Cicero Credit Crunch

Hey all!

A friend shared this article with me, and I thought I would pass it along. He's an economist, which explains why he even stumbled across the this article to begin with. The article discusses how Cicero's letters helped economic historians track the first credit crisis in the Late Republic.

I was reminded about it with the talk of money today concerning paper topics. May it prove to be helpful!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/28/credit-crunch-roman-republic-lecture


Shannon

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

Cicero, Maybe He's Not That Bad

I’ve never been a fan of Cicero. To be quite honest, I agree with the removal of Cicero’s hands and head. There might have been cheering when I first learned the most important aspects of the orator were placed on the Rostra. How’s that for irony? I can safely say that a lot of this enjoyment stems from the fact that I’m imperialist and Cicero so clearly represents the republic. Cicero asserts as much in the 1st Catilinarian. When he dies, so does the republic.

So no, I wasn’t excited to be translating Cicero because of my previous thought on the man, but I must admit I enjoy his letters. Mostly those to his friend Atticus. Although they can be a challenge to translate because of their idioms, short hand, and Cicero’s fondness for omitting certain verbs, they’re oddly sobering. Here is a raw, exposed Cicero. I enjoy his jokes and sarcastic remarks to Atticus. I wish to know the other side of this running banter. Now that I’m privy to his personal letters, I’m actually looking forward to translating his treaty on Friendship. What type of friend did this man seek? What character traits where honored above others? How did somebody make a friend when the republic was collapsing? It shall prove interesting to see how Cicero handles friendship when his friendships didn’t always end pleasantly.

Shannon Ness