Historical+Context

**Historical Context**

Information on the author:
Cicero was a Roman philosopher, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is thought to be one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome. He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary, distinguishing himself as a linguist, translator, and philosopher. In his writings, it is essential to know that Cicero was influenced heavily by Greek philosophy, and particularly by Stoicism.
 * Marcos Tillius Cicero** (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC)

Information on the text:
//On Duties//, is an essay by Marcus Tillius Cicero. It is divided into three books. The book has three names: On Duties, De Officiis and On Obligations. The essay was written in the form of a letter to his son with the same name, who studied philosophy in Athens. Judging from its form, it is likely that Cicero wrote with a broader audience in mind. //On Duties// contains his analysis, in a Greek theoretical framework, of the political and ethical values of the Roman governing class in the late Republic.

Book I mainly explains Cicero's beliefs on one's moral obligations and virtues. He believes that his concepts are the best way in which to live by and behave.

Republic of Rome
The Roman Republic was governed by a complex constitution, which centered on the principles of a separation of powers and checks and balances. The evolution of the constitution was influenced by the struggle between the aristocracy, or the patricians, and other talented Romans who were not from famous families, the plebeians. Early in its history, the republic was controlled by an aristocracy of individuals who could trace their ancestry back to the early history of the kingdom. Over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a new aristocracy which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance.

Fall of the Republic of Rome

 * social conflicts, including tension between plebeians and patricians and the effects of slave revolts;
 * the breakdown of the system of checks and balances among the institutions within the Roman constitution;
 * the growing importance of the legions and their loyalties to their generals instead of the "Senate and People of Rome;"
 * the careers of Julius Caesar and his contemporaries in the first Triumvirate, and the fallout of his assassination and the rise of the Second Triumvirate, ending with Octavian's 'restoration' of the Republic with himself as "princeps," i.e. 'first citizen' but in reality, the first emperor.

Influences:

 * Stoicism


 * Facts**
 * //On Duties// was written in October-November of 44 BC.
 * Cicero wrote it when he was 62 years old.
 * Cicero at this time was active in politics. He was trying to stop revolutionary forces from taking control of the Roman Republic.
 * The republican system failed to revive even upon the assassination of Caesar.
 * 700 handwritten copies remain in libraries around the world dating back to before the invention of the printing press
 * //On Duties// was the second book to be printed—second only to the Gutenberg Bible

[|More Information on Cicero] [|On Duties's Influence in modern times]
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