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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X J 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Th« oopy ftlmad h«r« has b««n raproduead thanks to tha ganaroaity of: Library of Pirliiment and the National Library of Canada. L'axamplaira fiimA fut raproduit grica i la gAn^roalt* da: La BihIiothAqua du Parlemant at la Biblioth^qua nationala du Canada. Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha boat quality poaalbia conaidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in icaaping with tha filming contract apacifieationa. Laa imagaa auhrantaa ont 4t* raproduitaa avac la plua grand aoln. eompta tanu da la condition at do la nattat* do I'axampiaira filmA. at an oonformit* avac laa conditiona du contrat da filmaga. Original eopioa in printad papar eovora aro filmad baginning with tha front eovar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa* aion, or tho bacic eovar whan appropriata. All othor original eopioa ara filmad baginning on tha f irat paga with a printad or illuatratad imprea- aion. and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Laa aKamplairaa originaux dont la couvortura an paplar aat imprimda aont filmda an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la dami^ra paga qui comporta una amprainta dimpraaalon ou dlNuatration, soit par la tacond plat, salon la eaa. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa originaux aont fllmda an common^ant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta dimpraaalon ou dllluatration at tt tarminant par la damiAra paga qui comporta una talla Tha laat raeordad frama on aach microfieha ahall contain tha aymbol ^^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"). or tho aymbol ▼ (maaning "END"). which« gave him, under good behaviour, a seat in the Senate for life. Cirero was for*, tunate enough to obtain this position, in his thirty-first year, — the earliest age at which he could qualify. The idea of the Senate, from its name, wai that it was to be composed of old men, but that age was placed at any- thing over thirty, — though I don't know that every man over thirty con- sidered himself an old man then, any more than he does now. Once in the Senate, Cicero was in his element It was his talent alone that put him there, for he had nothing to boast of in the way of family. He was called a, novus homo^ — born in the provinces. But in the Senate he could make his name known. The best blood of Rome would see his talent there ; his position would give him the right at times to harangue the people. He would know all that was gomg on in the army, in the law courts, and in the state. In his time the Senate wa^not noted for any brilliant oratory, thereT fore his talent in that direction would give him vast power. All this came to him at the earliest age he could qualify, and no position was more gladly hailed than that of quaestor, not so much for its actual duties — for it was a sort of treasurership, chiefly in the provinces, each Provincial Governor having his quaestor — as for the passport it gave to the Senate and to future positions. Once quaestor, the next thought was to be aedile, a position which was far more costly than lucrative, as the aedile had to provide the public with games in the amphitheatre. It was a most trying position, because some men, who had nothing to recommend them but their wealth, provided such magnificent spectacles as to charm the heart of the people and insure future promotion. But this rendered % all the more difficult for successive sedilesw Cicero obtained this positioii a A Pafer on CUtro, in due course, having served as quaes- tor the five years required by law. Though possessed of no great wealth, and unable, therefore, to lavish that extravagance that some of hb prede- cessors in office had indulged in, he nevertheless performed his duties hon- ourably and to the entire satisfaction of the people, whom he was able to serve in other ways far more substan- tially than by the brutality and glitter of a public show, though mdeed there were fewer things that the Roman people were fonder of. But Cicero was an advocate. He had great in- fluence with the judges on the bench ; he helped many a poor citizen out of trouble, and while holding on as best he could to the Conservative or Senatorial party, he contrived to get a firm hold upon the hearts of the people, and this not by any means the mere rabble; for although the qusestorship and sedileship were in the gift of the general public under a fr^e franchise, yet the next office, that of praetor, was by the vote " in centuries "as it was called, and this gave the power alone into the hands of the wealthier and better citizens. As soon as eligible for the post, Cicero was unanimously elected to it. Every gift that the people could give him so far was bestowed upon him most willingly and honourably. As praetor he had still more power. No higher post remained for him except that of consul, a magnificent prize in the eyes of every Roman citizen. Two consuls were elected every year, and their power was supreme. They were the rulers of the day, the presidents of the State. No man could hold the position a second time except under peculiar circumstances or the extra- ordinary exigencies of the times. But once consul, a certain standing in the Senate and in the State was secured which lasted for life. To be of " con- sular rank " was a high boast among i^e Romans j and if the actual power itielf lasted but one year, it was a great object of ambition, and not by anv means eas;^ to secure — for althoush it was obtained by popular vote, the good-will of the Senate also was neces> sary. With the Senate against a man he must almost surely fail, and Cicero did not feel sure of the Senate. They acknowledged his ability, but could not get over the fact that he was a mere " new man," or provincial. Be- sides, they dreaded his power with the people. Their votes were pretty cer- tain to be his, — although even here he had a hard battle to fight It was a corrupt age. Men expected bribes, and Cicero was honest and detested bribery. Much then would depend upon the nature of the other candi- dates for the office. These were two, Antonius (uncle of the well-known Mark Antony) and Lucius Catiline (afterwards known as a notorious con- spirator). These, with Cicero, formed three candidates. Now, for many rea* sons, Antonius was sure of the posi- tion. He had the undoubted support of the Senate and the people. The real contest lay between Catiline and Cicero. Catiline was of high birth, a patrician ; he was a genial, good- natured fellow with everyone, and though -Cicero might get a majority of the people, the Senatorial power would be against him. But there was one recommendation Cicero had in his favour — he was a man of good mor- als, of well-known integrity and hon- esty. The other candidates had no such merit. They were both worth- less, dishonest men ; known as fre- quenters of the vilest haunts in the city ; profligate and dissolute in every^ way, — especially Catiline, pictures of whose enormities are cleverly and scathingly drawn by Cicero himself. To the lasting honour of the Roman State be it said that this turned the scale. The Senate thought that they might stand one consul of depraved habits, but two would be subversive i A Pt^ 0m Citiro, ve of all decenqr and order, and even dangeroui to the State. Here if an instance, then, in which virtue was its own reward. The Senate gave Catiline the cold shoulder, and threw all its influence in favour of Cicero, who, with its power and the great hold he had upon the affections of the people, was returned triumphantly at the head of the poll, outstripping, to the surprise of all, even Antonius. It has been said that Cicero was not altogether above blame in this elec- tion — that he made a corrupt pro- posal to Antonius that if he would use his influence with the Senate in his favour against Catiline he would in turn give Antonius a rich Province at the termination of their year of ofiice for him to plunder and fleece. This may be so. We can scarcely answer for what men will sometimes do to procure an election, especially when that is to be the one ^eat election of their life. Cicero lived in an at- mosphere of corruption. The taint of it was on every side of him. He may have thought that by procuring his election he would save the State from the foul clutches of a monster like Catiline, and the subtle argument that the " end justifies the means " may have prevailed with him. It may have been so, though there is no proof, and it does not seem likely that one profligate aristocrat would desert another ror the purpose of be- friending a powerful upstart so honest that no hope of peculation or rapine could be entertained with him as a colleague. Sure of his own election, it would certainly seem more likely, on the plea that " birds of a feather flock together," that he would choose Cati- line rather than Cicero — for the rich province, in the end, would be his all the same. At all events, the dear object of Cicero's life was attained. He had risen honourably through the succes' sive steps of quaestor, sedile, prsetor, till the grand consular robe graced hia form, and the hi^h rank gave dignity and power to his eloquent tongue.^ But the sudden and generous support of the Senate threw Cicero somewhat on the hom"* of a dilemma. He waa alike beholden to them and to the peo- ple — !>., we may say, to Conservatives, and Reformers; and if at times Cicero seemed now to favour one and now^ another — in a word, to be, to some ex- tent, a time server, we must remember that he owed a debt of gratitude to both parties. I do not think Cicero was ever a strong party man. Some never can be party men ; their ideas are too generous — their grasp of intel- lect too wide. They see good meas- ures on both sides. They love their country more than their party, and therefore pet names are called them sometimes — "time servers," "wea- thercocks," " trimmers," and all that Still we all honour men who will at times rise above party and exclaim, "It is not that I love my party less^ but my country more." All through Cicero's life and writ- ings you see one leading passion — it was the Roman constitution, the res- puhlica^ the republic. This he de- fended from lawlessness on the one hand and from personal tyranny on the other. After rising to the position of consul he soon had a chance tO' show his hatred of a lawless disregard for the republic. It brought him into great prominence for a while, and won for him unbounded praise, only, how- ever, to bring upon him a bitter crop of trouble in no long time afterwards. This was the conspiracy of Catiline. The feelings of a defeated candidate are not as a rule the most amiable, and Catiline, a man of vicious and desperate character, nfver Icrgave the Roman State for leaving him, a man of patrician birth, out in the cold, uud choosing in his place a self-made law-> yen Catiline was a man of no ordi^ nary chai acter. Had he been as good 10 A Paper on Cicero, OS he was brave, as virtuous as he was persevering, he would have filled a noble place in history. But a de- praved life and burning hatred made him one of the worst men of antiquity. It is true we have his character as iraced chiefly by his deadly enemy, Cicero himself, and therefore we must to some extent make allow.pces. Still, there can be no doubt tuac he was a troublesome and bad man. A deep plot v^as discovered, mainly through the extraordinary vigilance of Cicero, by which Catiline and his friends were to seize the chief power in the State. Cicero was as eloquent in the Senate and before the people regarding this matter as he had been vigilant in dragging it to light. Cati- line was himself a member of the Senate, and was present when Cicero spoke of the plot he had discovered, but under the withei ig denuncia- tions of the great oral >r his fellow- Senators gradually mo\ d away from where he was sitting, i til he was left alone. He then ^ hdrew not only from the Senate Hoi e, but from the city. Many of the fading con- spirators were arrested. The Senate did not know what to ( with them. Probably many of the r »mbers were involved in the conspL.. -, and an inquiry would have been awkward. Certain it is no inquiry was made. Cicero thought the time had come for prompt and unusual action, and there- fore, without a trial, without a chance to plead their cause, the leading con- spirators were put to death, and Cicero was lauded to the skies ; he was deemed worthy of divine hon- ours, and was called the saviour of his country. But before long, men began to shake their heads, and the desperate deed was pointed to as a dangerous precedent. A young man of high birth, named Clodius, hated Cicero with a bitter hatred, and, some time after the great orator's consul- ship was over, he saw a chance to rob him of his honours and to degrade him in the eyes of the people. A more vicious, profligate youth than Clodius did not exist in Rome. He had prob* ably favoured Catiline against Cicero. He now thrust himself into public life, threw up his high place as a patrician, renounced his order, and got himself adopted as a plebeian. This he did in order that he might become tribune of the people. It was a post which no patrician could hold, yet no more important position existed in the Ro- man State than a tribuneship. It was created at the demand of the people, to save themselves from the tyranny of the upper classes. In the hands of the tribune was placed the dead- ly power of the veto. No measure could become law, no matter by how large a majority it was passed in the Senate, if the tribune of the people said veto. He was like a House of Commons in himself. He could defy consuls and Senate alike. It was the one great power which the com- mon people in the Roman republic had. An idea of its power may be had from this conduct of Clodius. A young, haughty patrician renounces his rank, becomes a plebeian, in order that he may ruin the man who stood highest in power in the State 1 His deep-laid plans were successful. He had already risen to the position of quaestor, and was therefore a member of the Senate. This power, together with the influence he had with the consuls of the year, and his position as tribune of the people (which he got by well-known arts of electioneering), enabled him to procure a law that any man who had put any Roman citizen or citizens to death without a trial was to be considered guilty of a wrong against the State. The fickle popu- lace were pleased with this law. The eloquent statesman who had so often received marks of their unbounded confidence, now found all changed. Their feelings had been wrought upon t A Paper on Cicero. It ^ ' by one that dreaded Cicero. Csesar was already aiming at chief power. He was about to leave to carry on his wars in Gaul. He had a power- ful party in his favour in Rome, but he was afraid of Cicero. He con- sidered him a dangerous man to leave behind. He therefore tried to induce him to accompany him to Gaul, but in vain. It is thought that secretly he helped Clodius in his deep game to ruin him. Poor Cicero found him- self suddenly almost without a friend. Pompey, his old friend, could have helped him, but for some reason no help was given. He lost his presence of miod. The Senate felt condemned by the hero of the day, the extraordi- nary young scapegrace who had be- come tribune of the people, and all its members put on mourning. Cic- ero was unmanned. His burning eloquence for the moment was gone. He could only beg and sue for mercy, mercy which he did not get. His foes were jubilant. He was tried under the new law and banished the coun- try ! 'His property was all confiscated, and the brilliant orator of consular rank, the man who had been called Pater Patriae, and who had been en- riched by the State, was stripped of all possessions and driven from home unmanned and weeping like a woman. Pompey, meanwhile, breathed more freely, and Csesar marched with a lighter heart at the head of his fa- mous legions to fight with and to conquer Gaul. For nearly a year and a half Cicero pined and fretted in Macedonia, think- ing of a man like Clodius lording it over Senate and people in Rome. But this soon wrought its own cure. Much as Cicero had been appreciated, his real value was not known till he was gone. The only men of weight at that time were Pompey, Caesar, Cato, and Cicero; and circumstances had now deprived Rome of all these ex- cept Pompey. Caesar was off waning in Gaul, Cato (it is thought, to serve Caesar's own ends, thinking he would be better out of Rome than in it) was sent to govern Cyprus j Cicero was in exile; so the way was clear for the effeminate Clodius to play at legisla- tion. Pompey took no active part, but he soon saw that everything was gc ing wrong. The state of Rome at the time might well be described in '.he words of King Harry to his son : " Have you a ruffian that will swear, drink, dance, Revel the night ; rob, murder, and com- mit The oldest sins the newest kind of ways ? • • • • • England shall double gild his treble guilt ; England shall give him office, honour, might." Substituting Rome for England and Clodius for the scapegrace described, you have the state of the Roman capi- tal at this time — a state which Momm- sen speaks of as a '' Walpurgis dance of political witches." The ship was rocking wildly to and fro, and there was no one to steady the helm. Pompty was afraid for his life, and therefore at once had a decree passed 'recalling Cicero. The great orator had his enemies, and he has them in some of the historians of the present day. Mommsen and Froude, for in- stance, seem to dislike to say a good word for him, yet this fact speaks for itself. The need of his presence was felt by the few wise heads then left in Rome, and he was recalled. It was a proud day for Cicero when this re- call was received. He certainly had a high opinion of himself. His con- fident remarks regarding his own powers and work savour of a self- conceit which makes one smile. In fact, in reading his speeches, one gets tired of his vanity. In his opinion, his consulship was the most brilliant triumph the Roman State had ever seen. He refers to it ad nauseam. His bold policy, his active vigilance, » A Paper on Cicero, his untiring legislation had saved the Republic. This is the burden of his song continually. And then to fail because of that very act on which he had plumed himself, and to be sub- jected to the lasting disgrace of exile, was enough to break his proud spirit. However, the recall soon set every- thing right again. His old vanity came back in a new shape. "The people have seen their mistake ; after all, my policy was a good one; my consulship was brilliant; I was the saviour of my country, and the people see it now." In this he certainly made a mistake. Had Cicero been a little more resolute he would have done far better for himself. Had he been true to the people, who certainly clung to him as long as they thought be was their friend, it would have been far better for him. But he was somewhat dazzled by the Senate, and he put himself too much in its power. He thought it a grand thing to have so many aristocratic friends, but he soon learned that the most substantial friends were the people. His recall was an affair of great brilliancy. All the way from Brundisium to Rome he was congratulated and lionized. The citizens of Rome received him heartily. His status and property were restored to him, his houses were rebuilt at the public expense, and once more he became the popular idol. But Rome was in a frightful condition. We cannot, indeed, take everything that Cicero says of his enemies as true. Allowance must be made for the ex- aggeration of invective ; but even ad- mitting this, the men who then ruled in Rome were detestable examples of impurity and vice. In a letter to his brother, Cicero says : "I am broken- hearted, my uear brother — broken- hearted that the constitution is gone, that the courts of law are naught, and that nc w, at my time of life [he was then 53 years old], when I ought to be leading with authority in the Sen- ate, I must be either busy in the Forum pleading, or occupying myself with my books at home.^' But with all his ambition Cicero was not able to quell the turbulence of the times. Mere invective and the calling of hard names had little effect upon men whose lives were as bad as those who were assailed. Cicero's strong point was his oratory. In this he had no rival. He could sway the Senate and he could sway the crowd, but he had no power to fall back upon to help him to give his measures effect. He lacked the iron will to carry out what he was always courageous enough to advocate. He had suffered much in iiis contest with Clodius. The revenge of this young demagogue was insatiable, for even after Cicero's re- turn he curried favour with the people so as to neutralize the eloquence of Cicero ; and when at last Clodius was murdered, the people were enraged and burnt the Senate- House, as if the senators had been the cause of all their trouble. Cicero, as one of the Senatorial party, was detested by the crowd, and losing even his boldness of utterance, he never delivered the speech which he had prepared in de- fence of the alleged murderer of Clo- dius. He dared not deliver it. We have it preserved to us now — his speech in defence of Milo ; — an elo- quent effort, a masterly defence ; but reason world have had no avail with the mob, i.\nd the speech was never made. In this way the years wore on. Caesar was achieving wonders in con- quering Gaul and Britain. Pompey was doing equally well in the East. Rome was disorganized, and sooner or later some iron hand must grasp the reins there and make things bend before it. That hand was already stretched out towards the city. The warrior had to do what the statesman^ however brilliant as an orator, had failed to do. The veteran legions of A Paper on Cicero, 13 Cssar had performed- their work abroad ; they now were looking home- wards. Their great chief had ambi- tious designs for himself. He now no longer feared Cato nor Cicero, but of Fompey he was afraid. He knew that either he or Fompey must go down if one or the other was to rule, and therefore he crossed the fatal Rubicon, and rode on to seek the death of Fompey, only, alas ! to hasten on the events which were to bring himself to an equally violent death. Fompey lay dead on the sands of an Eastern shore, and Caesar marched to Rome to quiet disturb- ances there, and to rule the State as he had been accustomed to rule his legions. Men stood by affrighted. Cicero had always been friendly with Caesar. They bad kindred tastes, especially in literature, but the great orator stood aghast at Caesar's grow- ing power. He worked on quietly as a lawyer ; more than once he pleaded cases before " most excellent Caesar," as he was wont to call him, but he had sad forebodings of coming trouble. He loved the Republic. At the cost of his own political success, he had defended it against lawless anarchy. He now began to see in Caesar a " one-man power," savouring of that ancient monarchy which had in time developed a Tarquinius Superbus — and he shuddered. But what could he do ? His influence with the people was gone ; the Senate was cowed by the power of Caesar; the veteran legions were at hand to govern when lawful means might fail. He could only wait and watch. And Caesar held unconstitutional sway, hurrying with fearful haste to the memorable " Ides of March," when in the Senate- House, " even at the base of Fompey 's statue, which all the while ran blood," great Caesar had to fall. Once more the assassin's dagger had to do what nothing else could effect. His best friends stabbed him to the heart, and Caesar fell. Cicero expressed great satisfaction at this. He seems, indeed, to have exulted over it with savage glee. But may we not say that this was not at the death of his friend, nor yet at the method employed to bring the desired politi- cal relief, but merely at the fact that a terrible warning had been given to those who should at any time at- tempt to assume royal sway in Rome ? The key to many of the expressions of Cicero, otherwise inexplicable, lies, I think, in his extreme love and jeal- ous care for the constitution of the Republic which he loved. It may be, indeed, that he cared only for himself Some have seen in Cicero an extraordinary example of vanity. Certainly there are traces of it. He wanted to be the bright light, and Caesar's light was too strong for that. But there were indications that he loved the constitution of the Republic as well. At any rate he rejoiced that Caesar was dead. Historians differ as to the reason of this. Some think it was simply because, Caesar gone, Fompey dead, Cicero must rise. It may be so; men like to rule, and Cicero had an unusually strong desire in that direction. But he soon found that Caesar was more potent with the peo- ple than he had dreamed of. A great reaction speedily set in. It was found that his was a noble, generous heart, aiid the men who had used their un- hallowed daggers had to flee the country, and, even in foreign lands or distant colonies, within three years, they all came to a tragic end. Cicero, however, still lived on, the life and soul of the Senate. He brought all his brilliant powers of oratory to bear upon reviving the embers of the Re- public. The men who were to swoop down upon the unhappy State were carrying on distant wars. Mark An- tony was the leading spirit of the old Caesar faction, andCicero opposed him with an amount of energy surprising M A Paper on Cicero. in an old man. His fourteen orations a|;ainst Antony, known as "the Philip- pics/' are brilliant efforts of oratory. The fire of the old man burnt its brightest as it was about to go out for ever. But his eloquence could not withstand military power. The celebrated triumvirate was formed. Octavius, Lepidus and Antony joined forces and marched on to Rome. Great fear and consternation was the result. Murder was commit- ted on every hand. Our poor old orator, who, since the death of Caesar, had had a brief lease of power, felt that his last burning shot had been fired, and that no longer would the Senate walls listen to his brilliant words. The victorious party ap- proached the city, and Cicero fled. It was his only hope ; but he did not fly with suflicient haste. He hated to leave Rome. He was an old man and loved his country. His hesita- tion cost him his life. Soldiers found him and cut oS his head. It was brought to Mark Antony, who treated it with every mark of scorn and con- tempt — a disgraceful act in which his wife joined. Her hatred knew no bounds. She even pierced with her bodkin the poor silent tongue — that tongue which was so eloquent in the denunciation of her husband's crimes and vicious life. This was the end of Cicero. The light of the old era was fast burning out. Cicero little knew how close his times were upon a new light which was to spring, not from Rome nor yet from Greece, but from a little de- spised province — a light which was to usher in a new era, brightened by principles that were to serve no single State, but the whole world. He died forty-three years before Christ. We are now nearly 1900 years after Christ, and it is not too much to say that the world has not yet risen to the height of His morality. He saw what Cicero would have given worlds to see — the true principles which were in the end to bring happiness for mankind. Cicero was Roman, and he nearly saw the old era end. Christ be- gan a new era, and He was cos- mopolitan. It was the world he sought to help. Cicero made the well-being of man a study. He tried to bring happiness to Rome by re- viving, or rather introducing, among his countrymen the philosophy of the learned Greeks. He studied Plato and Aristotle, and was thus enabled to produce many excellent works full of wise counsel. Nothing could be more excellent than his letters to his son Marcus, known as " De Ofiiciis." Voung men of any age would be vastly benefited by reading them. No one can read his books without feeling that one is in the presence of a good and a pure soul, who sought to know what "that good was for the sons of men on earth." His essays on " Friendship" and "Old Age" will remain charming examples of ancient moral principles as long as the world lasts ; and his treatise on the " Na- ture of the Gods " shows that he had no faith whatever in the mythical deities of the Greeks and of his own countrymen; but there was a noble reaching out beyond these things to a Great Creator and Ruler of the Universe. He saw there what he could not see in Rome — the beau- ties of perfect order and govern- ment. His knowledge of astronomy impressed him all the more with the power and wisdom of the Great Ruler of all things.* Dean Merivale calls Cicero "the best specimen of the highest culture, both morally and in- tellectually, in the ancient world." Erasmus thought him inspired; and an old scholar declared, "I am * He says in his treatise on the " Nature of the Gods" (II. 5): " It is quite impossible for us toavoid thinkwE that the wonderful motion^ revolutions and order of the many and great heavenly bodies, no part of which is impaired oy the countless and infinita succession of aces, must be governed and directed by iome supreme Intelligent Being," A Paper an Cicero, 1$ 1' always a better man for reading Cicero." Unlike most ancient writers, Cicero never offends the finest sense of delicacy. In his speeches, some- times he used intemperate language axid spoke plainly of monstrous sins, but in his writings you see purity itself. They can be put into the hands of the young men and women of our day with perfect safety. In- deed, it would be advisable to do so. In his writings you see a desire to know the highest good for man ; but this remained for one greater than any philos(^)her to give to the world in all its force and power. It re- mained for the Galilean peasant to show, not only beauty of precept, but perfection of life, coupled with an un- selfishness which has ever made His enemies wonder. But though Cicero- wrote beautiful philosophy, and gave golden rules of integrity and virtue, he did not profess to be a moral teacher. He was a lawyer and a statesman, yet he saw the root of all the trouble in Rome. It was an utter want of moral principle. This made him tremble for the future of the State, and he made himself acquainted with the best Greek literature in order to teach his countrymen the true philosophy of morality. In such a light let us think, of Cicero, and so leave him. \ aita I by