De re publica

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De re publica , fragment ( palimpsest ). Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vaticanus Lat. 5757, fol. 277r (4th / 5th century)

The writing De re publica ( Latin , about the commonwealth ) is a state-theoretical work of the Roman politician and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero , which consists of six books, the content of which has, however, only partially survived. It was established in the years 54 to 51 BC. Written in BC . The work deals with the question of the best form of government and the optimal ruler and is written in the form of a Platonic dialogue with Scipio Aemilianus in the lead role.

Work history

Cicero 's De re publica was still widely read and noticed in the 5th century. This is shown by the fact that it was frequently quoted by both pagan and early Christian authors. But then the preoccupation with this work from the first philosophical phase ended and it was considered lost. The content was only known from fragments and quotes from other authors, while an original tradition could not be found. Only in 1819 was Angelo Mai in the Vatican Library an originally from Abbey Bobbio derived Palimpsest (Vatican, BAV lat. 5757), in which large parts of the first and second book, further sections of the third, fourth and fifth book, but no traces of the sixth were to be found, whereby the majority of the sixth book was known anyway through the separate tradition of the Somnium Scipionis . An attempt was made to classify existing fragments and quotations according to the context. The title was Ciceros de re publica with commentaries on the Psalm by Augustine . Despite the surprising find, there was initially no intensive academic study of the content of this work. It was not until around the First World War that German research began, under the impression of the reassessment of Plato's Politeia propagated primarily by authors from the George circle and representatives of the so-called Third Humanism , to deal more closely with the content of the text and Cicero's afterwards 1936 Viktor Pöschl discusses the state model conceived in a strictly hierarchical manner by Plato as groundbreaking for society and the state of the present. From a different perspective (historical contextualization; emphasis on the rule of law) research continues to this day.

investment

Probably to imitate his role model, the Greek philosopher Plato , Cicero wrote his main philosophical work in dialogue form. It not only shares the title ( Vom Gemeinwesen ) with its Greek counterpart, the Politeia ( Gr. Πολιτεία , roughly: State, Constitution ). The Roman character of the work is already expressed in the selection of the interlocutors (see below), as Cicero had politicians, men of political practice, discuss with one another, whereas Plato at the time put philosophers and theorists in the leading roles. In Plato's work, Socrates is the main character of this fictional conversation and tells it himself the next day. Cicero, on the other hand, is not himself present in the fictional conversation in which he disguised his teachings about the state, but lets it take place a generation earlier. The source from whom he wanted to find out was Publius Rutilius Rufus. In his representation, so Cicero, the - purely fictional - conversation took place on the three days of the Latin festival in 129 BC. In the country house of Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus , who is now called "the younger" to distinguish it from his adoptive grandfather. He is the main character in the conversation about the ideal state of the Roman state, and because in the same year 129 B.C. Cicero can shape the work like a kind of legacy to the Romans. The 6th book with Scipio's afterlife - also a parallel to the myth of the Er in the last book of Plato's state - seems to the readers, who knew Scipio's year of death, like a premonition of his death. The conversations were spread over three days, with two books per day. At the beginning of each of these three pairs of books, Cicero put a Proöm as a personal preface. The work begins with a justification for its creation. At the same time, Cicero gives examples of political action and sees it as a duty to get involved in the state. Only after this Proömium does the actual conversation begin.

content

Scheme of forms of government according to Cicero

Number of rulers	Good forms	feature	Bad forms	feature
One	regnum ( royalty )	Welfare ( caritas )	Tyranny	Pride ( superbia )
Some	civitas optimatium ( rule of optimates )	Prudence ( consilium )	oligarchy	Clique formation ( factio )
All	civitas popularis ( rule of the people )	Freedom ( libertas )	Anarchy ( ochlocracy )	Rampant mass ( licentia )

The first two books deal mainly with questions of state theory. Thus the position on the three constitutional forms becomes - monarchy , which is to be regarded as the best of the three pure forms of government (the autocrat as the loyal "father" of the people), aristocracy and democracy (although he recognizes errors in each of these forms of government and they are permanently impracticable class) - taken. The ultimate conclusion from this discussion of the constitutional forms is a song of praise to the mixed constitution , which unites the positive elements of all constitutions. This is reflected in the form of government of the Roman Republic with consuls (monarchy), senate (aristocracy) and citizens' assembly (democracy), the creation of which Cicero describes in the 2nd book.

Cicero's definition of the state is well known:

" Est igitur ... res publica res populi, populus autem non omnis hominum coetus quoquo modo congregatus, sed coetus multitudinis iuris consensu et utilitatis communione sociatus "

"So it is ... the community is the cause of the people, a people, however, not any collection of people that is somehow huddled together, but the collection of a crowd that is united in the recognition of rights and the commonality of benefit."

According to Cicero, the cause of founding a state is not primarily due to weakness ( imbecillitas ), but rather to the natural, instinctive herd instinct ( congregatio ) of the human being.

Books three and four describe justice and legislation, five and six the best statesman. The sixth book contains the dream of Scipios (also known as Somnium Scipionis ), which was handed down separately and is only known to us through this.

Interlocutor

Cicero lets the following people, all statesmen, take part in the fictional conversation:

Gaius Fannius

Gaius was a good officer, orator, and statesman. In addition, he was one of the outstanding Roman historians who also played a major role in politics. He wrote annales in which he wrote of the beginnings of Rome, as the title suggests. But he also took contemporary history into account and in it above all defended and emphasized Scipio. 146 BC He was the first to climb the walls of Carthage together with Tiberius Gracchus . 122 BC He got the consulate through the influence of Gaius Gracchus . However, when the latter submitted a motion to the Senate to transfer full citizenship to the Latins and Latin citizenship to the Italians , Gaius Fannius distanced himself from the Gracchus' party. He was the son-in-law of Laelius, of whom more is reported below. Cicero does not allow him to speak at any point in the surviving parts, but only mentions him by name.

Gaius Laelius Sapiens (the younger)

It was made around 190 BC. And was known as an officer, statesman and orator. 145 BC He was appointed praetor and 140 BC. Elected as consul. Through his friendship with the younger Scipio and through his clever way of thinking and his philosophical interests, which drew him to the Stoics , he was also a member of the Scipion circle. Gaius Fannius and Quintus Mucius Scaevola were his sons-in-law. He survived Scipio, under whom he was general in the Third Punic War , and gave him a funeral oration which, like other speeches, became known by him. He is the main interlocutor of the younger Scipio in De re publica , where Cicero assigns him the central speech on the nature and necessity of justice. Furthermore, Cicero had him appear as a dialogue partner in his works De senectute and Laelius de amicitia . With this dialogue about friendship he set a monument to Laelius. In comparison with Scipio, he speaks the words of praise about him: “Just as no one can achieve Africanus on the basis of warlike fame, in which, of course, Laelius was extraordinary in the war against Viriathus, so there is genius, education and eloquence and wisdom, finally, if both a first, then at least the leading role gladly for Laelius. ”Gaius Laelius Sapiens finally died of old age.

Manius Manilius

He was a statesman, an excellent legal expert and an excellent lawyer. 149 BC He was elected consul. He published his legal works under the title: Monumenta, Collection of the Alleged Laws of Numa . Scipio served under him as a tribune . During his time as consul he besieged the city of Carthage in vain.

Spurius Mummius

He had turned to the Stoics. 146 BC In BC he accompanied his brother L. Mummius Achaicus as a legate during the conquest and destruction of Corinth . Mummius was a connoisseur of the Greek language and culture, as well as a follower of the Stoic Panaitios . Gaius Laelius Sapiens and Scipio Africanus the Younger were among his friends.

Lucius Furius Philus

His strengths also lay in politics; he was an excellent statesman and orator. In 136 BC He was elected consul. His areas of interest lay in philosophy and science, especially astronomy inspired him. In Cicero's opinion, which he wrote down in his work Brutus (108), Lucius Furius Philus was a man who spoke very pure Latin and did so in a more educated manner than the others. He was also a friend of Scipio Africanus the Younger and Gaius Laelius Sapiens and thus belonged to the Scipion group.

Publius Rutilius Rufus

He was born around 156 BC. The Greek philosopher Panaitios was one of his idols and teachers . Publius was a highly educated statesman and was born in 105 BC. Appointed consul. In the school of Publius Mucius Scaevola he learned law and was also a historian and speaker. His close friends were again Gaius Laelius Sapiens and Scipio Africanus the Younger. He was also a member of the famous Scipion Circle. He belongs to the Romans who merged the ideal taught by Panaitios with the Roman character and put it into practice. 94 BC He helped the proconsul Publius Mucius Scaevola to rule as a legate in the province of Asia Minor and eliminated errors in the provincial administration. He was charged for this and the judges sentenced him, probably 92 BC. And sent him into exile. He chose his exile in the province of Mytilene , which he lived in 94 BC. Chr. Is said to have plundered, but was given a warm welcome there. He later traveled to Smyrna . Cicero visited him here in 78 BC, who hoped that Publius would build a bridge to the Scipionic circle, which embodied the ideal he was striving for. Cicero learned from Scipio's only living close friend of the content of the conversation which he had presented in De re publica . In exile, Rutilius Rufus worked on his studies and published an autobiography ( De vita sua ) and a historical account in Greek. Cicero praised his speeches, but criticized their unpopular dry form. Publius Rutilius Rufus died in 75 BC. Chr.

Quintus Mucius Scaevola

Quintus was an eminent statesman and lawyer. His father taught him legal practice and the stoic Panaitios of Rhodes taught him philosophy. 120 BC He became administrator of the province of Asia. On his return to Rome he was charged with extortion, but successfully defended himself. Was elected consul. He taught Cicero legal practice for several years. Quintus was the cousin of Quintus Mucius Scaevola (pontiff) , who founded the scientific studies of Roman law. Through him, Cicero got to know Laelia, the daughter of Gaius Laelius Sapiens, and thus again established a connection to the Scipion Circle. 88 BC He defended Gaius Marius in the Senate by not voting to declare him an enemy of the state. The content of the writing Laelius de amicitia by Cicero is said to come from Fr. Mucius Scaevola. He also appears in Cicero's De oratore . In the surviving parts of De re publica he speaks only in one place in the first book.

Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (the Younger)

He was born around 185 BC. Born in BC and was the son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus and his first divorced wife Papira. Of his three sisters, one was married to Quintus Aelius Tubero and the other to M. Porcius Cato . Later Scipio Africanus , the son of Scipio Africanus' the elder, adopted him . Publius was one of the most outstanding statesmen and generals of Rome. 168 BC He accompanied his biological father in the war against Perseus and distinguished himself there in the Macedon campaign. 151 BC He became a military tribune in Spain, where he not only attracted attention because of his military successes, but also because of his diplomatic skills. There he regulated the succession of the three sons of the dying Massinissa . When the Third Punic War broke out , it was popularized with the military and the people in 147 BC. Elected consul, although he was not yet 42 years old and the Senate was against it. At the same time he was given command of the Roman troops. 146 BC After long, hard battles he conquered Carthage and razed it to the ground. 142 BC He was elected censor by popular favor and went to 141 BC. On a legation trip to Egypt and Asia. 134 BC He was appointed consul for the second time to take command of Spain, and ended there in 133 BC. The war with the conquest and destruction of the city of Numantia . This gave him his second nickname Numantinus . Despite his family ties to Tiberius Gracchus , he was a staunch aristocrat and fierce opponent of his reform movements. 129 BC Scipio died, allegedly murdered by followers of Tiberius Gracchus. With his group of Scipions and the two Greeks Polybios , the historian, and Panaitios , the Stoic philosopher, he wanted to bring Greek culture to Rome in order to give the Roman Empire an intellectual and historical mission in addition to its political mission. He is the spokesman for the conversation in De re publica and also appears in Laelius de amicitia as the embodiment of an ideal Roman humanity, because it was with him that the Greek and Roman spirit had merged for the first time. For Cicero he was the best representative of his thoughts that he could find at this time.

Quintus Aelius Tubero

He was Scipio's nephew. But above all, he was a speaker, lawyer and politician. 129 BC He was elected tribune of the people . He was also a close friend of the stoic Panaitios and also a staunch stoic, but fell through the application for the office of praetor because of his show of poverty . Panaitios mentioned him in several of his writings. Cicero valued his character, which set him apart from his relative and friend Gaius Gracchus, but not his eloquence. The stoic disdain for everything outside had not done his style good, which Cicero described as tough, unkempt and shaggy.

Text editions and translations

• M. Tullius Cicero: De re publica / From the community. Latin / German. Transl. And ed. by Karl Büchner . Reclam, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 978-3-15-009909-4 .
• M. Tullius Cicero: The state . Latin - German. Ed. And transl. by Rainer Nickel , Akad.-Verl., Berlin 2012.
• Cicero: De re publica / From the state . Latin / German. Trans. U. ed. v. Michael von Albrecht . Reclam, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-15-010918-2 .
• Konrat Ziegler (Ed.): M. Tulli Ciceronis scripta quae manserunt omnia. Fasc. 39: De re publica. Teubner, Stuttgart 1969 (authoritative text-critical edition).
• Cicero, De re publica: selections. Ed. by James EG Zetzel (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics), Cambridge UP, Cambridge 1995.
• Jonathan GF Powell (Ed.): M. Tvlli Ciceronis De re pvblica. De legibvs. Cato maior de senectvte. Laelivs de amicitia. Clarendon, Oxford 2006.

literature

• Karl Büchner : M. Tullius Cicero, De re publica: Commentary. Winter, Heidelberg 1984, ISBN 3-533-03032-6 .
• Olof Gigon , Studies on Ciceros De republica . In: Olof Gigon, The ancient philosophy as yardstick and reality . (Pp. 208–355) Artemis Verlag (Zurich, Munich), 1977. ISBN 3-7608-3648-8 .
• Eberhard Heck : The testimony of Cicero's writing De re publica. Olms, Hildesheim 1966.
• Harald Merklin: Cicero, About the Community. In: Manfred Brocker (Ed.): History of political thinking. A manual. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2007, pp. 47-62.
• Viktor Pöschl : Roman state and Greek state thinking in Cicero. Investigations into Cicero's De re publica. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1990. (Reprint of the 1st edition, Berlin 1936).
• Rudolf Stark : Res publica. Dieterich, Göttingen 1937.
• Rudolf Stark: Cicero's definition of the state. In: La Nouvelle Clio. 6, 1954, pp. 57–69 (also in: Richard Klein (ed.): Das Staatsought der Römer. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1966, 3rd edition 1980, pp. 332–347).
• Fabio Stok: Cicero. C. De re publica. In: Christine Walde (Ed.): The reception of ancient literature. Kulturhistorisches Werklexikon (= Der Neue Pauly . Supplements. Volume 7). Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2010, ISBN 978-3-476-02034-5 , Sp. 229–245.
• Karl Salomon Zachariae , Political Studies About Cicero's Recovered Work Vom Staate . 1823. Reprint: Kessinger Pub Co 2010.

Web links

Text output

• De re publica at The Latin Library (original Latin text).

information

• Mentioned with a graphically represented structure at gottwein.de .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Reclam's Lexicon of Greek and Roman Authors . By Bernhard Kytzler , Rhilipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1997, p. 95.
2. ↑ Cf. Theresa Orozco, Platonic violence. Gadamer's political hermeneutics of the Nazi era, Hamburg Berlin 1995, pp. 36–45; Stefan Rebenich, “That a beam from Hellas fell on us”. Plato in the George Circle, in: George-Jahrbuch 7, 2008/09, pp. 115–141.
3. ↑ Viktor Pöschl, Roman State and Greek State Thought (see literature below).
4. ↑ Cicero, de re publica 1.13. Cicero met him, as he himself reports here, in Smyrna , during his study trip to Greece in 78 BC. Chr.
5. ↑ Georg Pfligersdorffer : Politics and leisure. To the preamble and introductory talk of Cicero's De re publica. W. Fink, Munich 1969.
6. ^ De re publica 1.39
7. ^ Marcus Tullius Cicero: De re publica. From the community. Translated and edited by Karl Büchner . Artemis & Winkler, Stuttgart 1995, p. 53.
8. ↑ Cicero, De re publica 3.33–41
9. ↑ Cicero, Brutus 84
10. ^ Cicero, De re publica 1.33