| Cicero once wrote that the beginnings of things are small and in a way that was the story of his own life. How does a boy born to an up-and-coming merchant family in Arpinum, part of the Latium region outside of Rome, become one of the most powerful voices of the empire? How did Cicero earn his title as one of history's greatest orators and save the Roman Republic through the power of speech? While other young men of his position partied and enjoyed their wealth, Cicero studied like a man possessed. He was said to produce as many as five hundred lines per night, just as the renowned Stoic Chrysippus was famed to do, and became a respected author by the age of 20. Then he decamped to Athens to study under philosophy teachers of every school, before making his way to Rhodes to study Stoicism with Posidonius. He worked his way up what became known as the cursus honorum, the ladder of offices from quaestor to praetor to consul. He fought for justice and tried cases. He brought down the corrupt administration of Sicilian governor Verres and restored the rights of local farmers, merchants, and citizens, ending years of exploitation and abuse. Such were his abilities, it was said people would stop whatever they were doing to hear Cicero speak. Many of his trial speeches survive—they are as riveting as anything you might see on a television drama today. In 63 BC, Cicero took the office of consul, after defeating his political rival Catiline in a contested election. The Republic was in the midst of an economic crisis and Catiline, who hailed from a great aristocratic family like the Vanderbilts or Mayfields in America, was humiliated to lose to someone like Cicero. He was also hurting financially. He couldn't afford to run in another election and so schemed to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and seize victory by force (sound familiar?). Catiline traveled to northern Italy to meet with disgruntled farmers who were drowning in debt and prompted them to carry out acts of arson and terrorism, including the assassination of notable politicians like Cicero. Once these seeds of chaos were sown, Catiline would march into Rome with an army he was gathering and take over the Republic. But Cicero caught wind of Catiline's conspiracy and, after quietly gathering evidence to the fact, he convened the Senate and gave the speech of his life. "When, O Catiline," he began, "do you mean to cease abusing our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us?" Catiline soon fled Rome, proving beyond a doubt that Cicero was right. Cicero was not a perfect man or a perfect politician (we tell his story fully in Lives of the Stoics and we also talked about this conspiracy in our amazing interview with Francis Ford Coppola, who is a big fan of Stoicism) but when it counted, he drew upon his talents—along with courage, discipline, justice and wisdom—and saved the Republic not with the sharpness of his sword, but the power of his speech. All that training, all that study, all that work paid off. Most of us will not be called to a moment like that, but each of us should imagine we are training for something. Destiny taps each of us on the shoulder, another great speaker and statesman would say. Will we be able to answer? Will we have cultivated the skills and virtues necessary to answer well? Well that's the question. That's what philosophy is about—preparing you for whatever fortune has in store, big and small. I've (hey, it's Ryan here) been thinking about Cicero a lot recently, with my talks in Australia this summer and now in Europe and Canada this November (tickets here). You don't think that writing books is going to put you in front of 2,000 people in 100+ year old theaters, but that's the surprising (and very fortunate) position I've found myself in, and I've been trying to draw on all my training and experience to try to meet that moment. I've been thinking of what Cicero can teach me about the art of being in front of an audience but also what he can teach us in our fraught political times. Like I said, Cicero wasn't perfect, but he did help spot and stop a demagogue intent on overthrowing the Republic. Anyway, I would love to see you in London (November 12), Rotterdam (November 13), Dublin (November 15), Vancouver (November 18), and Toronto (November 20). You can head here to learn more and grab tickets today.  P.S. Ryan again. Wanted to share those dates one last time: - London — November 12
- Rotterdam — November 13
- Dublin — November 15
- Vancouver — November 18
- Toronto — November 20
We're also doing a couple premium Q&A sessions before the official show for VIP ticket holders, which also includes special backstage access. Learn more and grab tickets here! | 
No comments:
Post a Comment