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Article CHARACTER OF CICERO. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Character Of Cicero.
connection with her . Cicero was not proud of any actions which were vicious in themselves , or hurtful to other persons . He was not proud of riches or power . It must be indeed acknowledged , that he was vain , very vajrt , of the great abilities of mind which he reall y possessed , and of the great services which he had reall y performed for his country . This vanity is one of the universally acknowledged weaknessesTall
^ y ' s character . If he had been more humble and lowly in his own sight , he certainl y would have been not onl y a much happier , but also a much better man : for humility , as it is iu itself a great virtue , so also is it the foundation of many others . But humility was an excellence little known in the heathen world . Let us then turn our thoughts to those virtues which jnay , with
more probability , be expected in the heathen character . In private life ( permit me on this head to refer you , my dear pupil , to the beginning of the twelfth-section in Dr . Middleton ' s History ) Cicero was a kind and generous master ; he was an excellent father ; he was grateful to his benefactors ; and sincerel y zealous to his friends , whether they were in prosperity or in adversity . His works are full of these noble sentiments , and his life fall of examples of them . Cicero loved his country , even as Octavius owned ; he laboured
to support its ancient constitution and liberty .. He sometimes shewed great intrepidity in resisting the attempts of its enemies : at other times , it must be acknowledged , he seems to have been silenced and overawed . Perhaps this mi ght be real weakness of mind . On the other hand , perhaps it may be said , that Tully might be of opinion that he was serving his country , by suspending sometimes all useless opposition to the irresistible power of the of the national
auusurpers thority . He mi ght think , that it was more patriotic , as well as more prudent , to soften them by patience and submission ; and by proper management to conduct them into such a train of thoughts and actions , as mi ght produce something considerably beneficial ' to the public . But however this may be , certainly . the most fair method of passing judgment on the political character of Tull y , is to . examine how he
behaved when he himself was in power . . It is indeed at those times , that the splendor of his character shines forth in its true lustre ; at those times his appearance in the history of his country discloses itself with as much dignity as attended the founder of this Roman empire , when ( according to the . description which you , my dear pupil , have often admired in Virgil ) he discovered . himself in the fullest majesty before the tribunals and senate of Carthage . . .
Scindit se nubes . & in lethera purgat apertum Kestitit / Eneas , claraque in luce reftilsit . Let us consider his conduct while Governor of Cilicia ; we shall find in it much patriotism , much . philanthropy , He had in' his youth behaved very well , while . Qua . st . of at Syracuse ; but . this Asiatic govern-j ment produced a very considerable addition of honour to his character ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Character Of Cicero.
connection with her . Cicero was not proud of any actions which were vicious in themselves , or hurtful to other persons . He was not proud of riches or power . It must be indeed acknowledged , that he was vain , very vajrt , of the great abilities of mind which he reall y possessed , and of the great services which he had reall y performed for his country . This vanity is one of the universally acknowledged weaknessesTall
^ y ' s character . If he had been more humble and lowly in his own sight , he certainl y would have been not onl y a much happier , but also a much better man : for humility , as it is iu itself a great virtue , so also is it the foundation of many others . But humility was an excellence little known in the heathen world . Let us then turn our thoughts to those virtues which jnay , with
more probability , be expected in the heathen character . In private life ( permit me on this head to refer you , my dear pupil , to the beginning of the twelfth-section in Dr . Middleton ' s History ) Cicero was a kind and generous master ; he was an excellent father ; he was grateful to his benefactors ; and sincerel y zealous to his friends , whether they were in prosperity or in adversity . His works are full of these noble sentiments , and his life fall of examples of them . Cicero loved his country , even as Octavius owned ; he laboured
to support its ancient constitution and liberty .. He sometimes shewed great intrepidity in resisting the attempts of its enemies : at other times , it must be acknowledged , he seems to have been silenced and overawed . Perhaps this mi ght be real weakness of mind . On the other hand , perhaps it may be said , that Tully might be of opinion that he was serving his country , by suspending sometimes all useless opposition to the irresistible power of the of the national
auusurpers thority . He mi ght think , that it was more patriotic , as well as more prudent , to soften them by patience and submission ; and by proper management to conduct them into such a train of thoughts and actions , as mi ght produce something considerably beneficial ' to the public . But however this may be , certainly . the most fair method of passing judgment on the political character of Tull y , is to . examine how he
behaved when he himself was in power . . It is indeed at those times , that the splendor of his character shines forth in its true lustre ; at those times his appearance in the history of his country discloses itself with as much dignity as attended the founder of this Roman empire , when ( according to the . description which you , my dear pupil , have often admired in Virgil ) he discovered . himself in the fullest majesty before the tribunals and senate of Carthage . . .
Scindit se nubes . & in lethera purgat apertum Kestitit / Eneas , claraque in luce reftilsit . Let us consider his conduct while Governor of Cilicia ; we shall find in it much patriotism , much . philanthropy , He had in' his youth behaved very well , while . Qua . st . of at Syracuse ; but . this Asiatic govern-j ment produced a very considerable addition of honour to his character ,