Cicero and the Roman Republic. By JOHN MURRELL. Greece & Rome: Texts and
Contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Pp. 184. Paper,
$25.00. ISBN: 978–0–52169–116–1.
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John Murrell’s (M.) contribution to Cambridge’s Greece & Rome: Texts
and Contexts series, a series targeted at either advanced high school or
undergraduate students, provides a chronological survey of Cicero’s life
and the history of the Late Republic through a selection of translations of
primary readings and associated discussion questions, which are designed,
according to the back cover, to encourage students “to consider the
relevance of ancient texts to the modern world.” M. intends “to show
the strains and pressures on the Republic which eventually led to the rule
of one man” (p. v), and for the most part he succeeds in achieving his
aim.
Several aspects of the book stand out. While the chapters generally cover
the standard episodes from Cicero’s life, such as the prosecution of
Verres (Ch. 4), the Catilinarian Conspiracy and the fight with Clodius (Ch.
6) and the conflict with Antonius (Ch. 12), M. also includes several often
less-discussed topics, such as Cicero’s thoughts on citizenship (Ch. 1)
and his proconsulship in Cilicia (Ch. 10), and devotes a good bit of text
to discussions of Rome and its provinces. M. has also done an admirable job
of drawing from the entire Ciceronian corpus; he quotes from no fewer than
27 works, and makes liberal use of Cicero’s letters. In addition, he
provides supporting text from such diverse sources as Sallust, Suetonius,
Plutarch and Asconius. Furthermore, M. provides a list of suggested further
readings, helpfully divided into the categories of “introductory” and
“more advanced” studies. There is also a short but useful glossary of
terms, and the maps and illustrations that appear, while relatively few in
number, are informative, high-quality additions. The four-page introduction
is a fine summary of the political structure of the Roman state, and M.
makes sure to emphasize the important point that the optimates and
populares should not be seen as ancient equivalents of modern political
parties. The biographical and explanatory footnotes that accompany the
translations of primary sources are succinct and useful without being
overwhelming, and the short narratives that connect the primary readings
often provide valuable summaries of important political points (such as the
discussion of Sulla’s reforms on pp. 23–4).
I nonetheless have two main reservations about this book, the first more
serious than the second. The lack of discussion of Cicero’s philosophical
program is glaring and unfortunate. While M.’s text contains a great deal
of discussion of the degeneracy and decay of the Roman government, the De
Republica is given only cursory mention on p. 118, where the focus is on
the discovery of the Vatican palimpsest, not the content of the work
itself. The De Legibus is the first work M. quotes (pp. 8–9), but only
for its discussion of a man’s two fatherlands, and he never mentions it
again. In addition, the entirety of the period from Pharsalus to the
aftermath of Caesar’s assassination is condensed into a mere nine pages,
and save for one quotation from Fam. 7.28.3, all mention of Cicero’s
philosophical program composed in those years is omitted. In a book that
seeks to explore the reasons for Rome’s evolution from republic to empire
and “why [Cicero] felt so strongly about the respublica” (p. v), at
least a token discussion of the De Officiis is expected. Granted, this is
not a book for specialists, but these works are not beyond the capabilities
of the intended audience, and they provide valuable information about
Cicero’s thoughts on the nature of the Republic.
My second reservation concerns the discussion questions that appear
throughout the book. These questions are designed to engage the students
not only with Cicero’s writings and the political climate of ancient Rome
but also with current events and modern political history. But the
questions seem to blur the focus, and since they are integral to the stated
purpose of the Greece & Rome series, they would be impossible to leave out
if one were to adopt the book for class use. A number of them, especially
in the last three chapters, are relevant and thought-provoking; for
example, M. ends by asking perhaps the most fundamental question of all:
“Was the respublica worth saving?” (p. 174). But within the context of
what he is attempting to do with this text, I often felt that the questions
diverted attention from Cicero and the fall of the Republic and made the
book seem as if it were more concerned with modern civics. A few examples:
“There are societies or countries which do not use the adversarial
system. How is justice administered in such places?” (in a discussion of
Verres’ trial); “In modern states what views do governments and
political parties have about poverty and the ways to eliminate it?” (in
the chapter devoted to the Catilinarian Conspiracy, after Cicero’s list
of the five categories of Catiline’s followers given at Cat. 2.17–23).
Furthermore, at several points M. makes comments or presents questions that
may not sit well with an American audience and that may require deft
maneuvering on the instructor’s part to keep the class discussion both
cordial and on-topic. For example, on p. 42, M. calls the contemporary
United States an imperialist state; whatever truth this statement may
contain, it could be easily construed as polemical by some students. The
second question on p. 91 asks students to think about modern examples of
“politicians obstinately sticking to their principles when a more
flexible stance might have helped the state”; I do not think that it is
much of a stretch to think that the immediate response may involve
President George W. Bush and his policies. M.’s questions also
occasionally ask students to compare apples and oranges, as when he asks
students on p. 126 to consider how modern warfare differs from the ancient
variety described in a very short excerpt describing Cicero’s
unimpressive campaign at Pindenissum.
These qualms aside, M.’s book achieves its goal of providing a fairly
comprehensive and accessible discussion of the collapse of the Roman
Republic, and will be particularly useful for advanced high-school
students. I remain hesitant about its usefulness in the undergraduate
classroom, but as part of an interdisciplinary freshman seminar it is at
least worthy of consideration.
JONATHAN P. ZARECKI
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
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