other on equality before the law offers checks and balances to the government thereby ensuring that government leaders do not misuse their authority by showing little regards to human life. In brief, Cicero was a humanist, he believe and developed a series of philosophies on humanity most of which were used to safeguard the rights and freedoms of humanity. By the virtue of birth, a human being is entitled to a number of rights that should never be violated by another. Besides being a humanist and greater champion for a free willed humanity, Cicero was also a Republican. He believed in a state in which the people and their elected reprsentatives hold supreme power, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. This belief eventually killed him but relived in the hearts and spirits of other great nationalists thereby leading to the formation of the great United States of America. The governance of the Roman empire was monarchial, this therefore made proclaiming such ideas as those held by Cicero seditious, this reason lead to his uneventful death in 43BC (Tempest 77). According to his understanding of the republican regime, the populace are the most powerful in any state. The societal leadership should therefore be a decision made by the very populace and not passed down through a passage of birth. Such a society is oppressive and pays little regards to the populace, a republican regime on the contrary has great respect for the populace and is done through accountability to the electorate. Cicero was a statesman comparable to no other in the history of revolutions in the entire world. He stood against some of the greatest rulers in history and brought ideas that had never existed before. His ideas were shared through time and led to the eventual fall of the Roman Empire. The world has never had a government as powerful and influential as the Roman Empire. The governance expanded more than two continent yet the ideas of a little scholar eventually brought such a power down. This became a great inspiration to a number of revolutions in the world. The ideas of Cicero inspired the founding fathers of the United States of America and the great nationalists who led the French revolution thereby saving France from oppressive leadership and a possessive church that had turned into a commercial entity. The “Governments purpose was the protection of private property” this was one of the greatest statements made by Cicero in the early civilization after observing how the dictatorial; regimes had deliberately trampled on the civilians in an attempt to suppress an uprising. This statement formed the basis of democratic societies. The electorate elects leaders to protect their interests and their property (Stockton 101). Security is a key human requirement, which most governments in the world uphold through the formation of effective police force and other law enforcement agents. In retrospect, the world has had leaders in the past who have influenced various aspects of human life in their won small ways. However, Cicero stands out as a unique figure that took to wade murky political waters and eventually sacrificed himself to communicate his beliefs and ideas. He has as a result become the pillar erecting the world democracies and the basis for criticisms for oppressive governments. Works cited Everitt, Anthony. Cicero: The Life and Times of Romes Greatest Politician. New York: Random House, 2001. Internet resource. Stockton, D L. Cicero: a Political Biography. London: Oxford University Press, 1971. Print. Tempest, Kathryn. Cicero: Politics and Persuasion in Ancient Rome. London: Continuum, 2011. Print. Read More