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Quintus Tullius Cicero

November 27, 2023

Quintus Tullius Cicero (/ˈsɪsəroʊ/ SISS-ə-roh, Latin: [ˈkɪkɛroː]; 102 – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, as well as the younger brother of Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Rome.

Biography edit

 
"Pompey, accompanied by a large force, brings Cicero's brother into the Forum, who petitioned for the return of Cicero from exile." (16th century anachronistic artwork)

Cicero's well-to-do father arranged for him to be educated with his brother in Rome, Athens and probably Rhodes in 79–77 BC.[1] Around 70 BC he married Pomponia (sister of his brother's friend Atticus), a dominant woman of strong personality.[2] He divorced her after a long disharmonious marriage with much bickering between the spouses in late 45 BC.[1] His brother, Marcus, tried several times to reconcile the spouses, but to no avail.[3][page needed] The couple had a son born in 66 BC and named Quintus Tullius Cicero after his father.

Quintus was aedile in 66 BC, praetor in 62 BC, and propraetor of the Province of Asia for three years 61-59 BC.[4] Under Caesar, during the Gallic Wars, he was legatus (accompanying Caesar on his second expedition to Britain in 54 BC and surviving a Nervian siege of his camp during Ambiorix's revolt), and was under his brother when the latter was governor in Cilicia in 51 BC. During the civil wars, he supported the Pompeian faction, obtaining the pardon of Caesar later.[citation needed]

During the Second Triumvirate, when the Roman Republic was again in civil war, Quintus, his son, and his brother were all proscribed. He fled from Tusculum with his brother. Later, Quintus went home to bring back money for travelling expenses. His son hid his father and did not reveal the hiding place even under torture. When Quintus heard this, he gave himself up to try to save his son, but father, son, and famous brother, were killed in 43 BC as proscribed persons.[5][6]

Personality and relationship with brother Marcus edit

 
Cicero with his friend Atticus and brother Quintus, at his villa at Arpinum. (Richard Wilson, c. 1771)

Quintus is depicted by Caesar as a brave soldier and an inspiring military leader. At a critical moment in the Gallic Wars he rallied his legion and retrieved an apparently hopeless position. Caesar commended him for this with the words "He praised Cicero and his men very highly, as they deserved".[7] However, later the legate was purportedly responsible for a near-disaster in Gaul but does not receive condemnation from Caesar as a result.[8]

Quintus had an impulsive temperament and had fits of cruelty during military operations, a behaviour frowned on by Romans of that time. The Roman (and stoic) ideal was to control one's emotions even in battle. Quintus Cicero also liked old-fashioned and harsh punishments, like putting a person convicted of patricide into a sack and throwing him into the sea. Such convicts were traditionally "stripped, scourged, sewn up in a sack together with [a] dog, a cock, a viper, and a monkey, and thrown into a river or the sea to drown".[9] This punishment he meted out during his propraetorship of Asia.[10]

His brother confessed in one of his letters to his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus (written in 51 BC while he was Proconsul of Cilicia and had taken Quintus as legatus with him) that he dares not leave Quintus alone as he is afraid of what kind of sudden ideas he might have.[3][page needed] On the positive side, Quintus was utterly honest, even as a governor of a province, in which situation many Romans shamelessly amassed private property for themselves. He was also a well-educated man who enjoyed reading Greek tragedies, and even wrote some tragedies himself.

The relationship between the brothers was mostly affectionate, except for a period of serious disagreement during Caesar's dictatorship 49-44 BC.[11] The many letters from Marcus ad Quintum fratrem show how deep and affectionate the brothers' relationship was, though Marcus Cicero often played the role of the "older and more experienced" sibling, lecturing to his brother on what the right thing to do was.[12]

Authorship edit

As an author, during the Gallic wars, he wrote four tragedies in the Greek style. Three of them were titled Troas, Erigones, and Electra, but all are lost. He also wrote several poems on the second expedition of Caesar to Britannia, three epistles to Tiro (extant) and a fourth one to his brother. The long letter Commentariolum Petitionis (Handbook on electioneering) has also survived. Although its authenticity has been much questioned, recently the scholar Andrew Lintott has argued that Quintus was the true author.[13] It is in any case a guide to political behavior in Cicero's time.

References edit

Citations

  1. ^ a b Haskell 1964, p. 83.
  2. ^ Everitt 2001, p. xv.
  3. ^ a b Cicero 1963.
  4. ^ Rawson 1975, p. 338.
  5. ^ Rawson 1975, p. 294.
  6. ^ Everitt 2001, pp. 306–7.
  7. ^ Caesar 1917, 5.52.
  8. ^ Caesar 1917, 6.36.
  9. ^ Berry 2008, p. 5.
  10. ^ Rawson 1975, p. 99.
  11. ^ Everitt 2001, p. 213.
  12. ^ Rawson 1975, p. 100.
  13. ^ Lintott 2008, p. 131.

Modern sources

  • Berry, DH (2008). "Pro Roscio Amerino: Introduction". Cicero: Defence speeches. By Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Oxford World's Classics. Translated by Berry, DH (Reissued ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-953790-7.
  • Everitt, Anthony (2001). Cicero: A Turbulent Life. John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5491-9.
  • Haskell, Henry Joseph (1964). This was Cicero. Fawcett Publications Incorporated.
  • Lintott, Andrew (2008-02-07). Cicero as Evidence: A Historian's Companion. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921644-4.
    • Rodgers, Barbara Saylor. "Review of "Cicero As Evidence: A Historian's Companion"". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  • Rawson, Elizabeth (1975). Cicero: A Portrait. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-7139-0864-0.

Ancient sources

  • Caesar (1917). Gallic War. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Edwards, Henry John. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674990807 – via LacusCurtius.
  • Cicero (1963). Sjögren, Gabriel (ed.). Samtliga brew (in Swedish). Malmö: Allhem. OCLC 186540219.
  • Cicero (1980). Cicero: select letters. Translated by Bailey, D. R. Shackleton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22492-6. OCLC 4468640.

External links edit

  •   Works by or about Quintus Tullius Cicero at Wikisource

November 27, 2023
quintus, tullius, cicero, siss, latin, ˈkɪkɛroː, roman, statesman, military, leader, well, younger, brother, cicero, born, into, family, equestrian, order, wealthy, landowner, arpinum, some, kilometres, south, east, rome, contents, biography, personality, rela. Quintus Tullius Cicero ˈ s ɪ s e r oʊ SISS e roh Latin ˈkɪkɛroː 102 43 BC was a Roman statesman and military leader as well as the younger brother of Cicero He was born into a family of the equestrian order as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum some 100 kilometres 62 mi south east of Rome Contents 1 Biography 2 Personality and relationship with brother Marcus 3 Authorship 4 References 5 External linksBiography edit nbsp Pompey accompanied by a large force brings Cicero s brother into the Forum who petitioned for the return of Cicero from exile 16th century anachronistic artwork Cicero s well to do father arranged for him to be educated with his brother in Rome Athens and probably Rhodes in 79 77 BC 1 Around 70 BC he married Pomponia sister of his brother s friend Atticus a dominant woman of strong personality 2 He divorced her after a long disharmonious marriage with much bickering between the spouses in late 45 BC 1 His brother Marcus tried several times to reconcile the spouses but to no avail 3 page needed The couple had a son born in 66 BC and named Quintus Tullius Cicero after his father Quintus was aedile in 66 BC praetor in 62 BC and propraetor of the Province of Asia for three years 61 59 BC 4 Under Caesar during the Gallic Wars he was legatus accompanying Caesar on his second expedition to Britain in 54 BC and surviving a Nervian siege of his camp during Ambiorix s revolt and was under his brother when the latter was governor in Cilicia in 51 BC During the civil wars he supported the Pompeian faction obtaining the pardon of Caesar later citation needed During the Second Triumvirate when the Roman Republic was again in civil war Quintus his son and his brother were all proscribed He fled from Tusculum with his brother Later Quintus went home to bring back money for travelling expenses His son hid his father and did not reveal the hiding place even under torture When Quintus heard this he gave himself up to try to save his son but father son and famous brother were killed in 43 BC as proscribed persons 5 6 Personality and relationship with brother Marcus edit nbsp Cicero with his friend Atticus and brother Quintus at his villa at Arpinum Richard Wilson c 1771 Quintus is depicted by Caesar as a brave soldier and an inspiring military leader At a critical moment in the Gallic Wars he rallied his legion and retrieved an apparently hopeless position Caesar commended him for this with the words He praised Cicero and his men very highly as they deserved 7 However later the legate was purportedly responsible for a near disaster in Gaul but does not receive condemnation from Caesar as a result 8 Quintus had an impulsive temperament and had fits of cruelty during military operations a behaviour frowned on by Romans of that time The Roman and stoic ideal was to control one s emotions even in battle Quintus Cicero also liked old fashioned and harsh punishments like putting a person convicted of patricide into a sack and throwing him into the sea Such convicts were traditionally stripped scourged sewn up in a sack together with a dog a cock a viper and a monkey and thrown into a river or the sea to drown 9 This punishment he meted out during his propraetorship of Asia 10 His brother confessed in one of his letters to his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus written in 51 BC while he was Proconsul of Cilicia and had taken Quintus as legatus with him that he dares not leave Quintus alone as he is afraid of what kind of sudden ideas he might have 3 page needed On the positive side Quintus was utterly honest even as a governor of a province in which situation many Romans shamelessly amassed private property for themselves He was also a well educated man who enjoyed reading Greek tragedies and even wrote some tragedies himself The relationship between the brothers was mostly affectionate except for a period of serious disagreement during Caesar s dictatorship 49 44 BC 11 The many letters from Marcus ad Quintum fratrem show how deep and affectionate the brothers relationship was though Marcus Cicero often played the role of the older and more experienced sibling lecturing to his brother on what the right thing to do was 12 Authorship editAs an author during the Gallic wars he wrote four tragedies in the Greek style Three of them were titled Troas Erigones and Electra but all are lost He also wrote several poems on the second expedition of Caesar to Britannia three epistles to Tiro extant and a fourth one to his brother The long letter Commentariolum Petitionis Handbook on electioneering has also survived Although its authenticity has been much questioned recently the scholar Andrew Lintott has argued that Quintus was the true author 13 It is in any case a guide to political behavior in Cicero s time References editCitations a b Haskell 1964 p 83 Everitt 2001 p xv a b Cicero 1963 Rawson 1975 p 338 Rawson 1975 p 294 Everitt 2001 pp 306 7 Caesar 1917 5 52 Caesar 1917 6 36 Berry 2008 p 5 Rawson 1975 p 99 Everitt 2001 p 213 Rawson 1975 p 100 Lintott 2008 p 131 Modern sources Berry DH 2008 Pro Roscio Amerino Introduction Cicero Defence speeches By Cicero Marcus Tullius Oxford World s Classics Translated by Berry DH Reissued ed Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 953790 7 Everitt Anthony 2001 Cicero A Turbulent Life John Murray ISBN 978 0 7195 5491 9 Haskell Henry Joseph 1964 This was Cicero Fawcett Publications Incorporated Lintott Andrew 2008 02 07 Cicero as Evidence A Historian s Companion Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 921644 4 Rodgers Barbara Saylor Review of Cicero As Evidence A Historian s Companion Bryn Mawr Classical Review ISSN 1055 7660 Rawson Elizabeth 1975 Cicero A Portrait Allen Lane ISBN 978 0 7139 0864 0 Ancient sources Caesar 1917 Gallic War Loeb Classical Library Translated by Edwards Henry John Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674990807 via LacusCurtius Cicero 1963 Sjogren Gabriel ed Samtliga brew in Swedish Malmo Allhem OCLC 186540219 Cicero 1980 Cicero select letters Translated by Bailey D R Shackleton Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 22492 6 OCLC 4468640 External links edit nbsp Works by or about Quintus Tullius Cicero at Wikisource Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Quintus Tullius Cicero amp oldid 1178806358, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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