Cicero Assignment: Nicholson article and Letter 74.

Letter 74: What first struck me about this letter was its revelation of the stressed personages of the Late Roman Republic. Brutus and Cassius, though definitely in the limelight, were not so much so as Cicero, who had constantly exposed himself (I like the Herodotus quote at the beginning of Nicholson's article!) to the whims and mercy of the turbulent times in which he lived. Caesar had been made perpetual dictator (for life!--45/44 B.C.) and this definitely knocked out the Patrician's power holdings and threatened everyone. Or so we always hear. This letter only reveals the high-minded thinking of Cicero and the co-Conspirators of Caesar's brutal and bloody assassination. Sure, it is an excellent representation of the times, and I know that Cicero tried his best to represent the common people, but he clearly was the creme de la creme. What did Caesar holding power really threaten? It threatened one man's--in particular--nostalgic longings for Republican precedence, one man's dreams of having a very operational State where people were represented strongly and fairly. Though in all of these letters I haven't heard one thing about people's common interests or Cicero's longings for a better state. All I hear him whining about are his own interests and those of the Senators' being threatened in the sense that their long-time holdings of land, money, and power are on the verge of being taken away or limited. I'm certainly not saying Caesar was a saint. He was an anachronistic man and yet also a man of his own times. His clemency was renowned and, ut opinor, bono. Anyhow, Cicero says "O Rem Miseram," as he ruminates about the dastardly deed Cassius has done 7 months earlier, and he also asks "sed ubi sunt copiae?" because he is worried about the retribution of Octavian and Antony. Well, as he should have! (And we know that Cicero got his worst fear, and asked the soldier who murders him to "do it properly eventhough what you're doing is not proper, Soldier!"). This letter is nevertheless excellent insight into how Cicero and his countrymen articulated their plight well over 2,000 years ago. Very illuminating and rewarding translation and read.

Nicholson Article: Cicero loved to live through his letters. Letter 56, I believe, tells us this much: "in ea mihi omnis sermo est cum litteris." It isn't surprising then that an excellent article has been written about the plethora of letters Cicero sent and received, and his interest in the comings and goings of his freedman, Tiro, his friend Trebatius, his "dominum" Caesar, his wife/ex-wife Terrentia, his best friend Atticus, and brother Quintus. I found this article very intriguing (though it hasn't been my absolute favorite) because it shows we students of Cicero how he lived, what he prioritized, what he loved and despised, and much more. It peeled back the many layers to each letter we have read in class thus far and extricated teaching points that I have missed. The nuances of Cicero's letters--like avoiding direct mentioning of his "meis" (his friends and family)--and his frequent jokes and recreations of dialogue (such as in his meeting with Caesar). I found out through reading this article why Cicero did such things. Looking forward to reading more about him in the coming weeks!

Michael Jahosky