Ciceronian Political Theory
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 B.C. – 43 B.C.) was a lawyer, statesman, philosopher, academic, and author; Cicero’s books De Re Publica, of the Republic; and De Legibus, of the Laws did not build a distinct and innovative political theory; yet expounded off the foundations of Ancient Athenian political theory; namely Plato’s and Aristotle’s framework for limited governance and a just society, (Strauss, L., p. 234). Though Cicero lived centuries after Xenocrates, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle; he remained greatly influenced by their account of history, political theories, and rhetoric. Cicero did not pioneer a radically different system of government, but can be credited with presenting a more focused depiction of limited governance into the modern age. Historian Francis Barham, Esq. wrote that Cicero’s “laws [were] generally taken from the old constitution or custom of Rome, with some little variation and temperament, contrived to obviate the disorders to which that commonwealth was liable, and to give a stronger turn toward the aristocratic side,” (Cicero; Yonge, C.D., p. 93).
Cicero scribed in Book II of De Re Publica; Roman General and Statesman Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236 B.C. – 183 B.C.) response to Quintus Aelius Tubero denoting that, the best regime was a mix of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, declaring them to be “simple ingredients” needed to facilitate a mixed government, (Cicero; Yonge, C.D., p. 54; Holton, J.; Strauss, L., p. 236). Historian James E. Holton proclaimed that “[b]efore each [absolute form of government] lies its depraved counterpart—tyranny, oligarchy, mob rule—and history serves as a record of the inevitable tendency of each to degenerate into its opposite and the latter in turn to be replaced at some future time by still another form,” (Cicero; Holton, J., p. 246).
Cicero was critical of monarchies, writing, “[i]n kingships the subjects have too small a share in the administration of justice and in deliberation;” in aristocracies, he opined that “the masses can hardly have their share of liberty, since they are entirely excluded from deliberation for the commonweal and from power,” (Cicero; Holton, J.; Strauss, L., p. 245). Cicero denoted conversely of democracies that “when all the power is in the people’s hands, even though they exercise it with justice and moderation…the resulting equality itself is inequitable, since it allows no distinctions in rank,” (Cicero; Holton, J.; Strauss, L., p. 245). Aristotle similarly warned against regimented absolutism, against placing one’s faith in absolute ideology; citing of its ill effects, Aristotle wrote that, “[a] more or less complete cure for this state of things is for the separate tribes, and not the whole people, to elect the magistrates… revolutions will be most likely to happen, and must happen, when the mass of the people are of the high-spirited kind, and have a notion that they are as good as their rulers,” (Aristotle; Jowett, B., pp. 104, 107). This does not advocate segregation, but decentralization of government, thereby invoking a balanced system of restraints through a system of checks and balances; similar to republics in contemporary times. Cicero was a proponent of Aristotle’s theory, thereby advocating for consensus for union from opposing ideologies. A mixed constitution not only guarantees limited government but allows for diverse representation for all; under mixed government, all citizens’s political views will bear some form of official representation in polity.
Cicero’s Mixed Constitution
Fragments of Marcus Cicero’s Book II reiterate these points, writing of constitution that; “the best possible political constitution represents a judicious blend of these three types: monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. It does not inflame by punishments a mind which is rough and uncultivated,” (Cicero, p. 58). Historian James E. Holton writes on Cicero “[t]he mixed constitution made it possible to avoid the defects inherent in each of the simple forms. It prevented an undue concentration of power and provided a system of checks and balances,” (Holton, J.; Strauss, L., p. 247). As Cicero scribed, “[w]hen it is in the power of privileged delegates, the State is said to be ruled by an aristocracy; and when the people are all in all, they call it a democracy, or popular constitution,” (Cicero, p. 22). Cicero wrote of the political pendulum evident throughout history and in witnessed contemporary polity, whereby Scipio Africanus advised that “power is like the ball which is flung from hand to hand: it passes from kings to tyrants, from tyrants to the aristocracy, from them to democracy, and from these back again to tyrants and to factions; and thus the same kind of government is seldom long maintained,” (Cicero, p. 33). James E. Holton adds that “[i]f the quality of the aristocracy is allowed to degenerate, it is extremely unlikely that the regime will manage to survive for any great length of time,” (Strauss, L., p. 248).
Cicero prophesied that “[a] mixed constitution is the best. That is why, though monarchy is, in my view, much the most desirable of the three primary forms, monarchy is itself surpassed by an even and judicious blend of the three simple forms at their best. A state should possess an element of regal supremacy; something else should be assigned and allotted to the authority of aristocrats; and certain affairs should be reserved for the judgment and desires of the masses,” (Powell, J., p. 32). Two millenniums later, Cicero’s advocation for mixed, limited government bears relevance; standing as a model for a balanced body of diverse, and often conflicting ideologies; the key being never letting any regime exalt its presence over the individual rights of the citizen. Holton explains that Cicero denounced absolute government, instead appointing the pursuit of justice to be divine polis. Cicero noted the importance of rulers adhering to judicial morality; warning that “[a]s soon as a king takes the first step towards a more unjust regime, he at once becomes a tyrant,” (Cicero, p. 50). Cicero believed justice and laws to be divine; yet human perfection to be an unachievable state. Absolute ideologies, like the pure aristocracy, Cicero declared, “must be ‘free from dishonor’ and ‘a model for the rest of the citizens;’ [Cicero’s] mixed government relied on Aristotle’s system of checks and balances through creating a balanced government,” (Strauss, L., p. 248). Aristocracy was a delicate ingredient of Cicero’s mixed constitution; without it he predicted that the state would fall into democracy, thereby descending to despotism. Historian David Fott writes that “[a]ristocracy is a mean between that feebleness and the ‘rashness’ of democracy,” (Fott, D., Loc. 120). Foot expounds “Aristocrats claim that the people is happiest when it is ‘without any care and reflection,’” (Fott, D., Loc. 131).
Natural Law
Marcus Cicero defines natural law as, “one, single, justice;” expounding that “[i]t binds together human society and has been established by one, single, law. That law is right reason in commanding and forbidding. A man who does not acknowledge this law is unjust, whether it has been written down anywhere or not,” (Cicero, p. 111). Cicero stated that “nature itself, who will be our best guide in conducting the whole discussion,” (Cicero, pp. 108, 109). As David Fott accounts, Cicero’s account of the guide declared that the “guide must have moral virtue, prudence, and wisdom. He must be able to shape people’s opinions through institutions and training, using shame at least as much as fear,” (Fott, D., Loc 196). Objective truth was enumerated in the New Testament throughout the next century; yet Cicero remarked of His presence, describing God to be “an eternal force which rules the world by the wisdom of its commands and prohibitions;” adding that “original and final law is the intelligence of God, who ordains or forbids everything by reason,” (Cicero, p. 124). Law is “highest reason, implanted in nature,” which commands and prohibits actions,” (Cicero; Fott, D., Loc. 234). God has remained the guide for the majority of humanity since Cicero’s initial preponderance of an apparent objective eternal reference. Cicero believed that “nothing is more vital than the clear realization that we are born for justice, and that what is just is based, not on opinion, but on nature,” (Cicero, p. 107). Cicero acknowledged our dominion over worldly beasts; noting that all men are created inherently equal, yet “corrupt habits and foolish opinions did not twist and turn aside our feeble minds from their original paths,” (Cicero, p. 107).
Cicero asserted that the discovery of natural law “must be sought in the nature of man. Man is a single species which has a share in divine reason and is bound together by a partnership in justice,” (Cicero, p. 102). As man was created by God, so was justice; this denotes an unchangeable point of reference that can guide us to prevail over unforeseen circumstances, by faith. Cicero surmises that justice is a divine guide that one can rely on, yet a perfection that none can achieve; thus, accordingly Cicero believed that it remains the obligation of man through law to correct the depravities resulting from decisions and found in the individual opinions that lead us to each take different paths. Cicero asserts “[i]n like manner our minds are all similarly susceptible of inquietudes, joys, desires, and fears;, (Cicero, Yonge, C.D., p. 112). Law and Justice are of divine origin, whereby the imperfect man is given a divine moral guide, with a more directed and focused view than previous Aristotelian or Platonic political theory.
The Statesman
Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote that statesmen should be free “to manage and keep account of the state,” by “keeping account of public opinion;” asserting that the statesman “should not embarrass himself in debating and arguing, reading and scribbling. He should rather employ himself in the actual administration of government, and become a sort of steward of it, being perfectly conversant with the principles of universal law and equity, without which no man can be just,” (Cicero, pp. 80, 82). Similarly, the New Testament discusses stewardship of government, decreeing that “[e]very person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God,” (Romans 13:1; NASB). Cicero added that, “[t]he statesman develops this sense [to deter from crime, favoring morality] by making use of public opinion, and completes it with the aid of education and social training,” (Cicero; Powell, J., p. 83). Roman General Scipio Africanus argued that, “[t]he good life is impossible without a good state; and there is no greater blessing than a well-ordered state. In consequence, it always amazes me… [s]o the aim of our ideal statesman is the citizens’ happy life—that is, a life secure in wealth, rich in resources, abundant in renown, and honourable in its moral character,” (Cicero, p. 83).
Cicero’s Search for Truth
As Marcus Cicero reminds us, the philosophic search for truth must be tempered by political concerns, writing that “in the end citizens are deterred from crime by moral scruples as much as by fear,” (Cicero, p. 83). Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) would later invert this principle, asserting power and force, not justice, were necessary to ensure order. Cicero’s views on using power and force were reserved for the wicked, assuring citizens of his mixed constitution that “[y]ou will be executed only when no one can be found so criminal, so wicked, and so similar to yourself as to deny the justice of that course of action,” (Cicero, p. 158), Cicero quoted Xenocrates (396 B.C. – 314 B.C.) on virture, who wrote “’[t]o do that of their own accord which they might be compelled to do by law.’ That citizen, therefore, who obliges all men to those virtuous actions, by the authority of laws and penalties, to which the philosophers can scarcely persuade a few by the force of their eloquence, is certainly to be preferred to the sagest of the doctors who spend their lives in such discussions,” (Cicero; Yonge, C.D., p. 8).
Perhaps Cicero’s most unrivaled statement occurs in Book I, whereby he explicitly affirmed the existence of God; writing of His supremacy, that “[t]his animal—prescient, sagacious, complex, acute, full of memory, reason, and counsel, which we call man—has been generated by the supreme God in a most transcendent condition. For he is the only creature among all the races and descriptions of animated beings who is endued with superior reason and thought, in which the rest are deficient. And what is there, I do not say in man alone, but in all heaven and earth, more divine than reason, which, when it becomes right and perfect, is justly termed wisdom?” (Cicero; Yonge, C.D., p. 109). Holton describes that Cicero’s “concern for the fate of the commonwealth dictated that his opening remarks in the Republic be directed to the practical end of defending the political life,” (Holton, D.; Strauss, L., p. 239).
The Old Testament reminds us of the Christian duty to omit adherence to an absolute ideology, instead imparting objective decision-making over any encountered obstacles and the perplexities of public policy; whereby the Lord concisely decrees through Moses, “[d]o not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly,” (Leviticus 19:15; NIV). Jesus provides the secret to good governance in the New Testament, whereby He reveals that, “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9; NIV). Jesus reminds us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” Matthew 6:33; ESV). His brief command decrees that we place our faith in the Divine Laws given to us by God; who noted in Matthew 6:24 that man cannot serve two masters. No matter the power of the regime; absolute government is never a method suggested by Cicero; yet he submits there exists a predetermined, invisible, and eternal authority that we can incorporate into decisions of polity. Jesus adjudicates these moral principles, imparting an obligation for posterity to be upheld in the contemporary age.
Conclusion
Marcus Tullius Cicero’s position remains merited in the contemporary age; though written before Christ, it offers man the ability to further the consideration of various government regimes. Cicero’s works thereby historically support a mixed constitution as a preclusion against tyranny, specifically a balanced limited government comprised of simple ingredients, and that does not incentivize any absolute ideology or coordinated authority. Jesus reaffirmed absolute truth, providing an eternal expounded enumeration of the best principles of government; thereby decreeing a new covenant and mapping out an expanded blueprint for posterity. While Cicero did not invent a profound political theory, his position remains unfettered by history. Generations of government, religion, and citizenry have reaffirmed the durability of Cicero’s mixed constitution. Although Cicero’s views were unoriginal, they were presented to the public in a concise and digestible manner, using empirical history to shape and support his poistions. America continues to prevail based on its continuously competing ideologies, whilst allowing for civic representation that is directly contrasted by government action. Cicero certainly influenced America’s indestructible government; a modern melting-pot of self-restraining oligarchy, aristocracy, democracy, bureaucracy, monarchy, anarchy, republic, and plutocracy in the private sphere; thereby utilizing practical tactics to advocate a powerful yet controlled government that would favor both polis and the sovereign individual under the condition of justice. These absolute positions are required to preserve the mixed government America relies on in the present day. Cicero’s advocation of limited government lives on beyond his own physical demise; thereby preserving the Ancient notion of limited government, based on inherent sovereignty, guided by objective moral truth.
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