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Study Notes on Cicero and Natural Law
John S. Uebersax
www.john-uebersax.com
Contents
1. Prolegomena to the Study of Cicero
2. A Chronology of Cicero’s Life
3. Cicero's Philosophical Writings
4. Dimensions of Natural Law in Cicero's Thought
5. Reading. Robert N. Wilkin, Cicero: Oracle of Natural Law, The Classical Journal, 44(8),
May, 1949, pp. 452–456.
6. Reading. Introduction: Marcus Tullius Cicero (Walter B. Gunnison, Walter S. Harley,
Marcus Tullius Cicero: Seven Orations , Boston, 1912, pp. xvii–xl (annotated).
Prolegomena to the Study of Cicero
Prolegomena to the Study of Cicero
Why Cicero Today?
The study of Cicero is more relevant today than ever. To form any just appreciation of the man and his
work, one needs to understand his times. As this topic is neglected in modern universities, a brief
summary is supplied here. Those wishing to know more about Roman and Greek history might, in
addition to reading, wish to consult some of the excellent ancient history courses offered by The
Teaching Company (see my recommendations).
Life and Times of Cicero
Cicero lived from 106 BC to 43 BC. He reached maturity and the height of his ability at just the time the
mighty Roman Republic imploded. The Roman Republic was a marvel of efficient and just (for its time),
government. In addition to several lesser institutions, the Senate made laws, and two consuls, elected
yearly, performed executive duties. As the Republic grew strong, it conquered rivals, and expanded its
territory. A social and economic gulf between the landed equestrian order, to which Cicero's family
belonged, and a lower class existed. The latter increasingly located to the city of Rome where, easily
manipulated by demagogues, they demanded more favorable re-distribution of money and land.
Cicero's youth had seen several bloody coups and shakeups of the Roman government. A series of civil
and social wars occurred, of which the famous events involving Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and
Augustus were only the end results. While patriotic and virtuous as a rule, the equestrian order and its
political manifestation, the Senate, either could not or would not take adequate steps to satisfy the
masses. Some suggest that the Republic had simply grown to large to continue.
A major change seemed inevitable in any case. If Roman culture excelled at one thing, it was the
production of a class of talented and supremely ambitious men — of just the sort who would vie with
each other to seize the initiative under unstable conditions. The motif of a disgruntled general marching
into Rome and declaring himself dictator became almost prosaic.
In 60 BC the First Triumvirate was formed — an alliance between Julius Caesar, the immensely wealthy
Crassus, and the great general Pompey. (Cicero was been asked to be a fourth member but declined.)
The First Triumvirate, of course, was short-lived, and eventually came to bitter conflict, in which Caesar
prevailed. The Roman Republic, patched up, staggered on a few years more.
By 44 BC, following ceaseless political and social conflict, Caesar dissolved the Republic, and declared
himself dictator. To say this broke the heart of Cicero, the fierce lover of everything traditionally Roman,
is an understatement. For reasons unknown, Cicero did not join his close friends Brutus and Cato, and
other members of the Senate in assassinating Caesar on 15 March 44.
With the Roman government now in complete shambles, Cicero assumed moral leadership, but not for
long; Marc Antony was determined to step into Caesar's role. Against this Cicero launched his famous
Philippics , a series of public speeches that denounced Marc Antony in the most acrimonious of terms,
and so-named after the comparable speeches in which the famous Greek orator Demosthenes had
denounced Philip of Macedonia three centuries earlier.
Prolegomena to the Study of Cicero
suggests itself: that classics were eliminated in part so that people would not read Cicero and his like;
for if they did they would become enlightened, and able to cast of their chains.
It is perhaps ironic to see Cicero, the champion of tradition and aristocratic Republicanism, as being
vitally relevant to the struggle of "the 99%" today. But that is even further testimony to the genius and
character of the man — who wrote, especially at the end, from a pure and elevated consciousness,
always concerned with truth and virtue for their own sake, always placing clear-sighted regard for
honestum (honesty and dignity) and humanitas above any particular belief, theory, or doctrine.
rev. 2014-07-
John Uebersax
www.john-uebersax.com
A Chronology of Cicero’s Life (106-43 B.C.)
Chronology of writing and publication of some of Cicero's works is uncertain.
106 M. Tullius Cicero born at Arpinum (Jan. 3).
Capture of Jugurtha by Sulla.
Cimbric Wars (113-101)
Consulships of Marius (107, 105-100)
104 Brother Quintus born.
90 Cicero's military service in the Social War under Gn. Pompeius Strabo.
Social War (revolt of Italian allies) (91-88).
First Mithridatic War (88-85).
Civil wars of Marius and Sulla (88-82).
81 Pro P. Quinctio.
Dictatorship of Sulla - Senate restored to power.
80 Pro Sex. Roscio Amerino.
Sulla abdicates power.
79-77 Cicero studies rhetoric in Athens and Rhodes (returns in 77).
77 Cicero marries Terentia (?).
Pro Q. Roscio Comoedo (?).
75 Cicero serves as quaestor in western Sicily (Lilybaeum).
Third Mithridatic War (74-63)
70 Divinatio in Q. Caecilium
In Verrem
First consulship of Pompey and Crassus.
69 Cicero aedile
Pro A. Caecina, Pro M. Fonteio, Pro M. Tullio
67 Lex Gabinia gives Pompey extraordinary command against pirates.
66 Cicero praetor
Pro Cluentio, Pro Lege Manilia
Lex Manilia gives Pompey command against Mithridates.
65 Son Marcus born
63 Cicero’s consulship. Conspiracy of Catiline
In Catilinam, Pro Murena, Pro C. Rabirio, Contra Rullum
Pompey defeats Mithridates and organizes the East.
62 Cicero testifies against Clodius in the Bona Dea trial.
Pro Archia, Pro Sulla
60 1st Triumvirate formed (Pompey, Crassus, Caesar) - Cicero refuses to join.
59 Pro Flacco
First consulship of Caesar.
Cicero's Philosophical Writings
Cicero's Philosophical Writings
English Name Latin Name Date Subject
On the Republic De Republica c. 52 BC Principles of a well-governed political
state; modeled after Plato's Republic
On Laws De Legibus c. 51 BC Principles of law; modeled after Plato's
Laws
Stoic Paradoxes Paradoxa Stoicorum 48 BC On certain paradoxes posed by Stoic
philosophers
Consolation Consolatio 45 BC Lost work; consolation on death of a
loved one; written to cope with tragic
death of his daughter; very popular in
antiquity
Hortensius Hortensius 45 BC Lost work
Academic Questions Academica 45 BC On the Platonic (Academic) school of
philosophy
On Ends De Finibus 45 BC On moral ends; i.e., what is the greatest
good ( summum bonum ) on which basis
we may choose ethical actions?
Tusculan Disputations Tusculanae
Disputationes
45 BC On Stoic psychology, with particular
concern for emotions
On the Nature of the Gods De Natura Deorum 45 BC Are the gods real?
On Divination De Divinatione 44 BC Is oracular divination (e.g., reading
entrails) real?
On Fate De Fato 44 BC What is Fate?
On Old Age De Senectute 44 BC The advantages of old age
On Friendship De Amicitia 44 BC Friendship
On Glory De Gloria 43 BC Lost work; on fame and glory
On Moral Duties De Officiis 43 BC Overall advice on how to live a moral
and happy life; written for his son
On Oratory ( De Oratore ; c. 45 BC), a work on oratory and rhetoric, also contains significant philosophical
material.
From Wood, Neal. Cicero's Social and Political Thought. UC Press, 1988; pp. 55–56 (comments in blue
mine):
"The beginning of Caesar's ascent to power in 60, and correspondingly Cicero's descent, meant
that with more leisure from politics, he increasingly turned to literary pursuits. Prior to his
proconsulship in Cilicia in 51, he had completed and published the Republic and commenced
work on the Laws. In the nearly two years of enforced political retirement under Caesar from
late 46 or early 45 to the end of 44, he wrote his major philosophic works at a furious pace,
probably starting with the Paradoxes of the Stoics. It was an erudite friend, Gaius Matius,
ironically a loyal partisan and admirer of Caesar, who, Cicero confessed, 'urged me to write
these philosophical treatises.'
1
In On Divination , published just after the dictator's [Caesar's]
assassination, Cicero tells us that although now politically inactive, he hopes to continue serving
Cicero's Philosophical Writings
the state and contributing to the public good by instructing his fellow citizens, especially the
youths, in the most noble learning.
2
We know that for Cicero, the politician par excellence,
philosophy was an important substitute, but only a substitute, for the life of action, a means of
solace in his isolation and exclusion from the public forum. The works he lists in On Divination
are Hortensius , Academics , On Good and Evil Ends [ De Finibus ], Tusculan Disputations , On the
Nature of the Gods , On Fate , On Consolation , On Old Age , Cato , On Oratory , Brutus , and Orator.
Of the Hortensius , On Consolation , and Cato have been lost. Another perished work, On Glory ,
was written in the summer of 44, when he also began his last philosophic tome, On Duties ,
completed in the autumn and judged by many to be his masterpiece. His last writing, finished
before the end of the year, On Friendship , was dedicated to Atticus."
1
Letters to Friends , 11.27.5.
2
On Divination , 2.1–2.
Natural Law
The works most relevant to Natural Law are (in rank order) De Legibus , De Republica , De Officiis , De
Finibus , and De Natura Deorum. (This is a tentative list and subject to revision.)
Links
- Links to various editions (most in public domain) of Cicero's philosophical works
- Clayton, Edward. "Cicero," The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
http://www.iep.utm.edu/cicero/, 8 July 2014.
rev. 2014-07-
John Uebersax
www.john-uebersax.com
Dimensions of Natural Law in Cicero's Thought
Natural Law and Stoicism
A certain amount of confusion exists concerning Cicero's philosophical orientation. His writings make
very clear that he identified himself as a Platonist. Plato's Academy was founded around 387 BC in
Athens and still existed in Cicero's time. When Cicero spent several months in Athens, he studied under
the head of the Academy, Antiochus of Ascalon. He had also been taught by the previous head, Philo of
Larissa, when the latter visited Rome. The hallmark of this phase of Platonism (the New Academy) was
skepticism. Following the lead of Socrates, Academic skeptics claimed to have certain knowledge about
virtually nothing. However, unlike the more radical Pyrrhonian skeptics (named for the Greek
philosopher, Pyrrho), they allowed that one can still act decisively, based on assessing probabilities of
truth or falseness of a proposition.
Cicero's philosophical studies were not confined to Platonism. Indeed, overall, he spent more time
studying under Stoics than Platonists. Moreover, the philosophical schools at this time were strongly
eclectic, with a lot of borrowing amongst them going on. Finally, while Stoicism and Platonism are
considered two different schools, a good argument could be made that, at least in terms of ethics,
Stoicism was something of a branch of Platonism. In any case, the distinctions between the Platonists,
Peripatetics (Aristotle's school), and Stoics were somewhat blurred at this time.
Therefore it is unsurprising that many of Cicero's most important views on Natural Law are largely Stoic.
To characterize the Stoic view fairly simply, it is that (a) a benevolent and wise Supreme Being governs
all Nature; (b) human happiness and the aim of ethics is a 'life in accord with Nature'; (c) for this to
happen, one must recognize and follow ones instinctive interest in and attraction to virtue; (d) all human
beings constitute a single family, and hence naturally deserve our interest, compassion, help, etc.
Cicero's expressed views on Natural Law can be seen as to some extent a conscious reaction to the
ethical theories of the Epicureans, as for example found in the then popular work, De Rerum Natura by
Lucretius. Epicureanism was atheistic and materialistic; for them, any semblance of order or purpose in
the universe was the result of random collisions of atoms.
As the preceding (and following) discussion makes clear, for Cicero, Natural Law theory derives in large
part from an integral connection between theology (or at least metaphysics) and human ethics. This
raises the question of whether classical Natural Law today can be expressed in a way that would not
elicit a large outcry from atheist moral and legal philosophers. I believethat this is of less concern than
one might suppose, first, because radical atheists are much less numerous than the volume of their
literature might suggest. Second, I believe that everything or virtually everything in classical Natural Law
can be alternatively derived from the premises of Kantian Transcendentalism ; in short, the argument
would be that human beings are evidently so designed that they simply cannot perceive or understand
reality in any other terms save those principles which form the basis of religious and traditional morality.
Hence, even if there is no God, there could still be moral law that is universal, and objective, at least in
the sense that it is not arbitrary or subjective.
Definition of Natural Law
Cicero by no means presents his ideas on Natural Law systematically or in a single place. However he
gives an important and often-cited definition of Natural Law in De Republica :
Dimensions of Natural Law in Cicero's Thought
True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and
everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its
prohibitions. And it does not lay its commands or prohibitions upon good men in vain, though
neither have any effect on the wicked. It is a sin to try to alter this law, nor is it allowable to
attempt to repeal any part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely. We cannot be freed
from its obligations by senate or people, and we need not look outside ourselves for an
expounder or interpreter of it. And there will not be different laws at Rome and at Athens, or
different laws now and in the future, but one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all
nations and all times, and there will be one master and ruler, that is, God, over us all, for he is
the author of this law, its promulgator, and its enforcing judge. Whoever is disobedient is fleeing
from himself and denying his human nature, and by reason of this very fact he will suffer the
worst penalties, even if he escapes what is commonly considered punishment.
( De Republica , 3.33; Loeb edition?)
What Cicero is ultimately saying here and elsewhere is that there is the law of nature , and there is
human nature. These are of necessity harmonious with each other (and, ultimately, the same thing),
because both reflect the will of a benevolent Supreme Being who creates and governs the universe. To
act in accord with human nature , human beings must exercise right reason ( recta ratio ). The purpose of
philosophy is to assist people to achieve right reason — a real and distinct level of cognitive function
where emotional and egoistic thinking gives way to virtue, morality, piety (or sense of the sacred), and
intellectual and social humility.
rev. 2014-07-
John Uebersax
www.john-uebersax.com
FRONTISPIECE
DIONYSUS sailing majestically
after his routing
of the pirates
who attempted
to enslave him.
The wind has filledthe white sail,
while above the mast rises a huge
vine loaded with grapes,
Dionysus' great gift
to mankind.A school of dolphinsplays
aroundthe boat symbolizing
not
only
the sea but also the joyful
and playful spirit
with which the god
fills the humanheart.
The composition,painted
in the black-figured style by
Exekiasca. 535 B.C.,
is fromthe interior
of a drinkingcylix
now in Munich. (Furtwaengler
and Reichhold,
Griechische Vasenmalerei,
Plate
This and other representations
of classical compositions
shown on the front covers
of our earlierissues are the work of Charles Holt,
a graduate
student in the School of Archi-
tecture of Washington University.)
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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Volume
Number 8
MAY
At this time
of
transition
from
narrow
nationalismto some
form of
world
order,
Natural Law should
again take
on renewed
significance.
Cicero: Oracle of Natural Law
RobertN. Wilkin
N THE CONVERSATION between Marcus
Tullius and Quinctus Cicero,' Walter Sav-
age
Landorhas the younger
brother observe
that
"Mariusis an example
that a liberaleducation
is peculiarlynecessary
where power
is almostun-
limited."
The cruel excesses of Marius were still
painfully
vivid in the memory
of the Ciceros.
It was natural for men of their culture to
think of educationas a restraint upon
abuseof
power.
And that was also a natural feeling
for Landor.
One of the advantages
to be derived from
the reading
of Landor'sConversations-in ad-
dition to his delightfulstyle-is
that they af-
ford a double perspectiveof ancient men and
?CRobert N. Wilkin is known to readersof TIE CLASSI,
CAL JOURNAL
as the author of Eternal Lawyer-A Legal
Biographyof Cicero (New York, Macmillan, I947).
An earlier work is The Spirit of
the Legal Profession
(New Haven, Yale University Press, I938). Judge
Wilkin is U. S. District Judge for the Northern District
of Ohio, well known in the "Western Reserve" and in
the legal profession
for his interest in education and
the great
traditionof jurisprudence.
This article is published by arrangement with the
Committee for the Diffusion of Philological Knowledge
of the American Philological Association.
events. We see great persons
and problems
as
they appeared
in their own day and we see
them also as they appeared at Landor'stime.
But the thing
to be noted aboutthe statement
attributedto Quintus
is that the world at the
time of Cicero, and at the time of Landor, had
not dreamed of such power as exists today.
If
Marius the younger
had possessed
the atomic
bomb he would not merely
have abandoned
Rome after murdering many of its worthy
citizens; he would have obliteratedit.
If the need of liberal education as a re-
straint upon power
increases as power
in-
creases, then the urgency
of our need today
must be apparent.
Furthermoreit must be
apparent
that the need of education expands
as power is distributed.In this day
of popular
government,
education must be not only
liberalbut general,
if the majority
is to be "in-
culcated with an abstinencefrom wrong
and
spoliation."
The difficulty of our situation today
arises
fromthe fact that populargovernment
has so
far outrun general
liberal education. The
agents
of the people
are entrusted with de-
structive power
before they
are prepared
for
such responsibility.
Not only has popular
sovereigntyexpanded
faster than popular
ed-
ucation, but the tendency
of education has
been to emphasizetechnocracy rather than
453
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ORACLE OF
NATURAL
LAW
which may
be reliedon in our effortsto estab-
lish peace
at homeand security
in the world.
For an understanding
of Natural Law one
shouldat the very
outset acquire
a familiarity
with what Cicero said of it. Indeed,
no study
of NaturalLaw can progress very
far without
taking
into considerationhis pronouncements.
Natural Law concepts
existed prior
to Cic-
ero's time. They
arefound in Greekliterature
and philosophy.They
never becamea definite
part
of a legal system, however,
until the
foundationsof jurisprudence
were established
during
the Roman Republic.
With the excep-
tion of Cicero,
the Roman authorities on
NaturalLaw arethe greatjurisconsults
of the
Empire.
While Cicero has not been consid-
ered a jurisconsult,
he was, however,
a lawyer
and a philosopher,
andhis supreme mastery
of
the Latin language
enabledhim to give most
adequate
and beautiful expression
to Natural
Law concepts
at the formative period
of that
system
of law which was to becomethe model
for the world.
All Latincourses that use Ciceroniantexts
-even those in secondary
schools-should
give
the historic background
and setting
that
prompted
Cicero's orations, letters,
and es-
says.
A revival of the political
scene of Cic-
ero's day
would reveal the true meaning
of
what he said about the law. If the parallels
between conditionsin Cicero's time and our
own time were developed,
the applicability
of
Cicero's philosophy
of law and government
would become apparent
to students even of
high-schoolage
and would conditionthem for
citizenship
in the republic
which has been in-
fluencedso much by
the history
of the Roman
Republic
and Cicero'stheories. Moreover, all
law schoolsshould give
coursesin the history
of jurisprudence,
and of course no study
of
jurisprudence
could neglect
the teaching
of
the Scholastic philosophers,
the leaders of the
Renaissance, such Englishjurists
and states-
men as Bracton, Coke, Blackstone,Milton,
Locke and Burke,
the constitutional debates,
The Federalist,
and other writings
of the for-
mative period
of our nation,
and through
it all
will appear
a strandof Ciceronian quotations.
Cicero, Cato, Sulpicius
and others gave
practical
effect to Natural Law theories in
their pro-consular
administrationof Roman
provinces,
and with excellent effect. The
greatestjurists
and legal philosophers,Aqui-
nas, Suarez and Grotius, based their prin-
ciples
of internationallaw firmlyupon
Natural
Law concepts,
and writers of our day
who
seek a basis for world order,
and the protago-
nists of the Nuremberg trials, are forced to
rely upon
Natural Law principles.
And Bar-
bara Ward,
in her recent portrayal
of today's
crisis, The West at Bay, points
out in her
concludingchapter
that the first foundation
of Western civilization was,
and the hope
of
peace is, a belief "that an eternal law, a nat-
ural law, exists beyond society
and is the
source,
within society,
of justice
and of right
and hence of freedom."*
Professor Charles H. McIlwain has said
that the words of Cicero quoted
above are
"among
the most memorablein political
litera-
ture."Dr. HeinrichA. Rommen, in his recent
work on The Natural Law, recognizes
that"it
cameto its full flowering
in Romein the Impe-
rial Age,"
and that "Stoicism prepared
the
way
for the Christiannaturallaw." He then
adds: "Cicero, however,
was its great popu-
larizer, and the wealth of Stoic thought
was
handed down to the medievalworld mainly
in
his writings."
And Tenney Frank, in Social
Behavior,says
that Cicero's statement of the
principle
of Natural Law has "wrought
greater progress
in jurisprudence
for nearly
two thousand years
than any
other written
statement of the same length."
In a recentallocutionof Pope
PiusXIIto the
Consistory
of February 14
he quoted
from"the
greatest Roman orator," andthe Encyclical letter
of Pope
Pius XI, "Ubi arcano," December 23,
I922, employed
the following language:
"It was a
quite general
desirethat both our laws and our
governments should exist without recognizing
God or JesusChrist,
on the theory that all au-
thority
comesfrom men, not fromGod.Because
of suchan assumption,
these theoristsfell short
of being
ableto bestow upon
law not only
those
sanctionswhich it must possess
but also that
securebasisfor the supreme
criterionof justice
which even a paganphilosopher
likeCicerosaw
clearly
couldnot be derived except
fromthe Eter-
nal Law."
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ROBERT
N.
WILKIN
ROBERT
N.
WILKIN
We have so long
considered Cicero as the
great orator,
as the model for letter-writing,
as the inventor of our philosophic
terminol-
ogy,
and as the master of rhetoric, that we
have lost sight
of his contributionto the law
and the majesty
of his pronouncements
re-
garding
the foundationof human rights-jus
naturale.It is time now that we read again
his
orations,
his de Officiis and his de Republica,
and considerwhat is saidinsteadof how it is
said. His writings carry
a very practical
con-
tribution to our most urgent need.
Of all periods
of history,
we of this day
should be able to read Cicero with profound
understanding
and poignant sympathy.
He
saw the Roman Republic
cometo the position
of greatestpower
in the world, arid then saw
it disintegrate.
The editor and annotator of
the Imaginary
Conversationssaid of Cicero
(p. 76):
"Inour dialogue
he is represented
as on the
verge
of a politicalworld,
of whichhe has been
the mover and protector, while elementsof it
announcedto him that it is bursting
underhis
feet."
We have so long
considered Cicero as the
great orator,
as the model for letter-writing,
as the inventor of our philosophic
terminol-
ogy,
and as the master of rhetoric, that we
have lost sight
of his contributionto the law
and the majesty
of his pronouncements
re-
garding
the foundationof human rights-jus
naturale.It is time now that we read again
his
orations,
his de Officiis and his de Republica,
and considerwhat is saidinsteadof how it is
said. His writings carry
a very practical
con-
tribution to our most urgent need.
Of all periods
of history,
we of this day
should be able to read Cicero with profound
understanding
and poignant sympathy.
He
saw the Roman Republic
cometo the position
of greatestpower
in the world, arid then saw
it disintegrate.
The editor and annotator of
the Imaginary
Conversationssaid of Cicero
(p. 76):
"Inour dialogue
he is represented
as on the
verge
of a politicalworld,
of whichhe has been
the mover and protector, while elementsof it
announcedto him that it is bursting
underhis
feet."
We of this day
have seen the AmericanRe-
public
attain the position
of greatest power
and influence in the world. But many signs
of
disintegration
are patent.
If the American
Republic
can be spared
the fate of the Roman
Republic,
it will have to accept
the counsel
which Rome spurned.
NOTES
ImaginaryConversations,London, J. M. Dent &
Co., 1901, Vol. n1, p.
In a noteCharlesG. Crumpsays:
"Inthis Conversa,
tion LandorintroducesCiceroandhis brother Quintus
-not Quinctus as he spells the name-talkingtogether
not long
beforethe dateat which they wereboth put
to death."
2 Cambridge Ancient History,ix, 276.
3 Cicero on the Commonwealth, Sabine and Smith,
The OhioState UniversityPress,Columbus, i929.
4 "The Revivalof Natural Law,"xvII,Notre Dame
Lawyer, No. 4 (June 1942).
See also George
H. Sabine, History of Political
Theory,
New York,Henry Holt & Co., I938, p. I63.
6 Fora brief summary
of Cicero's philosophy
of life,
government, and law, see the last chapter
of Eternal
Lawyer--A Legal Biographyof Cicero, New York,
Macmillan, I947.
We of this day
have seen the AmericanRe-
public
attain the position
of greatest power
and influence in the world. But many signs
of
disintegration
are patent.
If the American
Republic
can be spared
the fate of the Roman
Republic,
it will have to accept
the counsel
which Rome spurned.
NOTES
ImaginaryConversations,London, J. M. Dent &
Co., 1901, Vol. n1, p.
In a noteCharlesG. Crumpsays:
"Inthis Conversa,
tion LandorintroducesCiceroandhis brother Quintus
-not Quinctus as he spells the name-talkingtogether
not long
beforethe dateat which they wereboth put
to death."
2 Cambridge Ancient History,ix, 276.
3 Cicero on the Commonwealth, Sabine and Smith,
The OhioState UniversityPress,Columbus, i929.
4 "The Revivalof Natural Law,"xvII,Notre Dame
Lawyer, No. 4 (June 1942).
See also George
H. Sabine, History of Political
Theory,
New York,Henry Holt & Co., I938, p. I63.
6 Fora brief summary
of Cicero's philosophy
of life,
government, and law, see the last chapter
of Eternal
Lawyer--A Legal Biographyof Cicero, New York,
Macmillan, I947.
LiberLiberAnimaliumAnimalium
URSUSURSUS
DE
URSIS EST una res singularis,quod
nus-
quam gignuntur
nisi in hemisphaerio
septentrionali.
Hanc quidem partem
mundi
ita malle videntur ut etiam in caelo septen-
trionali duae ursae inveniantur, quae ursa
maior et ursa minor appellantur.
Circum
polum
caelestemlente circumvolvunturhaud
aliter atque
ursacircumambulatcircum palum
ad quem
catena religata
est. Ultra lineam
equatoriam
ursus verus non gignitur.
Quot genera
ursorumsunt? Multa. Sunt
enim colore nigro, fulvo, flavo, albo et albo
nigroque.
Sunt etiamursi Teddiani, qui
num-
quam mordent, infantium delectamentum.
Omnium maximus et ferocissimusest ursus
horribilis nostrorum Montium Saxosorum.
Turpissimus
est ursus Syrius.Scriptura
sacra
nos certiores facit adolescentem Davidum
unamex iis interfecisse; beneficiumfuit besti-
am tam turpemmiseramque
occidere.
DE
URSIS EST una res singularis,quod
nus-
quam gignuntur
nisi in hemisphaerio
septentrionali.
Hanc quidem partem
mundi
ita malle videntur ut etiam in caelo septen-
trionali duae ursae inveniantur, quae ursa
maior et ursa minor appellantur.
Circum
polum
caelestemlente circumvolvunturhaud
aliter atque
ursacircumambulatcircum palum
ad quem
catena religata
est. Ultra lineam
equatoriam
ursus verus non gignitur.
Quot genera
ursorumsunt? Multa. Sunt
enim colore nigro, fulvo, flavo, albo et albo
nigroque.
Sunt etiamursi Teddiani, qui
num-
quam mordent, infantium delectamentum.
Omnium maximus et ferocissimusest ursus
horribilis nostrorum Montium Saxosorum.
Turpissimus
est ursus Syrius.Scriptura
sacra
nos certiores facit adolescentem Davidum
unamex iis interfecisse; beneficiumfuit besti-
am tam turpemmiseramque
occidere.
Quo
cibo vescuntur? Omnes, urso albo ex-
cepto,
mel malunt,
cuius causa,
ira apium
spreta,
arbores altas ascenderesolent. Fama
est etiam-crede vel noli--deceptos
murmure
filorum telegraphicorumlongurios
interdum
eos ascenderemel sperantes.
Sunt qui
formicas
edant. Plures alia insecta libenter devorant
quorum
causa saxa evertunt. Ursi nigri
bac-
cas libentissime carpunt
erecti sicut homines.
Tandem pingues
extremo autumno facti
secedunt in latebras ubi totum hiemem dor-
miant. Adipem
suum lente consumunt.Fama
est etiam eos sugare
suos digitos.
Ibi catulos
usque
ad tres pariunt,qui
mire parvuli sunt,
caeci glabrique.
Vere primo egrediuntur,
macraesed beatae, copiam
immensam speran-
tes insectorum, baccarum mellisque.
Curricu-
lum vitae ursinaede integro
initur.
ANON.
Quo
cibo vescuntur? Omnes, urso albo ex-
cepto,
mel malunt,
cuius causa,
ira apium
spreta,
arbores altas ascenderesolent. Fama
est etiam-crede vel noli--deceptos
murmure
filorum telegraphicorumlongurios
interdum
eos ascenderemel sperantes.
Sunt qui
formicas
edant. Plures alia insecta libenter devorant
quorum
causa saxa evertunt. Ursi nigri
bac-
cas libentissime carpunt
erecti sicut homines.
Tandem pingues
extremo autumno facti
secedunt in latebras ubi totum hiemem dor-
miant. Adipem
suum lente consumunt.Fama
est etiam eos sugare
suos digitos.
Ibi catulos
usque
ad tres pariunt,qui
mire parvuli sunt,
caeci glabrique.
Vere primo egrediuntur,
macraesed beatae, copiam
immensam speran-
tes insectorum, baccarum mellisque.
Curricu-
lum vitae ursinaede integro
initur.
ANON.
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K
Marcus Tullius Cicero
From the bust in the Vatican
