Cicero And The Politics During The End Of The Roman Republic(49-43BC)

Cicero lived at a time when the Roman Republic was declining.This decline was marked by the outbreak of the Civil War in 49 BC between Caesar and Pompey.From then to 43 BC,Roman politics experienced a series of major political events,such as Caesar's dictatorship,the consulship of Antony with a dictatorial nature and the Battle of Mutina.As an important member of the upper ruling class,Cicero participated in these political events in his own way and expressed them accordingly in his correspondence.This surviving correspondence provides a unique perspective for the study of Cicero and the politics of the end of the Roman Republic,and is also an important source for the study of the political exchanges between the members of the Roman ruling class.The transcripts of Cicero's three sets of correspondence have gone through a long and complicated process of circulation and edition.As a classical text,Cicero's letters follows a certain writing format,sealed until successful delivery to the other correspondents.Regarding the division of content and type,Cicero's letters follow certain norms.In terms of language style,Cicero's letters inherit the characteristics of oral language.The correspondence between the members of the Roman ruling class was not merely a communicative act,but a political one.Among the many correspondents,Cicero's close friend Atticus was the most important.Cicero's letters with him account for nearly half of his surviving correspondence.These letters are honest record of Cicero's reactions,feelings,and assessments during a series of major political events.This study takes the chronological sequence and uses the method of combining historical realities with textual analysis,that is,centering on Cicero's correspondence,to interpret how Cicero participated in Roman politics from 49 to 43 BC.The study covers four dimensions.First,Cicero's political thought and actions.The second is the political communication between Cicero and the members of the Roman elite.Third,research on Cicero's letters as means of political communication.And fourth,I focus on the expression of political emotions in Cicero's letters.The research is divided into four chapters.The first chapter focuses on Cicero and the Civil War between Caesar and Pompey.It is believed that Cicero not only had a clear understanding of the nature of the civil war and was alert enough to Caesar's autocratic attempt,but also had a profound analysis of the reasons for Pompey's eventual failure.Cicero,however,was caught in a political turmoil,unable to avoid civil war or remain neutral,and had to make difficult choices as the situation changed.Even so,Cicero's political conviction of not being in Caesar's company was always clear.The second chapter focuses on Cicero and Caesar's dictatorship.Cicero,in Caesar's time,was not taking a leading part in Roman politics.Hence,Cicero replaced political participation with academic research.Cicero,in political retirement,did,however,not completely withdraw from political life.In his own way,he conducted limited but purposeful political activities.By delivering three court speeches,Cicero publicly broke with Caesar's dictatorship after witnessing it becoming more and more intense.The third chapter explores Cicero and the “rule” of Mark Antony.The“assassination of Caesar” put the Consul of the year 44 BC,Antony,at the forefront of Roman politics.During the consulship of Antony,Cicero first dealt with the“assassination of Caesar”,vigorously defending the interests of the “liberal”assassinators,and hoping that they could restore the republican system,but this hope was soon disappointed.As Antony's autocratic tendencies intensified,Cicero's opposition to Antony developed from private to open political conflict.The emergence of Octavian,a new political power,gave Cicero political hope,and thus Cicero supported Octavian against Antony.The fourth chapter discusses Cicero during the Battle of Mutina.The outbreak of the Mutina conflict provided an opportunity for Cicero to attack Antony and try to reestablish the Republican system.Cicero became the political leader in the Senate against Antony.Not only that,Cicero kept close correspondence with the generals of the provinces around Mutina,and tried to encourage them to fight against Antony.Among them,the correspondence between Cicero and Plancus,the governor of Transalpine Gaul provides an important case study for exploring the political negotiation of the Roman nobility in the face of political crisis.