Quote:
Cicero had a slave named Tiro, he released Tiro at around age fifty And Quintus(his brother I beleive?) wrote a letter to him ,"I am truly grateful for what you have done about Tiro, in judging his former condition to be below his deserts and preferring us to have him as a friend rather than a slave. Believe me, I jumped for joy when I read your letter and his. Thank you, and congratulations."
This being said I do not believe either Cicero or Caeser beleived the institution of slavery was wrong as it was normative. The issue of slavery does not seperate either Cicero or Caeser.
|
No, Cicero had many slaves. Tiro just happened to be one who was emancipated.
Slavery is quite possibly the greatest violation of individual liberty that is, it reduces men to the status of animals to be bought and sold. It doesn't matter if slavery was normative back then, there were those who advocated the emancipation of slaves back then and Cicero was not among them. Caesar, at least, acted to alleviate the problem of slavery. Cicero didn't even talk about it.
Quote:
|
I said "The end's don't justify means". I believe his means to his disired end were moral. So I don't see how that belief contradicts my statement.
|
Executing men without trial without producing evidence of their guilt in a court of law is the very definition of immorality. Not only that, it violated the Roman constitution.
Quote:
|
He didn't do it to reduce the demand for slaves he did it to gain favor among of the freemen. This being said, every nation of the time allowed slavery. My point is that like our founding fathers (many of which owned slaves) Cicero Philosophicly took a large step foward.
|
Slavery, while profitable for wealthy individuals, was nonetheless a major drain on the Roman economy. It created a mass of unemployed, urban poor who were a major drain on state finances, as they were dependent on the dole (welfare). Not only did Caesar do it to curry favor with freemen, he also did it for sound economic reasons. His intention may have not been such, but ultimately it proved to be a humanitarian act.
Cicero, by his own admission, and agreed upon by scholars, was not really a philosopher. His legacy is oratory and rhetoric, the art of politick. He passed on the philosophy of the Greeks, just like Caesar passed on the legacy of Rome and its institutions.
Quote:
|
The right to vote for what?
|
Quaestor, Aedile, Praetor, Consul, Pontifex, but not senators, of course, who were never elected.
Quote:
|
All taxes are extortion, there is no moral difference between an individual doing it and a Government.
|
Sorry, but that is really ridiculous. Some taxes are extortion, but without any taxes, government would cease to function altogether. I enjoy the privilege of driving on paved roads, and having some degree of police and fire protection, and stability and order. It's far better than anarchy. I suggest not discussing the topic any further, I'm about as willing to put up with it as I am extreme left-wing topics.
Quote:
What rights?
Now sure Caeser and Augustus took some postitive steps fowards but there is no question that Cicero was a greater supporter of Individual Rights and the Republican form of Government. Only Cato (the younger) could be compared to Cicero in his dedication to liberty (philosophicly) during that time period. In fact our founding fathers based their ideas of Government off of Cato and Cicero.
|
The rights of the Roman citizenry. In addition, as I have already discussed, Caesar instituted reforms that protected people for corrupt tax collectors and lenders that extorted their property and money from them, driving them into poverty.
You should keep in mind that Caesar was not totalitarian, do not use the term so loosely. Caesar was not an oppressor of the Roman people. I view Caesar's actions as an attempt to restore the republic to what it once was, by the 1st century B.C., it had become a mere shell, an oligarchy, it was no longer a true republic, just in name only.