[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cicero1.png]]

->''"Non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici.\\
(We are not born for ourselves alone; our country, our friends have a share in us.)"''
-->-- '''Cicero''', De Officiis

Marcus Tullius Cicero (sometimes called "Tully" in later references), 106-43 BC, was a prominent statesman and the preeminent orator of late [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic Roman Republic]], credited by some for being single-handedly responsible for the persistence of the ancient Greek intellectual tradition in Western culture. This is as much for the quality and content of his writings (which is quite good and interesting) as it is for its sheer volume. While by no means complete, a vast quantity of Cicero's writings and especially his letters have survived into the present day. The First Century BCE has always known to be an unusually rich era (before and afterwards) in terms of availability of information, but even in that light, Cicero stands out.

Cicero's writings in prose on a variety of subjects, provided a model for later prose writers in Latin, and thanks to being described by the Church Fathers as "a righteous pagan", his writings were preserved and served as a model for prose writers in TheMiddleAges to UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, during which time, Cicero's reputation as a prose stylist faded in light of Montaigne (who was not a fan of him) and Francis Bacon. Cicero's works provide a nearly day-to-day glimpse of the last days of the Roman Republic and the first days of the Empire, and several of his works serve as a model for political oratory well into the 21st Century.

His legacy is very complicated. Elements of his work have found a place of [[ValuesResonance timeless applicability]] in the scholarship of political theory, but he was also very much [[ValuesDissonance a product of his time]]. His views on republicanism, liberty, the relationship between the rich and the poor, and slavery, stand very much at odds with the mainstream of democratic theory, and the post-Enlightenment world which his works inspired. His role as the last great champion of the Optimate cause highlights this contrast. His defense of political liberty against the emergent dictatorship of the Second Triumvirate is tempered by the understanding that the political status quo of the Republic was elitist, violent, unresponsive to reform, and irrevocably destroyed. Regardless of his politics, Cicero as revealed in his own writings, is a deeply compelling individual, someone who is interesting for his flaws and failures as much as he is for his insight and virtues. He was a smart man, deeply human, vacillating and politically inconsistent and yet capable of courage when he tried to stop the erosion of the Republic during the foundation of the Second Triumvirate. His death, inaugurating the partnership between Antony and Octavian, marks a key moment in the shift from Republic to Empire, as the constitutionally empowered ''Triumviri'' turned the Republic ''de jure'' as well as ''de facto'' into a tripartite dictatorship.

During the wars following the death of [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar Caesar]] he returned to Rome to lead the Senate in opposition to Mark Antony. In doing so, he attempted to play [[UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} Octavian]] and UsefulNotes/MarkAntony against each other, which succeeded for a while but backfired when the ensuing Battle of Mutina, despite ending in Antony's defeat, led to the death of both sitting consuls. In this political vacuum, unseen since the darkest days of the Second Punic War, the leaderless senatorial army defected ''en masse'' to Octavian, who struck a bargain with Antony and marched on Rome. The emergent Second Triumvirate launched [[ThePurge a fresh round of proscriptions]] which decimated the last vestiges of the senatorial faction. Cicero, who had led the Senate in opposing Mark Antony at every turn and was the mastermind behind his defeat at Mutina, had earned the triumvir's personal enmity. His addition to the proscription list was demanded as a condition for the foundation of the Triumvirate. After evading his killers for some time with help from his many sympathizers, he was eventually betrayed. He was killed, according to legend, with some amount of dignity: unable to escape or fight, he acted as a true philosopher and calmly offered his neck to the centurion's sword. He was brutally executed and dismembered, with his head and hands put on display in the Roman Forum, and left to rot for days. However, his memory and his works were preserved and published by Emperor Augustus, who probably did regret condoning his death.

----
!!Cicero provides examples of:

* ArchEnemy: He enjoyed presenting his opponents as this. Catilina, Mark Antony and to a much lesser extent, Julius Caesar.
** Incidentally, there is evidence to suggest that he and Catilina and even Mark Antony were a little friendly early on. His disrespect for Antony was genuine because of how badly he ran his consulship when Caesar was dictator.
** With Caesar, he as an Optimate was entirely opposed to him - especially during the civil war - but they shared a grudging respect for each other. Cicero was genuinely surprised by the assassination of Caesar, though seemed to at least somewhat approve of it, praising Brutus in some of his speeches, and even remarking in one of his letters that he wished he had been present for it.
* BilingualBonus: His work is responsible for bringing many abstract philosophical terms from Greek into Latin, as well as for bringing abstract philosophy from Greece to Rome.
* CategoryTraitor: Most critical views of Cicero in history take this approach, charging that despite his humble origins, he was strongly opposed to land and class reforms in favor of plebeians. He also tended to be something of a slumlord, being anal about tenants paying their (often inflated) rents while doing little to maintain his properties. Cicero had contempt for people who worked for a living; he was a slaveowner who whined about how much runaway slaves inconvenienced him. [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal He was finally betrayed by one of them during the proscriptions that resulted in his death]].
* CausticCritic: Whoo, boy. If you were up against him in court or on the Senate debate floor, he didn't pull any punches.
* CharmPerson: The leading orator of the ancient world, and arguably one of the greatest public speakers who has ever lived.
* CowardlyLion: Unlike most Roman politicians, he wasn't a soldier, but he was capable of being exceptionally brave, as shown by his verbal assaults on Mark Antony that led to his execution.
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Antony had him murdered because Cicero made a series of speeches against him. His head and his hands (which had penned the speeches) were cut off and displayed in the Forum Romanum. As Plutarch writes, this was "a sight that made the Romans shudder; for they thought they saw there, not the face of Cicero, but an image of the soul of Antony".
* DeadpanSnarker: Notorious for being unable to keep his mouth shut. Octavian respected him, but didn't find it hard to let Mark Antony have his RoaringRampageOfRevenge upon him when Cicero joked about Octavian "We'll give him honors and decorations -- and then a kick downstairs." Plutarch relates a whole paragraph of his zingers:
-->'''A man accused of murdering his father with a poisoned cake''': ''"I shall cover you with shame!"''
-->'''Cicero''': ''"I'd rather have the shame than the cake."''

-->'''Lucius Gellius, a very old senator''': ''"This law shall never pass while I am alive!"''
-->'''Cicero''': ''"Gellius does not ask for a long postponement."''

-->'''Cicero''': *discussing a consul who was elected on the last day of the year, and therefore served less than a day* ''[Caninius] was of amazing vigilance, in view of the fact that he didn't see any sleep in the whole of his consulate!''
* TheDitherer: Cicero was well known for being remarkably inconsistent in his political opinions, especially in times of strife. However, when he finally did take a stand -- against Marc Antony -- it got him killed. One of his most famous quotes reflects about this
-->More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind.
* DoomedMoralVictor: Against Mark Antony, where his denunciation of the Second Triumvirate's military junta (and very specifically, Antony's consulate in 43 BC) are generally characterized as his finest hour, even by historians who otherwise have an ambivalent or negative view of the man himself.
* DoWrongRight: His (probably apocryphal) last words: "There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly."
* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Or Embarrassing ''Cognomen'' in this case: the Roman biographer Plutarch claimed that his name came from ''cicer'' or chickpeas, which his ancestor's nose is said to have resembled. Supposedly, his friends suggested that he change his name before he ran for office, but he decided [[AppropriatedAppellation he'd rather make the name "Cicero" honorable and glorious]] instead. [[DefiedTrope It worked.]]
* FauxdianSlip: In his speech in defense of Caelius, who had been accused of several crimes by his ex-lover Clodia. Clodia was the sister of one of Cicero's bitterest political enemies, and it was rumoured there was a BrotherSisterIncest relationship among the siblings. In his speech, Cicero said at one moment: "And, indeed, I would do so still more vigorously, if I had not a quarrel with that woman's husband - brother, I meant to say; I am always making this mistake."
* ForeignCultureFetish: He developed quite an affinity for Greek philosophy and rhetoric in his youth, unsurprising considering his education in Rhodes.
* GracefulLoser: When Cicero's assassin came for him, he found him reclining on a litter reading a scroll. Cicero lowered the scroll to look at his soon-to-be-murderer and calmly said "[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Ah, there you are]]." At least that's how historians would like to frame it.
* ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime: His attempt to divide the Caesarians by supporting Octavian against Anthony seemed sound at first. Anthony was the more pressing threat and would have gained the ability to freely march on Rome should Cisalpine Gaul fell under his command. Unfortunately, Octavian turned out to be far more dangerous than Anthony ever was. After routing Anthony to Gaul with Cicero and the Senate's support, Octavian turned on them and secured himself a consulship by force. As if that wasn't enough, Octavian then proceeded to ally with his former enemy Anthony and staged a political purge of their enemies, including Cicero.
** The main problem, and the main reason that the Republicans [[PyrrhicVictory lost the Battle of Mutina in the way that really mattered]] was that both consuls died there -- both consuls dying in battle had not happened since the Second Punic War and would be one of the handful of instances where a dictator would be appointed. Instead, with the dictatorship abolished, Octavian seized the consulship by force. Hirtius and Pansa were both moderate Caesarians and without the jump start that their deaths brought to Octavian's career, it's possible that the Caesarian faction would have been divided, delayed in establishing the agreement that formed the basis of the Second Triumvirate, and too weakened by the battle to stop Brutus and Cassius's invasion of Italy: exactly as Cicero planned. With better luck, he might have succeeded.
** Incidentally, one of the reasons Antony was able to kill the consuls was that they were separated. On Cicero's orders, Hirtius pinned Antony down in the North, with Decimus Brutus holding the city of Mutina. Pansa, meanwhile, was ordered to break off and recruit more soldiers. Antony, realizing he was about to be encircled, broke off the siege, maneuvered around Hirtius, and destroyed Pansa's army at Forum Gallorum. The scattered remnants were added to Octavian's legions. Had Cicero not ordered the Senatorial army to split up, at least one of the consuls may have survived what was, at any event, one of the most brutal battles of the era.
* HeroicBSOD: Grieved heavily when his beloved daughter Tullia died after giving birth to her second son.
* HesBack: after spending years in the shadow of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, being used for their purposes, grieving for his daughter and fearing to speak out against Caesar, he took on Mark Antony in what was probably his finest hour.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Atticus, his co-brother-in-law.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Traditionally, he was viewed very fondly by history (most likely because he was ultimately killed unjustly), even though, as demonstrated by the LongList of his CourtroomAntics, he practically invented the ChewbaccaDefense and was known for switching sides. Likewise, despite being a Novus Homo and rising from the lower orders, Cicero was a proud optimate who refused all reforms and attempts to extend rights to the poor, he was a defender of an aristocratic republic.
* TheLastDJ: The famed Triumvirate would have been a Quadumvirate had Cicero accepted Caesar's invitation to join him, Pompey, and Crassus. Cicero turned him down out of a belief that the alliance was unconstitutional and would undermine the republic.
* NonActionGuy: He was notable amongst his rivals and colleagues in having no military background. Even in during the civil wars, he took a mostly political role and went into exile rather than fight. This naturally must have made his critics raise a few eyebrows when he wore an armour in his famous speeches against Catilina, feeling that he was pushing it by making himself out to be a warrior.
* PerfectlyCromulentWord: Invented an awful lot of them. For instance, he is the reason "virtue" is a word. Of course, when you're trying to import a discipline with an entirely foreign vocabulary, you pretty much have to do this at some point.
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Octavian, though there was [[WorthyOpponent mutual admiration]] between the two even after Octavian largely discarded him, and the future Emperor later appointed Cicero's son as his consul. He also turned a blind eye to the latter's RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Mark Antony and Antony's entire family.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: One of the great masters of this trope. His orations against Catilina and the Philippics he wrote against Mark Antony are some of the best examples of this.
-->''"That, Senators, is what a favour from gangs amounts to. They refrain from murdering someone; then they boast that they have spared him!"''
* RousingSpeech: gave these from time to time. Particularly of note was his second speech against the conspiracist Cataline, in which he exorted the Senate to stand against the army that he had raised under their noses.
--> ''"Besides that, there is a high spirit in the virtuous citizens, great unanimity, great numbers, and also a great body of troops. Above all that, the immortal gods will stand by and bring aid to this invincible nation, this most illustrious empire, this most beautiful city, against such wicked violence."''
* SelfMadeMan: Famous for being a ''novus homo'', lacking the significant lineage of 99% of politicians at the time. He came up through the Roman law courts and was the first member of his family to be elected consul, solely on his talent. However, he caught a lot of flak about this from the entrenched patrician class whose traditional rights he often had to defend against populist reformers like Catilina and Caesar.
* SimpleCountryLawyer: Part of his technique was the Roman version of this: like many ''novi homines'', he came from one of the smaller towns in Latium (in his case, Arpinum) that had been granted Roman citizenship relatively recently. And he did work his way up the legal profession to Consulship and then the Senate.
* TakeAThirdOption: His ''Orator'' noted that oratory at the time was split into two schools: the Attic school which was formal and traditional, and the "Asiatic" style which was florid and stylish. Cicero decided to synthesize the two, and later rhetoricians such as Tacitus and Quintilian considered his novel style to be better than either of the originals.
** His first recorded speech (Pro Sextus Roscio Amerino) also ignores both obvious paths of defence, as they both would save his client's life, but lose him his entire inheritance that was stolen from him. Instead, he points out just how absurd this trial is – why accuse a man of parricide if said father was proscribed? Well, of course, if the proscription was not legit, the entire thing is theft, so you need to get rid of the owner… even if it means a fake trial.
* UnconventionalCourtroomTactics: Roman legal proceedings in this period were very nearly a spectator sport, and Cicero was practically an all-star quarterback. Cicero lost only one case- the trial of Titus Annius Milo for the murder of Clodius Pulcher- and only because the court was [[JuryAndWitnessTampering filled with heavily armed, menacing looking men wanting a conviction and staring meaningfully at both him and the jury throughout proceedings]], who then [[BloodOnTheDebateFloor started a brawl in the courtroom in the middle of Cicero's speech]].\\
Antics Cicero got away with in court include:
** Calling the prosecution's witness, who was an attempted murder victim, a shameless slut, whore, and murderess, and then saying he wasn't going to call her a shameless slut, whore, and murderess, and then [[RefugeInAudacity calling her a shameless slut, whore, and murderess repeatedly throughout the rest of his speech.]]
** Accusing a political rival (Clodius) of incest in a completely unrelated case, where the sister of said rival accused her lover of attempting to poison her (see above).
** Pretending to be Rome personified (it's complicated).
** Pretending to be a long dead Roman Consul (again, it's complicated). Incidentally, he was pretending to be the Consul so he could call the attempted murder victim above a shameless slut, whore, and murderess. And being quite graphic about it.
** Telling the judge he was going to ignore all courtroom procedure for the citizenship application he was arguing for and [[ItMakesSenseInContext spend the next hour discussing Greek literature]]. (His client was Greek.)
** Giving speaking tips to opposing counsel.
** Complimenting opposing counsel on his skill -- because the counsel was once one of his students.
** Accusing opposing counsel of being sexually submissive.
** Accusing the jury of being corrupt (although this ''was'' often the case).
** Discussing fashion in the middle of a murder trial.
** Discussing town planning in the middle of a murder trial.
** Discussing highway maintenance [[RuleOfThree in the middle of a murder trial]].
** Discussing the inconvenient placement of Public Holidays, wait for it, [[OverlyLongGag in the middle of a murder trial]][[note]]Where else?[[/note]].
* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: He mocks this in his Philippics, lamenting how Caesar and the Second Triumvirate were trying to build airs by not starting proscriptions right away (translated by Michael Grant):
--> "Nevertheless, let us imagine that you could have killed me. That, Senators, is what a favour from gangsters amounts to. They refrain from murdering someone; [[InsaneTrollLogic then they boast that they have spared him]]! If that is a true favour, then those who killed Caesar, after he had spared them, would never have been regarded as so glorious -- and they are men whom you yourself habitually describe as noble. But the mere abstention from a dreadful crime is surely no sort of favour. In the situation in which this "favour" placed me, my dominant feelings ought not to have been pleasure because you did not kill me, but sorrow because you could have done so with impunity...Still, in what respect can you call me ungrateful? [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Were my protests against the downfall of our country wrong, because you might think they showed ingratitude?]]
** Some historians have argued that Cicero even here is being hypocritical. During the Catiline Conspiracy, he presided over the judicial murder of Roman citizens, executed without trial on charges of conspiracy and invoking EmergencyAuthority for a plot that turned out to have been quite minor and narrow. So when Caesar and Co. were sparing Cicero and others, they really were treating their opponents better than expected, especially considering how optimates like Cicero acted when the shoe was on the other foot.
* WorthyOpponent:
** There is evidence both Julius Caesar and his nephew Octavian - thence Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} - respected Cicero [[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Cicero*.html#49.5 as a great man of Rome]], according to Plutarch's ''Literature/ParallelLives''.
** After Antony fell to Octavian, the first Consul that Octavian appointed to serve with him was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero_Minor Cicero's son.]] It was Cicero the Younger who announced Marc Antony's death at Actium, and he later worked to remove Antony's entire family from political power, avenging his father's death with Augustus' approval.
* YourMom: OlderThanFeudalism
-->'''Metellus Nepos''': ''"Who is your father?"''[[note]]Basically Nepos' way of saying: "you're not an aristocrat, so zip it."[[/note]]
-->'''Cicero''': ''"In your case, your mother has made the answer to that question rather difficult."''

----
!!Cicero in fiction:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In ''Anime/MazingerZ'', the [[{{Robeast}} Mechanical Beast]] of [[MonsterOfTheWeek episode 83]], Cicero N9, is named after him.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Played by Alan Napier in 1953's ''Film/{{Julius Caesar|1953}}''.
* Played by André Morell in 1970's ''Film/{{Julius Caesar|1970}}''.
* Appears briefly in ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}'', played by Michael Hordern, and displays his customary sarcastic wit.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Cicero turns up in Steven Saylor's ''Literature/RomaSubRosa'' series, employing protagonist Gordianus for various reasons, including to dig up information to help his defense of Sextus Roscius and to keep an eye on Catilina during the consular elections.
* Colleen [=McCullough=]'s ''Literature/MastersOfRome'' series follows Cicero's career along with many other prominent players in the late Republic.
* Robert Harris' ''Literature/{{Imperium}}'' trilogy chronicles the life of Cicero from the perspective of his slave/scribe Tiro. It's a WartsAndAll portrayal; while Cicero is generally well-intentioned, he constantly has to compromise his principles.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* Played by Creator/GottfriedJohn in ''Imperium: Augustus'' (2003).
* Appears in both seasons of HBO's ''Series/{{Rome}}'', played by David Bamber. In the series, the soldier who assassinates him turns out to be [[BeenThereShapedHistory Titus Pullo]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Cicero is a senator in ''TabletopGame/TheRepublicOfRome'', recruitable only in the Late Republic scenario. True to his historical reputation of a NonActionGuy, his Oratory rating is 6 (the maximum possible, only matched by the two Catos) and his Military stat is 1 (the minimum). He also starts with a loyalty rating of 10 (second highest, after Cato the Younger's 11), meaning that once he picks a side, it is very difficult to make him turn coat. He is one of the few senators without a baked-in enmity towards a particular ''gens'', making buying him off even harder. His special ability is playing one free Tribune per turn, allowing him to influence the Senate's agenda even when he doesn't hold any major office.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

* He briefly appears in Shakespeare's play ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar''. The conspirators also consider including him, but Brutus rejects it, saying that Cicero won't support something that wasn't his idea.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Cicero is a recurring character in ''VideoGame/ExpeditionsRome''. In particular, visiting him in the Curia after the first TimeSkip is the Legate's [[PermanentlyMissableContent only chance]] to unlock a [[MultiplePersuasionModes second oratory skill]].
----