What are Cicero's Catilinarians?

Conceived and developed during the ancient Roman civilization, the political model ofRepublic that we know today, arose shortly after the fall of the last king of the Etruscan dynasty, known as Tarquinius the Superb, in the year 509 BC. W.

Since then, republic has been understood as everything that corresponds to the way of life of society in general, whether in relation to the administration of “public goods” or discussion of the interests of the community.

With the model of republic in force, there was also the emergence of new institutions, among them the judiciary, responsible for by the public administration, and the senate, which took care of the elaboration of the new laws, besides controlling the activities of the magistrates.

At the time, the highest and most respected position was that of consul, from which two consuls were chosen to be in charge of power. The election process was done through the Curiate Assembly.

What does the expression "Cicero's Catiline" mean?

Cicero's Catiline expression represents the set of speeches of the then orator and Roman consul at the time, Marcus Tullius Cicero, in opposition to the famous military and senator Lucius Sergius Catilina. Hence the origin of the word "catiline” – demonstration against Catiline.

In the 60s BC, Catiline already enjoyed great fame and prestige, having passed through high positions of magistracy, while his goal was to be consul of the Roman Republic. However, some members of the institutions viewed him with distrust, in addition to being seen as a threat to the new form of government.

Aware of such disapproval, the senator, in collaboration with his allies, including the former consul Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, he planned to carry out a coup against the Republic, which consisted of the assassination of the current consuls, in addition to the domination of the senate. All this caused after his consecutive defeats to the position of consul.

However, the plan was eventually discovered by the senators. In the midst of all this, in 63 BC, the then consul Cicero was tasked with demoralizing and exposing Catiline's intentions through elegant speeches and a considered style.

Some phrases spoken during Cicero's speech in the senate were marked in history, such as: “How long, Catiline, will you abuse our patience?” It is "Don't you see that your conspiracy has been dominated by those who know it?"

After the hearings and the exposure of his real intentions, Catiline still decided to choose open struggle, going to ask the Gauls for support. However, his attitudes were seen as a betrayal of the republican institution and its rules, which led to his being sentenced to the death penalty, along with his supporters and allies.

The “Catilinarians of Cicero” represent the corruption of practices and the republican ideal in force in Rome at the time. Currently, the theme is often used to refer to the abuse and corruption of public goods by politicians.

As an example of its use today, we have the 21st phase of Operation Lava-Jato, which was named “catilinárias” by represent the investigations that investigate the complaints of bribery and money laundering scheme by representatives politicians.

See too: What is the role of government in society?