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Cicero is considered to be one of the greatest orators and speech writers the world has ever known and a father to modern legalists and barristers.  He had an enormous influence on European thought, 1500-1900, and on American thought, 1770-1900.

Cicero is considered to be one of the greatest orators and speech writers the world has ever known and a father to modern legalists and barristers.  He had an enormous influence on European thought, 1500-1900, and on American thought, 1770-1900.

==Philosophy==

==Philosophy==

Cicero’s philosophical works were core texts in the traditional Latin-based liberal arts curriculum. His ethical and political texts include ''De Officiis'', ''De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum'', ''De Re Publica'', and ''De Legibus''. ''De Officiis'', ''On Duties'', was a standard text on ethics read by every educated student prior to the 19th century. It was treasured by scholars and theologians including St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and Thomas Aquinas. It was championed by Petrarch, Erasmus, Grotius, Locke, Hume, Jefferson, John Adams, and James Wilson. Cicero was a staunch defender of property rights, natural law, and republican values.

Cicero’s philosophical works were core texts in the traditional Latin-based liberal arts curriculum. His ethical and political texts include ''De Officiis'', ''De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum'', ''De Re Publica'', and ''De Legibus''. ''De Officiis'', ''On Duties'', was a standard text on ethics read by every educated student prior to the 19th century. It was treasured by scholars and theologians including St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and Thomas Aquinas. It was championed by Petrarch, Erasmus, Grotius, [[John Locke|Locke]], Hume, Jefferson, John Adams, and James Wilson. Cicero was a staunch defender of property rights, natural law, and republican values.

==Roman politics==

==Roman politics==

Cicero was also responsible for unveiling a plot to overthrow the Republic, and his consulship in particular, masterminded by [[Catiline]] among others. In his defeat of the conspirators, however, he set a dangerous precedent; he allowed the conspirators captured in the city of Rome to be executed without a trial. Caesar, among others, was reported to have argued against this by the historian Sallust.

Cicero was also responsible for unveiling a plot to overthrow the Republic, and his consulship in particular, masterminded by [[Catiline]] among others. In his defeat of the conspirators, however, he set a dangerous precedent; he allowed the conspirators captured in the city of Rome to be executed without a trial. Caesar, among others, was reported to have argued against this by the historian Sallust.

==Impact on America==

==Impact on America==

The Founding Fathers studied Cicero in terms both of his rhetorical strategies and his commitment to [[Republicanism]].

The Founding Fathers studied Cicero in terms both of his rhetorical strategies and his commitment to [[Republicanism]].

[[John Adams]] in a 1775 series of newspaper articles, employed a rhetorical strategy reminiscent of Cicero in his orations against the conspiracy of Catiline, who plotted the overthrow of Rome. Writing under the name "Novanglus" in response to an eloquent Tory writer, Adams narrated a sweeping tale of conspiracy by Tories and British ministers to rob Massachusetts citizens of their rights and tax them unfairly. In his political letters as a member of the Continental Congress, Adams consciously used Cicero as a model for his style. Cicero's simple, familiar approach matched Adams's desire for his letters to be conversational in tone. This style itself permitted Adams to ponder and explore political issues and reach political judgments. Adams, like Cicero, used his letters to deliberate on important public matters.<ref>James M. Farrell, "Letters and Political Judgment: John Adams and Cicero's Style." ''Studies in Eighteenth Century Culture'' 1995 24: 137-153  </ref> [[John Quincy Adams]] remained inspired by classical rhetorical ideals long after the neo-classicalism and deferential politics of the founding generation had been eclipsed by the commercial ethos and mass democracy of the Jacksonian Era. Many of Adams's idiosyncratic positions were rooted in his abiding devotion to the Ciceronian ideal of the citizen-orator "speaking well" to promote the welfare of the polis.<ref> Lyon Rathbun, "The Ciceronian Rhetoric of John Quincy Adams." ''Rhetorica'' 2000 18(2): 175-215 </ref>  Cicero remained influential in the 19th century; his life and works were taught in schools and his life was evaluated in popular biographies. [[Russell Kirk]] argues that [[Edmund Burke]]'s "natural rights" concept owes more to Cicero than Locke.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot|author=Russell Kirk|page=50|edition=7th revised}}</ref>

[[John Adams]] in a 1775 series of newspaper articles, employed a rhetorical strategy reminiscent of Cicero in his orations against the conspiracy of Catiline, who plotted the overthrow of Rome. Writing under the name "Novanglus" in response to an eloquent Tory writer, Adams narrated a sweeping tale of conspiracy by Tories and British ministers to rob Massachusetts citizens of their rights and tax them unfairly. In his political letters as a member of the Continental Congress, Adams consciously used Cicero as a model for his style. Cicero's simple, familiar approach matched Adams's desire for his letters to be conversational in tone. This style itself permitted Adams to ponder and explore political issues and reach political judgments. Adams, like Cicero, used his letters to deliberate on important public matters.<ref>James M. Farrell, "Letters and Political Judgment: John Adams and Cicero's Style." ''Studies in Eighteenth Century Culture'' 1995 24: 137-153  </ref> [[John Quincy Adams]] remained inspired by classical rhetorical ideals long after the neo-classicalism and deferential politics of the founding generation had been eclipsed by the commercial ethos and mass democracy of the Jacksonian Era. Many of Adams's idiosyncratic positions were rooted in his abiding devotion to the Ciceronian ideal of the citizen-orator "speaking well" to promote the welfare of the polis.<ref> Lyon Rathbun, "The Ciceronian Rhetoric of John Quincy Adams." ''Rhetorica'' 2000 18(2): 175-215 </ref>  Cicero remained influential in the 19th century; his life and works were taught in schools and his life was evaluated in popular biographies. [[Russell Kirk]] argues that [[Edmund Burke]]'s "natural rights" concept owes more to Cicero than [[John Locke|Locke]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot|author=Russell Kirk|page=50|edition=7th revised}}</ref>

== Selected Works of Cicero ==  

== Selected Works of Cicero ==