Abstract:
Cicero is unique among the great men of Rome in antiquity because
through him we gain an enormous reflection of the ancient Roman world, more
especially the last century of the Roman Republic. The research seeks to assess
and discuss salient factors that made Rome of Cicero’s day drift away “from the
good old days” (i. e., the early Roman Republic) as well as abandon the ancestral
ways, mos maiorum; in exchange for corrupt and violent politics. It also
demonstrates how the Rome of Cicero’s day was governed by men who agreed
far more than disagreed on the fundamental questions facing the ailing Republic.
Inevitably, Cicero was the man who saw what had made his day become so
different from the early Republic. In point of fact, an important feature during this
turbulent period was the corrupt nature of Rome’s politicians. Political leaders
were no more concerned about the safety and welfare of the citizens; rather they
were filled with unbridled passion to exploit the Republic given the slightest
opportunity open to them. The study ends with a concise discussion of how
Cicero stood by the traditional Republican ideals, to defend the Republican
government.
