Plutarchs Lives:

Cicero
True Merritt

Plutarch
45120 AD
Born in Chaeronea, near Delphi
Studied in Athens
Prolific writer, most well known for his
series Lives, which focused on Greek
and Roman men

Cicero
103 - 43 BC
Born to an aristocratic mother, and a
father of unknown origins

When he was born there was a prophecy

that he would be a great blessing to Rome

Studied in Athens, and when he returned

to Rome he was looked down upon for
being educated

More Cicero
Served in the Roman Military
Began his Political career as a Quaestor and rose to Consul
Exiled when he chose not to join the First Triumvirate,
because he believed that it was unconstitutional

He traveled to Greece, but was later recalled to Rome

End of Cicero
Was attempting to estrange Pompey and Caesar
Was not involved in the assassination of Caesar, but planned to
use it for his political gain

Planned to use Octavian to convince the Senate to declare war

on Marc Antony

He was executed, because he had worked against the Second

Triumvirate

Ciceros Political Feats

His heroics and praise in Sicily.
Ability to keep Catiline out of the Senate, and his ability to
deal with the aftermath of that

Denial of both the First and Second Triumvirate

Attempted to uphold the Republic in its last days

 Order- The government was ordered, and Cicero maintained that

order through his work within the system, and by following laws,
such as his exile.

Freedom- People had freedom, and Cicero helped preserve that by

properly pursuing legal justice, and by hoping to remain a republic,

as opposed to a dictatorship

Justice- Cicero pursued legal justice for the people of Sicily, and he

wanted to keep the constitution the same, for the best of the people

Change- He was trying to prevent change by the holding the

Republic together

 Power- The government had the power to change, because of

the built in dictatorship power, and it was lead by powerful
men, such as Julius Caesar

Authority- The constitution gave the consuls the right to

declare a dictatorship, so they had that authority.

Legitimacy- It was a legitimate government, and it

maintained it legitimacy during the change of constitution,

despite the fact that Cicero believed that it would

Todays Political Scene

Cicero highlights the idea of civil

disobedience, because even as

the constitution fell apart he did
his best to maintain the
government, and he died for that

Bibliography
"The Internet Classics Archive | Cicero by Plutarch." The Internet Classics

Archive | Cicero by Plutarch. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

<http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/cicero.html>.
Karamanolis, George, Karamanolis,. "Plutarch." Stanford University.
Stanford University, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/>.
"Marcus Tullius Cicero (Roman Statesman, Scholar, and Writer)."
Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 05 Nov.
2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/117565/Marcus-TulliusCicero>.