Cicero
From Philosopedia
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (3 January 106—7 December 43 B.C.E.)
According to Corliss Lamont, Cicero “showed an absolute disbelief in all the accepted practices of divination, but thought they should be fostered ‘on account of popular opinion and of their great public utility.’ ”
During the French Revolution, Maréchal cited Cicero as being only a “possible” atheist.
J. M. Robertson explained that Cicero devised a religious make-believe which paralleled the State. His outlook can be looked at as being historically, not theologically, appropriate for his day. He swears, for example, that “the Gods” exist, albeit it is their glory to do nothing. Yet, he held that “There are no miracles” and “What old woman is so stupid now as to tremble at those tales of hell which were once so firmly believed in?”
In the last three years of his life, he reinforced his reputation as a major classical skeptic by writing Concerning the Nature of the Gods (44 B.C.E.), by which he made Greek philosophy accessible to Latin audiences, according to J. C. A. Gaskin.
Following Julius Caesar's murder, Cicero and Mark Antony became the two most powerful leaders, Cicero as spokesman for the Senate and Antony as consul and Executor of Caesar's Last Will. When Antony and Octavian (Augustus) reconciled and allied with Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate, Cicero was hunted down and assassins prepared to kill him. His alleged last words were "There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly." He was decapitated. According to Cassius Dio, Cicero's head and hands were displayed on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum according to the tradition of Marius and Sulla, who had been displayed similarly when they were decapitated. Antony's wife Fulvia allegedly took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin, taking a final revenge against Cicero's power of speech.
{CE; CL; EU,; JM; JMR; JMRH; TYD}
