May 10, 2016

Cicero

Cicero-Poster.jpg

“Long before our own time, the customs of our ancestors molded admirable men, and in turn these eminent men upheld the ways and institutions of their forebears. Our age, however, inherited the Republic like some beautiful painting of bygone days, its colors already fading through great age; and not only has our time neglected to freshen the colors of the picture, but we have failed to preserve its form and outlines.

"For what remains to us, nowadays, of the ancient ways on which the commonwealth, we are told, was founded? We see them so lost in oblivion that they are not merely neglected, but quite forgot. And what am I to say of the men? For our customs have perished for want of men to stand by them, and we are now called to an account, so that we stand impeached like men accused of capital crimes, compelled to plead our own cause. Through our vices, rather than from happenstance, we retain the word “republic” long after we have lost the reality. ” – Cicero, De Re Publica

Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 10, 2016 10:43 PM
Bookmark and Share

Comments:

HOME

"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

And this is why we need a leader like Trump?

Posted by: David Zincavage at May 10, 2016 11:55 AM

"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be Rome’s, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." --Marcus Tullius Cicero

Posted by: Darkwater at May 10, 2016 5:13 PM

I recently finished Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy, which was unexpectedly fascinating.

Posted by: Christian LeBlanc at May 10, 2016 6:56 PM

Does history repeat?
“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”
― Edmund Burke

Posted by: Jimmy J. at May 10, 2016 8:07 PM

Re:David Zincavage
Yeh, so what ? Who do you suggest? For ALL of Trump's negatives ( a gazillion}, there are a ton of our betters with ALL of the positives, calling the shots, and what has it gotten us? A giant clusterf==K!

Posted by: CMAK at May 11, 2016 9:31 AM