The Life of Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero was not just an ordinary man, he one of the best philosophers in history. But he was much more than just a philosopher; Cicero was an orator, lawyer, and a politician. "His life coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Republic, and he was an important actor in many of the significant political events of his time," (Clayton).
Cicero was born on January 3, 106 B.C at Arpinum, a city sixty miles southeast of Rome (Gill). He placed politics above everything else. At that time people in upper-class families that had been in politics for many generations held most of the political offices. However Cicero's ancestry didn't consist of politics and didn't have that much wealth either. "But Cicero had a great deal of political ambitions," (Clayton). Since he didn't have the advantages of proper ancestry, Cicero only had two career options open to him, the military or law (Clayton).
Cicero Denounces Catiline
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero, by Bertel Thorvaldsen as co...Grewal 2
The first one was military. Cicero chose military as a career because success in military could lead to popularity and therefore politics, even though he hated war (Clayton). Cicero served under Sulla in 89 B.C but apparently he was no soldier (Beck). Cicero served in the military only for a short period of time.
The second career was law. According to Clayton, of Central Michigan University, Cicero chose law for several different reasons. "First a lawyer would gain a great deal of experience making speeches. Second, he could also gain exposure and popularity to high-profile cases. Finally, a successful lawyer would build up a network of political connections (which was really important in Cicero's time)". Cicero was an outstanding lawyer, and orator. Because of his success he was elected to the Roman offices.
Cicero's dream of becoming a politician...