The life and death of lawyer Cicero

SHIN BOK-RYONG
The author is an emeritus professor of history at Konkuk University.

In terms of talent alone, Cicero (106 BC–43 BC) was the most outstanding figure in ancient Roman history. He was known to be a prodigy who read 10,000 books. Parents who were curious about the prodigy visited the school to see him work. Cicero’s dream was to become a historian and compile the history of Rome.

However, Cicero was too enthralled by rhetoric and went to study in Greece to become a lawyer. He memorized nearly all the names of Rome’s citizens and prices as well as the owners of major lands. Whether a lawyer or politician, he believed that being a real estate magnet was the best.

He took risky and big cases. When he represented a defendant, he would quickly switch sides if the plaintiff offered more money. When he made a fortune, he became elected as a consul and earned the title “Pater Patriae,” or father of the country. He did not hesitate with perjury and bribery. He knew very well that the side that shakes bundles of money, not justice, wins the election.

Cicero’s speech attacking political opponents was poisonous. He made a few manuals for speeches attacking his opponents and only changed the names at the last minute. As a lawyer, he killed people with spiteful remarks rather than saving them. When accused of changing his positions, he argued that his speech could persuade the citizens of Rome. His wife Terentia was even more reckless.

However, Cicero made the mistake of defending Brutus, who assassinated Caesar. Thanks to a tip-off by one of his slaves about his hideout, a centurion sent by Antonio cut off Cicero’s head and hands with an axe. Crassus said that a real estate tycoon is killed by his own hands, not by enemies. Cicero’s wife punished the slave by forcing him to eat his own flesh. The story from another country 2000 years ago is not so unfamiliar.