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'Cicero relied solely on his relationships to have a successful…
'Cicero relied solely on his relationships to have a successful political career.' To what extent do you agree? 30 marker
Novus Homo
tries to initiate a relationship with Pompey: to gain influence as Pompey was a very successful military leader who had gain much respect for his campagnes in the Mediterranean in 67BC against pirates. Mithridates in 65 BC. Sparticus in 71 BC
'You-a much greater man than Africanus was-will find it easy to admit me-one who is not much inferior to Laelius.'
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'and if on this occasionI do not meet with an adequate return, I am not at all sorry to have the balance of kindness in my favour.'
Pompey's successful political career, had been consul in 70 BC
As a Novus Homo from Arpinum not Rome or from a patrician family like Pompey. He needed to work harder to make friends to advance his political career.
He therefore needed to persuade powerful people who could/ would vote to tell their clients to vote for Cicero. This sort of attitude can be seen in the agricultural land bill in 63BC at the start of his consulship, demonstrating that he would prioritise the wealthier against bill which people like Cataline favoured which were for land redistribution. This meant that his relationships with the powerful people in Rome were important as they were the ones influencing the votes
he did so by strategically choosing his speeches and playing to the favor of the
people to build his reputation as a senator. Glen R ruse.
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However stating that it was solely down to his relationships is not wholly true as we can see that Cicero on many occasions prioritises the republic over his relationships in the hope that it will boost his career
Like with the Gaius Verres Speech he critises the people who were going to be consul the next year, like Hortenius who became consul in 69 BC and the system of the law courts and calls out the senators, the jurors saying that they will be 'avarice, wickedness and perjury.' if they don't find verres guilty. This puts his relationship on the line with the other senators, to advance his popularity and thus eventually his political career by putting his relationships with members of the senate and curus honorum on the line.
We can see that Cicero does not rely on relationships to have a successful career as he refuses to join the trirumverate. Which would have given him he was wary of the amount of power that they weilded and viewed it as unconstitutional. '“Concerning affairs here, what can I write except the same as I have often written? Nothing is more hopeless than the state of the respublica, none more hated than those responsible. I myself, so I think and hope and guess, am protected by the powerful support of people’s goodwill.” letter to Atticus in 59bc. Shows his support for the republic more than the relationships.
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Cicero angers one of the most powerful people and families in Rome by agrivating Clodius after killing the catalinian conspirators. This led clodus after being elected as a tribune and proposing a bill which put people who had killed roman citizens into exile clearly aimed at cicero. This shows that Cicero was willing to be unpopular for the republic and not for his relationships.
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A political and legal career based on oratory was the goal which Cicero has set himself - to help the state and his friend de respectively. Tempest highlights how important oratory was for Cicero as his achievements relied on being a good orator