The principle of the Roman Republic was distribution of power that showed rejection of tyranny. The senate was the “centre of the government” (Barlow 2017b, p.2). However, several centuries later, Roman political leaders desired to raise their power by force, such as Julius Caesar who was later murdered in order to restore the Republic. But, Mark Antony then also appeared to seize power for himself. Responding to the situation, Cicero who was a highly respected politician and orator at that time expressed his Philippics, specifically attacking Antony (Barlow et al. 2017, p.4). However, Cicero failed to avoid the fall of the Republic as Octavian was successful to be the first Roman Emperor. In this essay I will argue that Cicero’s failure in restoring the Roman Republic, as seen in Philippic 1 and Philippic 2, can be explained by several factors: the fact that Octavian betrayed Cicero, Cicero’s success in his political oratory was not enough to restore the Republic, and finally what Cicero said could not change anything because the political organisation in the Republic was corrupt. 179 words -10 = 169
First, Octavian’s betrayal to Cicero that was caused by Cicero’s criticism of Julius Caesar and his failure to influence Octavian through Philippics caused his failure to restore the Republic. Cicero recognised that Caesar was “ambitious to be king of the Roman people […] and he achieved it” (Cicero Duties ex. 3.83) and he then criticised Caesar as a “madman” because he “justified the destruction of law and liberty” (Cicero Duties ex. 3.83). This shows that Cicero was on the opposing side of Caesar. On the other hand, Octavian was the heir of Julius Caesar’s dictatorship (Cary 1954, p.425). According to these statements about Caesar and Octavian, it seems impossible for Octavian to be on Cicero’s side as Octavian was the heir of Caesar’s dictatorship and certainly wanted the dictatorship too. However, at first Cicero did not know about it and he was not sure about Octavian’s age and inheritance (Stockton 1971, pp.286,295). Later, Cicero changed his mind to assist Octavian because of the emergency situation in Rome and Antony could not be defeated without collaboration between Cicero and Octavian (Holland 2004, pp.357-358; Stockton 1971, p. 302). Cicero made sure that Octavian would not be on Antony’s side and he used Octavian as tool to defeat Antony, that is why Cicero did not attack Octavian in his Philippics. Cicero’s sayings in the Philippics which were addressed to Antony could be recognised as a cue for Octavian about how to govern the Republic well, such as “to govern by agreement”, not by fear, because “if you rule by fear, then your idea of the road to glory is mistaken” (Cicero Philippic 1 ex. 21). But, in fact Octavian only took advantage from their friendship: the consulship. After Octavian was officially elected consul, he paid no further attention to Cicero and then established Second Triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus (Holland 2004, p.360). This betrayal ended up with the murder of Cicero which proved that Cicero has been lost and it gave more possibilities for the triumvirs, who wanted the fall of the Republic, to raise power more freely. 349 words -34 = 315
Second, Cicero was successful in his political oratory, but what actually Rome needed was practical actions that could remedy the situation thereat. In the first Philippic which is a moderate speech, Cicero wanted to reach a compromise with Antony and advise him. This is shown by his statement, “change your ways Antony, I beg you. Remember your ancestors – and govern our country in such a way that your fellow-citizens will rejoice that you were born” (Cicero Philippic 1 ex. 22). In the second Philippic, he had a more emotional way to attack Antony, for instance he blamed Antony as “the cause of the final destruction of Rome” (Cicero Philippic 2 ex. 28). These rhetorical methods have successfully achieved Cicero’s Philippic’s goal as Senate declared Antony a public enemy after these Philippics (Cary 1954, p.427). However, this was not enough. Cicero powerful political oratory could not defeat military might. He stated that “peace is beautiful”, whereas “slavery is the worst of all evils” (Cicero Philippic 2 ex. 90). It can be agreed that peace is important in this life, but it suggests that Cicero preferred a peaceful way for achieving his ultimate goal — to restore the Republic. This is not relevant with the situation thereat where ambitious politicians were more likely to choose violence to accomplish their goals (Beard and Crawford 1985, pp.69-70). Cicero was also a magistrate without “senatorial ancestry”, it causes he lacked military support (Beard and Crawford 1985, pp.54-55). Without military support, Cicero failed to take part in practical actions in the government, for instance controlling the military strategies to defeat people who raised power. In short, the Republic needed more than just political oratory to be revived. 286 words -33= 253
Finally, what Cicero said could not change anything at that time because there were too many flaws in the running of the political organisation in the Roman Republic and misconduct of the people who held political positions. This is evidenced by Cicero’s statement, “your ambition to reign, Antony, certainly deserves to be compared with Caesar’s” (Cicero Philippic 2 ex. 92). The senate was actually the highest position in the Roman Republic, but both Caesar and Antony obviously wanted to take over the government as they tried to abuse their power and freedom. Sulla also attempted to raise power in the Republic four decades earlier (Stockton 1971, p.302) and increased the number of quaetors but kept the number of praetors and consuls the same (Beard and Crawford 1985, p.69). This made the political competition become keener and disrupted political life as people tend to do anything to win. Roman officials could become richer by embezzling and manipulating the tax system (Beard and Crawford 1985, p.55). This caused the government to lack fund for maintaining stability. Additionally, the personal misbehaviour of the high officials weakened the prestige of the government, such as Antony who was a consul “blocked the legal right of other officials to exercise the veto” (Cicero Philippic 2 ex. 30) and raised his private armies for “self-defence” (Cicero Philippic 2 ex. 89). To achieve and maintain a well-organised government, every part of it should obey the laws, prioritise the betterment of society and should not be arbitrary. Moreover, to support that Cicero’s sayings could not change anything, Stockton (1971, p.306) pointed out that Cicero was born too late, “his spiritual home was the Rome of Cato the Elder” and “in the Rome of Antony and Octavian he was an obstructive anachronism”. Cicero could not give influence to the Roman civilisation at that time, whereas the government and citizens were the key of the success on restoring the Republic. After all, sooner or later, the Republic would fall either with or without Cicero’s intervention. 340 words -34 = 306
In conclusion, the fall of the Roman Republic could not be avoided by Cicero, especially through his Philippics. Octavian’s betrayal to him led to his assassination. His triumph in political oratory was not enough to restore the Republic as military support was also necessary thereat. Finally, he could not change the situation thereat which the running of the government was not satisfactory anymore. 63 words