Cicero was a very important ancient Roman figure who was a famous orator, or speaker. One of Cicero’s well known written works was his Orations Against Catiline, which was a group of speeches directed at a man named Catiline. Cicero and Catiline were competing with each other for the position of consulship in Rome. This was a large debate that was eventually won out by who was the better public speaker. Catiline, spoiler alert, lost this debate, which makes me wonder, if I had been Catiline, what would I have said to undermine Cicero’s case?
The whole story of this debate between Cicero and Catiline went something in this form. Catiline had created a conspiracy against Cicero; at the start of his campaign for consulship he began using bribes, which Cicero learned about. Cicero on that note published a law that dealt with the issue of bribing, this obviously left Catiline feeling that this new law was targeted towards him which was why he began to think of a plot to murder Cicero. Like the situation with the bribes Cicero again discovers Catiline’s plot, which in turn Cicero uses as an advantage. Cicero begins to accuse Catiline of these terrible crimes to the Senate. He never brought these up against Catiline in a court of law but instead tried to persuade the senate to punish Catiline, which in my opinion was a fear tactic. Cicero’s main goal was to drive Catiline out of the city, which ultimately worked because Catiline did leave Rome.
If I was Catiline what would I have said to undermine Cicero’s case? Well first of all I would have not used bribes but if that was the case I would stand up for myself. I would ask Cicero for his evidence against me, I would stand for my case and hopefully prevent Cicero from going to the Senate. I personally believe that both men were to blame for the messy situation; Catiline should not have used bribes, Cicero infuriated Catiline with the new law, and Catiline most definitely should have not been plotting to murder Cicero. Catiline more or less was more in the wrong since he was the main reason for the whole situation occurring. Regardless of all this I still believe that Cicero would have won the case because he seemed to be a better public speaker, and was much more persuasive with his arguments.
Cicero is considered to be one of the greatest orators in history, though some of his written works on rhetoric have some questionable advice. In history he is also known for his political scandal between Catiline, who was a conspirator against Rome. Cicero, with his skill in rhetoric, was able to influence Catiline leaving Rome.
The Dreamer 