Cicero was a famous politician and jurist of the Roman period, known for his eloquence. There are many more deeds about him, such as the famous smashing of the political revolution led by Katirin after his election as consul in 63 BC. In fact, the most dazzling thing in Cicero's life was not the period of being elected as a consul, but the achievements in philosophy and jurisprudence, which greatly influenced the development of later philosophical and legal thought. Cicero's concept of "mixed government" was more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, influencing montesquieu, a famous jurist of the French Enlightenment in the 18th century, especially his idea of separation of powers.
Cicero (Roman consul), ancient Western statesman and jurist
In Cicero's Treatise on law, in addition to mentioning the concept of mixed government, the profound influence on later generations is the understanding of natural law. Natural law is relative to customary law. Customary law itself was born out of the system that ancient inhabitants observed according to established customs, and later gradually evolved into rules and regulations formulated by the superior to the inferior, usually with a certain degree of coercion, and is considered to be the source of modern law. The laws of nature are rules and regulations formed according to the yearning for good morality in human nature, and usually represent people's general pursuit of beautiful things.
Cicero left many classic works in his lifetime, many of which were related to philosophy and law. "On the Law" is one of the more well-known works, his creation according to historical research, should be in 51 BC, in fact, this year is only 7 years after Cicero was killed, and at this time the Roman Republic and its republican system gradually collapsed, social contradictions are frequent, especially the emergence of dictatorial rulers, bringing great changes to the entire Roman society.
Cicero's On the Law
The reason why he has a deep understanding of the law is that Cicero himself has worked as a lawyer, not only responsible for interpreting the provisions of the law to the public, but also responsible for accepting employment and lawsuits. Of course, Cicero studied jurisprudence, in itself, to prepare for his political career, in the ancient Roman period, there were two major ways to devote himself to politics, the first was to join the army, the second was to follow the law, with the work of a lawyer, Cicero gained unparalleled prestige and was elected consul in 63 BC.
Joining the army or practicing law in ancient Rome was the way to participate in politics
In the time Cicero lived, the Twelve Bronze Tables Act existed hundreds of years ago, which was enacted by the Legislative Council of the "Regiment of Ten" and promulgated through the General Assembly of The Commoners. Although the Twelve Bronze Table Law has a certain degree of restriction on the nobility, in fact, as nobles and slave owners still have an important position in society, so the restriction clause of the law is more between the commoners and the commoners. In addition, at the end of the Roman Republic, due to the collapse of the republican system, social contradictions were numerous, and the rights of the common people were even less guaranteed.
The birth of the Twelve Bronze Tables had long-term significance for the laws of ancient Roman times
Based on his understanding of society and his reflections on philosophy, Cicero has a sentence on law that explains the importance of law in governing the country. He argued that "the meaning of the law is to be applicable and valid to all", and that "all" here is intriguing, especially in an era of strict social hierarchies, and he emphasizes that citizens living in society, whether noble or commoner, should be brought under the jurisdiction of the law. From this, the concept of natural law was derived, emphasizing the natural properties of law. He believed that there must be an eternal law applicable to all peoples in the law that was generally enacted by all nations. The concept of natural law was proposed, which influenced the later derivation and development of Roman law.
Cicero's understanding of natural law is not a family statement, in the ancient Greek philosophical era, there was already a relatively comprehensive understanding of natural law. In the process of initial research, some philosophers separated "nature" and "law", believing that the two existed relatively, that is, nature existed eternally, while law was fixed and arbitrary. If it is explained in one sentence, it is that nature does not have a certain law to pursue, and the law is relatively stable, and it is an expedient view of affairs. Among the ancient Greek philosophers, Aristotle, represented, believed that there was an eternal law of nature in all things, and that he was more perfect than the rules and regulations enforced by real people. From this comes the interpretation of the concept of natural law itself.
Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, proposed that eternal and unchanging laws could be discovered as the source of natural law
The later extension of this concept was the Stoic school of philosophy represented by Zeno. The Stoic school of philosophy is typical of idealism, emphasizing the natural nature of human existence. Zeno believed that "a life consistent with nature is a moral life", and later Seneca expanded this scope to the slave class, knowing that in a slave society, slaves are completely devoid of personality and human rights, and Seneca's theory raises the concept of natural law to a new level.
The Stoic school extended an overview of natural law in ancient Greek philosophy
Cicero lived in an era of great roman development, as early as 40 years before his birth, the whole territory of ancient Greece had been occupied by Rome, so a large part of Greek culture was integrated into Rome. In the process of defending, Cicero left Rome because he offended the dictator Sulla, and in order to study speech, he went to Rhodes (the fourth largest island in Greece) to study, because of the language barrier, Cicero taught himself Greek and spoke in Greek, and basically during this period came into contact with the ideas of ancient Greek philosophy, and thus summarized and developed the concept of natural law.
Rhode island
First, Cicero inherited Aristotle's view that natural law not only existed, but even that natural law should be superior to the written law in reality, and made demands on actual law, and that his existence must satisfy and conform to natural law, and only in this way could it reflect the fairness and justice of law to anyone. Second, Cicero's assertion of the equality of man, especially in the enforcement of the law, should be equal for all, both nobles and lower-class commoners (Cicero's claim does not reflect the universalization of natural law to slaves, because slaves do not have human rights in Rome).
Cicero himself was a politician, especially when he was elected consul, so his perspective was on the governance of the country, so in the concept of natural law, Cicero everywhere reflected the dissatisfaction and reform of the country's current political system. Mentally, Cicero was a fan of a republican system. By the end of the Roman Republic, as the republican system was constantly destroyed, in addition to the dismal situation of the country, it was believed that it was caused by loopholes in the current system of the country, so in the concept of natural law, the idea of a mixed form of government was proposed.
The concept of natural law was proposed to lay the foundation for the perfection of Roman law
He believed that the three-power separation system of the Roman Republic, with the consul representing the royal power, the senate representing the nobility, and the commoner assembly headed by the conservator, had certain drawbacks, especially social contradictions. Therefore, in the management of the State, reconciling the contradictions between the various strata is the most important issue, emphasizing the role of the human person in the management of the State. In addition to the system of thought derived from Plato (described in the Republic), it also critically incorporates aristotle's claims of natural law.
The trampling of ancient Roman law in the Catillin Affair
In short, Cicero's legacy of jurisprudence and political thought is still too idealistic, and even he himself, in the process of serving as consul, is still dominated by customary law. Even in dealing with the Catiline incident, without legal trial, the unauthorized execution of participants, and even the illegal embezzlement of Jewish funds, an extremely narrow nationalist tone is expressed. Although Cicero himself transcended the entire era in thought, his behavior still did not transcend this shackle, and eventually left a tragic fate. But from the perspective of the whole history, Cicero still has a profound influence on natural law and his attitude to national politics.