The Roman philosopher Cicero was the Plato and Aristotle of Rome. He was the foremost orator of his day and an important political philosopher who was cherished among Christians (and Augustine). Augustine even credits the writings of Cicero to helping him believe in God in Confessions. However, the warm remarks he gives to Cicero in … Continue reading Augustine’s City of God, III: What was the Cause of Rome’s “Greatness” (Part II)
Cicero
Cicero’s On Obligations (Di Officiis)
Cicero, perhaps the most famous of the Roman philosophers, wrote an influential treatise on duties and obligations published after his death. De Officiis, along with his Republic/Commonwealth and Laws, serve as Cicero’s longstanding political legacy to the West. In fact, On Obligations was widely influential in that it influenced St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, becoming an integral part of the … Continue reading Cicero’s On Obligations (Di Officiis)
Cicero and the Foundations of Natural Law
Cicero is the most important of the Roman philosophers; a Roman Platonist and Stoic, he is responsible for attempting to synthesize strands of Platonic and Stoic thought into a coherent body of mostly political philosophy. It may not be farfetched to assert that Cicero is the first synthetic political philosopher and the second systematic political … Continue reading Cicero and the Foundations of Natural Law
