Howard Payne Monthly, Volume 1, Number 4, September 1902 Page: 3 of 16
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Abilene Library Consortium and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Howard Payne University Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Howard Payne Monthly
this, and some of the famous sen-
tences have remained ever since the
abiding motto and blazon of literature
itself.
The Pro Archia foreshadowed the
change which was bound to take place
in Cicero's life and which was precipi-
tated by his exile four years later.
More and more he found himself
forced away from the inner circle of
politics, and turned to the larger field,
where he had an undisputed suprem-
acy, of political and ethical philosophy
clothed in splendid prose, of which he
had now obtained the full mastery.
In 63 B. C., there were six candi-
dates for the conulship, but of
these only Cicero, Cataline, and
C. Antonius were prominent.
Cataline had shown by his first
and second conspiracies that
his aims were treasonable. An-
tonius had combined with him E',
for mutual support in securing
election by illegal means, and
was himself a. weak and un-
principled man. On the other
hand, Cicero was a "novus ho-
mo" and had an unusually clean
record as a public official as
well as in the Forum.
Thus the cause of Cicero's
ambition was, at the same time,
the cause of good government
against both the worthless and
ruined member of the sena-
torial order on the one hand
and the dregs of the people on
the other.
The success of Cicero pro-
longed the existence of the al-
ready doomed Republic. His
administration is famous for
the overthrow of the Catalin-
arian conspiracy which has cast into
obscurity all his other acts. The con-
spirators were completely thwarted
and five of them were, in accordance
with a resolution of the senate, put to
death without trial.
This victory was the climax of Cic-
ero's career and he always regarded it
as one of the greatest of human
achievements but in fact it marked
the beginning of his own downfall.
The execution of the conspirators
without law was a blunder and Cicero
paid for it. He had violated the con-
stitution and at the end of his consul-
ship one of the tribunals prevented
him from making his customary
speech to the people because he hadput to death a Roman citizen without
trial. The next year he was upbraided
as a tyrant and Clodius began to try to
put him down and continued to pursue
him until he accomplished his banish-
ment and the confiscation of his prop-
erty. All during the time from his
consulship to his banishment Cicero
tried to find support against his ene-
mies but his efforts were useless. In
60 B. C. Pompey, who on his return
from the east had been unfairly treat-
ed by the senatorial party, joined the
democratic leaders, Casar and Cras-
sus, in a coalition often called the
First Triumvirate. As a result thesenate became almost powerless. A
law was passed that whoever had put
to death a Roman citizen without trial
should be banished. Cicer3 at once
took alarm and after appealing in vain
to the consuls of the year, as well as
to Cesar and Pompey, who still claim-
ed to be his personal friends, left
Rome just as the affair was coming to
blows.
Immediately after his departure a
bill was passed against him forbidding
him to remain within four hundred
miles of Italy. At the same time his
house and villa were pillaged and des-
troyed by a mob. Finally, after sev-
eral attempts of the people to recall
him, on Aug. 4, B. C. 57 a bill which3
revoked the decree of exile was pass
ed. He arrived in Rome on Septem-
ber 4th.
His journey through Italy was like
a continuous triumphal procession and
to his exalted imagination, freedom,
which had departed with him, was now
returned to Rome. But in tact his res-
toration had been merely a piece of
selfish policy on the part of the great
leaders.
His prominence in the state was
gone forever. He had never been a
statesman and now he had not the
chance to be even a politician.
His speeches were continued after
his return from exile but even
in the greatest, the Pro Sestio
and Pro Clio of 56, or the In
Pisonem of 55 B. C. something
of the old tone was missing.
Along with the speeches be-
gan the great series of his
works on oratory and philoso-
phy, with the De Oratore of 55
and De Re Publica of 54 B. C.
During the next few years the
:4 literary activity of Cicero suf-
fered a check. The course of
politics at Rome filled him with
disappointment and disgust and
the shameful collapse of his
defense of Milo in 52 B. C. must
have stung a vanity, even as
y well hardened as Cicero's, to
the quick. His only i:npor-
tant abstract work of this peri-
od seems to have been under-
taken with little heart and car-
ried on without research or
enthusiasm. The Civil War be-
tween Cesar and Pompey broke
out in B. C. 49 and Cicero was
placed in a very difficult posi-
tion. It became necessary for every
man of importance to take sides, yet
he could not see his way clear to join
either party.
Pompey and Caesar both made
every effort to secure his support but
it was his plan to mediate between
the two and after Pompey had left
Italy he remained with this end in
view but finally he decided for Pompey
as the champion of the senatorial party
and set out to join him at Dyrrachium,
June 11, B. C. 49. He found things in
the camp in a worse condition than he
expected and on account of illness was
not present at the battle of Pharsalia,
(Aug. 9, B, C. 48.) After he learned
the fate of the contest, he refused to
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Howard Payne College (Brownwood, Tex.). Howard Payne Monthly, Volume 1, Number 4, September 1902, periodical, September 1902; Brownwood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth744608/m1/3/: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Howard Payne University Library.