The background shows the southeasterly side of the Capitoline hill. The blank wall in the centre is the rear of the Palazzo dei Senatori, which stands on the saddle between the two summits (inter duos lucos). The lower part of this wall is very old, and is commonly supposed to be the wall of the Tabularium, or Record Office. The modern buildings on the right occupy the site of the ancient Citadel (Arx); those on the left, that of the Capitolium. In front, projected against the wall of the Tabularium, is, on the right, the Column of Phocas, a late monument of slight importance; at the left of that are the ruins of the Temple of Vespasian (three Corinthian columns, of which only two show in the view); farther to the left is a ruin with eight Ionic columns, the Temple of Saturn, built in the time of the Empire on the site of the earlier Temple of Saturn, which served during the Republic as the Aerarium, or Treasury. Below, at the right of the picture, is the Arch of Septimius Severus: this probably occupies part of the space of the earlier Senaculum, or gathering-place of the Senators. Below the Temple and in front of the Arch is the open space of the Forum, distinguishable by the flagging here stood the Rostra. To the left, below the Temple of Saturn, are the ruins of the Basilica Iulia. At the extreme left of the picture, in the foreground, are three Corinthian columns, the only remains of the famous Temple of Castor. Near the point where the spectator is supposed to stand are the ruins of the Atrium Vestae and the Regia. 1 INTRODUCTION I. LIFE OF CICERO MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, partly on account of his natural abilities and partly on account of the times in which he lived, has left a name associated with some of the most important events in the history of the world, as well as with some of the most potent forces in our civilization. Few men have made so distinct an impression on modern literature and thought. He touched many things which he did not adorn, but there is hardly any kind of intellectual activity that is not conspicuously indebted to his precepts or his example. I. CICERO'S LIFE FROM HIS BIRTH TO THE OPENING OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER (B.C. 106-76) Cicero was born at Arpinum, a city with the Roman franchise (which was also the birthplace of Marius), Jan. 3, B.C. 106, of an equestrian family. His grandfather, who had a small estate in that region, was of Volscian stock, and thus belonged to the old virile country people of the republic. His grandmother was a Gratidia, closely connected by adoption with the great Marius and with prominent Roman politicians. His father, who was the eldest son, had increased the family estate by agriculture and by the profits of a fulling-mill, so that he was among the richest of his townsmen, and possessed the census of a Roman knight. By his marriage with Helvia, a woman of the nobility, he became connected with many sena II torial families. She was a woman of great economic and domestic virtues, and a strong support to her husband, who was of a somewhat weak constitution. The father was a man of cultivated mind and devoted himself to the education of his two sons, Marcus, afterwards the orator, and the younger brother Quintus. For this purpose he removed to the city. His ambition, like that of every Roman of fortune, was to have his sons enter politics and so to establish a senatorial family. He lived to see both of them succeed in this career, and the elder become one of the most distinguished men in Rome. 2 Cicero himself was early stimulated by the success of Marius and the general atmosphere of Roman ambition to desire a prominent place in the state.1 His father's connections with men and women of rank brought the boy into contact with the great orators M. Antonius and L. Crassus, who interested themselves in his education. Among his companions were the sons of Aculeo, Lucius Cicero, his cousin, his intimate friend Atticus, L. Torquatus, C. Marius the younger, and L. Ælius Tubero. His instructors were Greeks; but, as he had already formed the purpose of attaining office through the power of oratory, he did not confine himself to theoretical or technical learning. He frequented the Forum to hear the great orators of his day, especially Antonius and Crassus, who discoursed with him on literary subjects, so that they became in a manner his teachers. He received instruction from Archias; he sought the society of L. Accius, the poet, and he studied the art of delivery in the theatre, becoming intimately acquainted with the great actors Roscius and Æsopus. He practised 1 πολλὸν ἀριστεύειν καὶ ὑπείροχος ἔμμεναι ἄλλων. Ad Quintum Fratrem, iii. 5, 6. 2 See p. 35. 3 This debt he amply repays by his tribute to them in the De Oratore. 4 See Defence of Archias, ch. i. |