I might have to give Cicero some respect...

I was quite taken aback by Letter 74, which is a letter Cicero wrote to Cassius. It concerns how Antony wants to punish those who assassinated Caesar. On top of the that, Antony labels the murder as patricide, invoking blood laws. Cicero writes openly how Antony wants to kill Cassius, and then corrects himself. Antony wants him, Cicero, dead as well because it is widely believed that Cicero was a mastermind behind the assassination. Cicero counters this by stating that if he had been closely involved, there would be no complications following it, because Antony would have gone with Caesar. After reading the article, which stressed the issue of secrecy, it's amazing that Cicero would commit such a brass statement to paper. He doesn't cloak it even with Greek. For a man that went through pains to secure trustworthy carriers prior, Cicero no longer, it seems to me, see the need to censor himself. I find this Cicero, rather than the one hiding away in dark and savage forest, to be more compelling.

Shannon N