Historical Context

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus is a titanic figure in Roman history, the first emperor who modestly preferred to call himself "princeps" (first among equals), the chief architect of the principate regime, and the creator of the Roman Empire. In public consciousness, Octavian's main patron and mentor is considered to be his adoptive father, Gaius Julius Caesar, the dictator of the Roman Republic and "Father of the Fatherland." However, another "Father of the Fatherland," Marcus Tullius Cicero, also had a significant influence on the young Octavian. It was he who first used the word "princeps" to denote the head of state. To fully understand the level of Cicero's influence on Octavian, one must uncover the historical context of that era.

In 146 BC, the Roman Republic finally defeated Carthage, completely destroying the city and turning its territory into the province of Africa. The Republic was left without serious rivals in the Mediterranean, exposing an internal threat of social conflict. The dominant position in Rome was held by the nobility class, which included the most influential and wealthy families of the Eternal City.

The Roman nobility was a closed social group formed from the patrician class and the wealthy part of the plebeian class, enriched through large landholdings, exploitation of slaves, and plundering of provinces. The nobility sought to keep all the reins of power in their hands, thereby ensuring a monopoly on political power. Profits flowed abundantly, their people were in power, and there were no serious external opponents left—it seemed like a true idyll for the Roman ruling class.

The first to disturb the peace of the Roman nobility were its own representatives—the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, who were tribunes of the people in 134 and 121 BC, respectively. The brothers proposed agrarian reform projects that involved limiting the nobility's right to use "ager publicus" (public land), which potentially threatened the dominance of the Roman aristocracy and eased the situation of small landowners. Not finding understanding in the Senate, the brothers turned to the popular assembly, finding support among, let's say, the common people of Rome. A serious civil conflict erupted in the city, escalating into street fights and the murder of Tiberius in 133 BC, and then Gaius in 121 BC. This conflict defined two opposing camps—politicians representing the nobility and politicians representing the middle and lower classes, named by Theodor Mommsen as optimates and populares, respectively—thus began the era of civil wars in Rome.

In the following decades, the Republic was shaken by conflicts between these two parties, with the wars between the optimate Sulla and the popularis Marius (88–87 and 83–82 BC) having the greatest influence on the young Cicero. Sulla then prevailed, appointed himself perpetual dictator, and organized bloody proscriptions—repressions against those who disagreed with the new power.

Youth and Rise of the Orator

The future great orator was born in 106 BC in the city of Arpinum, located in the modern region of Lazio, not far from Rome itself. Cicero, being a provincial, was by no means a commoner—his father belonged to the equestrian order and spared no expense for the education and good life of his children. When the boy turned 15, his father moved the family to Rome, where the future "Father of the Fatherland" was inspired to become a forensic orator—and achieved great success in this field. Cicero personally witnessed how republican institutions were perverted under Sulla, how blood flowed in the streets of the Eternal City, and how individuals seized more and more power—this could not but affect the political views of the young man, who possessed a sharp mind, excellent education, and the ability to deeply reflect on the surrounding reality.

Having survived Sulla's terror, Cicero gained popularity through his numerous public speeches in the Roman court. In fact, in those years he engaged in advocacy in the modern sense of the word and was able to earn the necessary social capital to enter politics. The orator's cursus honorum ("ladder of offices") began with his election to the position of quaestor (treasurer) in 75 BC, and from then on, Cicero's fame only grew. After a high-profile anti-corruption case against the former Sullan Gaius Verres, Cicero earned a reputation as a fighter against corruption and the arbitrariness of the senatorial oligarchy. As a result, in 66 BC, he was elected praetor, and in 63 BC, he reached the pinnacle of the cursus honorum—the position of consul. Here, Cicero did not sit idle. Lucius Sergius Catiline also ran for the position of consul, who decided to organize a conspiracy to seize power. The troublemaker was exposed by Cicero in the famous four Catilinarian Orations:

"How long, O Catiline, will you abuse our patience? How long will you mock us with your madness? To what extent will you flaunt your unbridled audacity?"

[Cicero, First Oration Against Catiline, I]

The conspiracy was crushed, and Catiline was executed—this was a true triumph for the orator, for which he was named "Father of the Fatherland." In the same year, a boy was born in the family of Senator Gaius Octavius, also named Gaius, and another Gaius—Gaius Julius Caesar—achieved his election as Pontifex Maximus, the head of the Roman religious cult.

In 60 BC, after Cicero's term of office had expired, a new serious political force emerged in the Republic—the triumvirate of Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar. The three politicians united to seize power, and by their influence far surpassed the late Catiline. The triumvirs, seeing Cicero as a potentially valuable ally, tried to win him over to their side, but the orator preferred exile to alliance with them. Cicero witnessed Caesar's Gallic War, Crassus's death at Carrhae, and the civil war between Caesar and Pompey more as a passive observer than an active participant. The period from 60 to 44 BC was spent by Cicero working on philosophical and political treatises, occasionally interrupting for rare political participation. During this time, Cicero was despondent, writing in his letters to friends about the "night of the Republic," the "death of the Republic," and was gripped by pessimistic moods.

Cicero's Ideal State and Ideal Ruler

It was during this period that Cicero created the most interesting work from the perspective of our topic—"De re publica" (known in Russian as "On the State"). In this treatise, the great orator's political views are most fully revealed. The work consists of a series of dialogues between Scipio Aemilianus Africanus and his guests, in which the interlocutors express their opinions on various political issues. Scipio cites three "pure" forms of government: democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy, considering none of them ideal, only tolerable. Moreover, each form can degenerate: democracy into ochlocracy (mob rule), aristocracy into oligarchy, and monarchy into tyranny. This ancient Greek formula is familiar to many from school. Interestingly, the outstanding republican Cicero prefers monarchy among the three "pure" forms. However, the ideal state is formed through a fourth form that combines the virtues of all three "pure" forms and is devoid of their shortcomings:

"...that there should be something outstanding and regal in the state, that some part of the power should be allocated and entrusted to the authority of the leading men, and some matters should be left to the judgment and will of the people."

[Cicero, On the State, I, 45]

According to Cicero, the Roman Republic of Scipio's time is the "state of the ancestors," which he considers ideal, and it skillfully combines elements of all three "pure" forms—this idea was clearly borrowed from the Hellenistic historian Polybius of the 2nd century BC. Soviet historian S. L. Utchenko suggested that Cicero's republic successfully combined the three "pure" forms from the end of the struggle between patricians and plebeians to the murder of the Gracchus brothers. In Cicero's view, the monarchical element was embodied by the consuls, the aristocratic by the Senate, and the democratic by the popular assemblies. During the period indicated by Cicero, these three elements were perfectly balanced, representing a prototype of a system of checks and balances. Regarding the ruling class, of which Cicero was a representative, the key idea was the identity of the Republic's interests with those of the Senate in alliance with the equestrians. Thus, the thinker clearly appealed to a return to the old ways.

Constantly observing attempts to seize sole power by various individuals, Cicero apparently reconciled himself to the inevitability of the emergence of a permanent head of state and therefore decided to determine what kind of ruler would be most beneficial for the Eternal City. It is not entirely clear what conclusion the thinker reached. He certainly harbored deep antipathy towards the dictators Sulla and Caesar. Different researchers call Cicero's ideal an aristocratic reformer, a constitutional monarch, a just monarch, and so on. The author of this text suggests that the thinker dreamed of a just sole ruler under whose leadership Rome would overcome all the difficulties and hardships of that time. It can be said that under the pressure of the political reality of the Republic, Cicero's views became somewhat "monarchized." He called the potential ruler "rector rei publicae" (ruler of the Republic), sometimes replacing it with the familiar term "princeps." Cicero dedicated the rest of his life to searching for the rector rei publicae.

Cicero and Augustus

The assassination of Caesar on the Ides of March (March 15) 44 BC was a pleasant surprise for Cicero—it opened a window of opportunity for the orator, which he immediately seized. Cicero took an active part in politics. It was on his initiative that Caesar's assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, were amnestied, although Caesar himself was not recognized as a tyrant. A shaky truce was established in the Republic between the Caesarians led by Mark Antony and the republicans Brutus, Cassius, and Cicero. However, Brutus and Cassius, fearing retribution from the pro-Caesarian mob, withdrew to the eastern provinces to gather an army, and Cicero, after so many years, being already a 62-year-old elder, once again found himself on the political Olympus of the Republic.

Mark Antony could not stand Cicero because his stepfather was executed as a participant in Catiline's conspiracy due to Cicero's actions. In this, he was supported by Caesar's veterans. Cicero desperately needed allies in Italy, and one was found—a 19-year-old youth, Gaius Octavius, who, according to the will of the slain dictator, was his main adopted heir. The newly minted Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, as Caesar's adopted son, entered into conflict with Antony over the inheritance and readily allied with Cicero. In this well-educated young man, who openly expressed respect for the great orator and was not lacking in political talents, Cicero, according to the author, saw a potential rector rei publicae. The great trust in Octavian by Cicero is indicated, in particular, by the famous Roman historians Suetonius and Plutarch.

Relying on the popular Octavian in the army, Cicero went into open conflict with Antony and delivered his revealing speeches—the Philippics. However, in the course of the new civil war, which the orator himself ignited, Octavian effectively stabbed his ally in the back, first demanding the consulship for himself and then secretly agreeing with Antony and Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate. At Antony's initiative and despite Octavian's initial resistance, the triumvirs agreed to eliminate Cicero. In 43 BC, the great orator and princeps of the Senate was beheaded near his villa in Formiae. Antony's wife, Fulvia, stuck pins into the dead man's tongue, as if hinting at his excessive talkativeness. Cicero's head and hands were displayed at the rostra near the speaker's platform.

Cicero's influence on Octavian became evident 13 years after the orator's death when Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII and became the sole ruler of the Roman state. Having vanquished all his enemies, Octavian proceeded with his plans to reorganize the Republic. In 27 BC, Augustus declared the "restoration of the Republic," the demise of which Cicero had spoken about. The word res publica was heard much more frequently in propaganda than during the reign of the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. The latter, according to Suetonius, even declared that the Republic was nothing. Octavian, proclaimed Augustus, renounced dictatorial powers, positioning himself as the first among equals:

"After this, I surpassed all in authority, but I had no more power than those who were my colleagues in each magistracy."

[Augustus, Deeds, XXXIV]

Historians of his era emphasized the "restoration of the Republic" and the return to the old ways, while Augustus diligently maintained the appearance of functioning republican institutions—elections of officials continued, the Senate still convened, and popular assemblies still gathered, only under the supervision and protection of the new "Father of the Fatherland," rector rei publicae. In this sense, Augustus was undoubtedly a disciple of Cicero.

Augustus certainly read Cicero's writings, had the opportunity to converse with him, and listen to his teachings during their alliance. And, it seems to me, it is not entirely clear whether the first emperor consciously built a regime of sole power with a republican "facade" or truly thought of himself merely as "first among equals," princeps? Cicero hoped for the emergence of a "savior of the Republic," and Augustus presented himself as such to the Roman people. It is no coincidence that later historians provided semi-mythical accounts of prophetic dreams of Cicero, in which he saw Augustus as the future ruler of the Roman state—these dreams are mentioned by Plutarch and Suetonius.

Thus, Cicero is indirectly responsible for the "republicanization" of Augustus's regime and the duality of the principate. It can be said that the great orator ensured the Republic's slow decline rather than its instantaneous destruction. Thanks to him, many historians still debate the nature of the principate regime, and Theodor Mommsen himself spoke of the "diarchy" of emperors and the Senate and the inseparability between the Republic and the Empire.

Plutarch, in his biography of Cicero, composed a wonderful epilogue that perfectly illustrates the relationship between the great orator and the great emperor, which, I think, is worth quoting in full:

"I have heard that once, long after, Caesar came to one of his grandsons, and at that time the boy had some of Cicero's writings in his hands, and he hid the scroll under his toga in fright. Caesar noticed this, took the book from him, and standing, read a large part of it, then returned the scroll to his grandson and said: 'He was a learned man, indeed, and loved the Fatherland.' As soon as Antony suffered his final defeat, Caesar, himself serving as consul, appointed Cicero's son as his colleague, and during his rule, the Senate ordered the removal of Antony's images, canceled all other honors that had been assigned to him, and finally decreed that henceforth no one in the Antony family should bear the name Marcus. Thus, the deity allowed Cicero's house to complete the retribution against Antony."

[Plutarch, Cicero, 49]