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Extra resources for Cicero: On the Commonwealth and on the Laws

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Which blurs the distinction between (arithmetic) equality and (proportional) equity in order to disparage democratic ideals. Cicero uses aequalitas, ‘‘equality,’’ in the philosophical discussions of On the Laws Book  (, ); he does not use it in the political analysis of On the Commonwealth. Optimates; optimus quisque (optimates, aristocracy, aristocrats, ‘‘the best people’’; every responsible citizen, the best people) Optimate (which has been taken over in English) is the favorable term for the Roman aristocracy, derived from optimus, ‘‘best’’ – itself the Latin equivalent of the Greek aristos.

There is, then, no possibility of bringing aid to the state, however great the dangers that oppress it, at a moment’s notice or when you want to, unless you are in a position that permits such action. [] And I am particularly amazed by this feature of the philosophers’ argument, that people who admit their incapacity for steering in calm weather – because they have never learned how or wanted to know – these same people offer to take the helm in the greatest storms. They make a habit of saying openly, and even boasting, that they have neither studied nor taught anything about the methods of organizing and preserving commonwealths, and they think that such knowledge belongs not to wise and learned men but to men of practical experience in these areas.

To Marius’ flight from Sulla and his violent return and revenge after Sulla’s departure to the Mithdradatic War.  And yet my misfortunes had more honor than hardship and incurred less difficulty than glory; and I reaped greater joy from the sympathy of respectable citizens than pain from the happiness of the wicked. But as I said, if things had worked out differently, how could I complain? Nothing unforeseen happened to me, nothing worse than I expected considering how much I had done. I had always been the sort of person who could achieve greater rewards from my leisure than other people because of the varied delights of the studies in which I had immersed myself from childhood; and if something painful happened to everyone, then my misfortune would be no greater than that of others.

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