Political Society and Cicero's Ideal State

Abstract

Quantitative methods of content analysis have become established in most subfields of political science, but remain relatively unutilized in studies of political theory, despite the exclusive focus of that subfield on textual sources. This article develops a variation of content analysis—termed usage analysis—and employs it to resolve a standing debate in scholarship on Cicero's political theory regarding the synonymy of the major Latin terms for the state (civitas and res publica). The resulting distinction between these concepts then informs an exposition of Cicero's ideal state not as the Roman Republic itself or the mixed constitution alone, but as a universal, everlasting political society supported by justice, a mixed constitution, and active citizenship.

Keywords:

• Cicero
• content analysis
• usage analysis
• political society
• ideal state

Acknowledgments

My heartfelt thanks go out to Walter Nicgorski for encouraging the study of Cicero within the classroom and without, to Etuna Tsintsadze–Maass and Michael Zuckert for their own thoughtful comments, and to those who attended my presentations at the Midwest Political Science Association's annual meetings in 2008 and 2009.

Notes

1. On the real-world impacts of Plato's Republic, Kant's Perpetual Peace, and Marx's and Engels’ Manifesto of the Communist Party, see (respectively) Arendt 2007; Desch 2007–08; Lenin 1943.

2. All translations of Cicero's works used in this paper are from the Loeb Classical Library series (Henderson 2000, 2005). Employing the Loeb translations (a widely-used version of the texts) eliminates a potential source of bias from the paper by denying the author the ability to translate entire passages in such a way as to favor his own interpretation. This applies a particularly strong test to the interpretation: if that interpretation holds for an impartial translation, it may be justly considered more persuasive. Of the 15 occurrences of patria in DR, Keyes translates six as ‘fatherland,’ five as ‘country,’ two as ‘native land,’ and two as ‘ancestors.’ For Cicero's elaborated definition of patria, see DL 2:5.

3. Patria occurs only 30 times across DR and DL; civitas occurs 123 times, and res publica 207 times.

4. For example, despite the overall insightfulness of Schofield's chapter and its enduring significance for current work on Cicero (e.g., Garsten 2006, 167), civitas is almost entirely absent from it beyond the assertion of synonymy. Building on a wide body of 20th century Cicero scholarship, Asmis similarly equates status civitatis and reipublicae status in conceptualizing the term constitution (Asmis 2005, 377).

5. For cogent analyses of Cicero's efforts to build on Polybius, see Asmis 2005; Mitchell 1991, 61–62.

6. Cicero saw his use of Rome's example as giving him an analytic advantage over Plato, who relied on a “shadowy commonwealth of the imagination” as his model of the ideal state (DR 2:52; cf. DR 2:3). Contrary to the Roman apologist critique, the Roman Republic may be best understood not as Cicero's ideal state but rather as its best-realized example (Nicgorski 1991, 249).

7. Such a cursory survey was conducted of every major Latin dictionary readily available in the Theodore M. Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, and each translated civitas as citizenship and res publica as commonwealth or republic in their first definitions (Lewis and Short [1955], 346–47, 1576; Simpson [1960], 109, 517; Levine et al. [1967], 65, 299; Morwood [2005], 33, 163). Only subsequently or in their second definitions do they translate civitas as body politic or state. For an informative discussion of the translation of civitas, see Onuf 1994. For a study of another area of Cicero's rhetoric that does attempt to distinguish between the terms, see Connolly 2007, 3, note 5.

8. For example, DR 1:9–12, a reply to those who argue the state need not be served, contains 14 occurrences of res publica and only two of civitas; in DR 1:64–69, Cicero's discussion of the transitions among governments, res publica occurs 16 times and civitas once; and in DL 2:5, Cicero's discussion of loyalty and the two fatherlands, patria occurs eight times, civitas six times, and res publica once.

9. This definition is echoed in DR 1:41; DR 1:43; DR 1:48; DR 3:43–3:46.

10. Cicero's other (more cited) definition of civitas (DR 1:41) is textually ambivalent regarding the question at hand, though its placement—juxtaposed to a restatement of the definition of res publica—indicates that it is likely meant to highlight a distinction between the two. Though this juxtaposition is sometimes noted, the later definitions are rarely cited to resolve the ambivalence (e.g., Cornell 2000, 214).

11. Schofield displays an awareness of this distinction by including “the community constituted by the civitas or populus” among his six examples of the “notoriously elastic range of uses” of res publica, but does not further explore it (Schofield 1995, 66).

12. For readable handbooks on content analysis, see Weber 1990; Neuendorf 2002; Krippendorff 2004.

13. The choice of government as a translation of res publica is likely more controversial than that of political society as a translation of civitas, particularly in light of Cicero's eventual conclusion that where a tyrant rules “we really have no res publica at all” (DR 3:43). However, the English term government can embody conditions of quality as easily as the Latin term res publica, as evidenced in Locke's analogous claim that “governments are dissolved … when the legislative, or the prince … act contrary to their trust” (Locke 1988, II, §221). Moreover, Cicero himself does not restrict res publica to merely the Republican period of Roman history (Nicgorski 1991, 247).

14. Indeed, inciting active citizenship among his readers is arguably an even more fundamental goal of DR than identifying the best regime (see below).

15. DR is written as a dialogue among several figures. Though some consider Cicero's own perspective to be identical with that of Scipio, the primary orator of DR, there is good reason to believe that his views permeate the work as a whole rather than being confined to any individual speaker in the dialogue. Nicgorski argues this position in contesting Leo Strauss’ effort to sever Cicero from the perspective of Laelius in DR, noting among other evidence that “the emphasis on the priority of moral and political philosophy which is put in the mouth of Laelius is consistent with Cicero's position throughout his writings” (Nicgorski 1978, 94). Concurring in this view of Cicero's own perspective, the analysis in this section focuses on concepts and arguments permeating Cicero's political works rather than the perspectives of individual figures in DR.

16. See also the below discussion of Cato vs. Caesar, and that of Brutus in DR 2:46. For analyses of Cicero's conception of justice, see Atkins 1990; Radford 2002, 46–47.

17. As Nicgorski has observed, Cicero links the res publica “through the idea of a people (populus) to the ideas of right and justice” (Nicgorski 1991, 247). Such links are also utilized by both Schofield and Asmis in linking res publica with the Greek polis (Schofield 1995, 68; Asmis 2004, 576).

18. This emphasis on justice as the condition for membership in the civitas reinforces its translation as political society.

19. John Locke (1988) echoes this inclination (II, §77). Locke's political society—those who “have a common establish’d Law and Judicature to appeal to, with Authority to decide Controversies between them, and punish Offenders” (II, §87)—notably follows Cicero's.

20. For this reason, “there is no human being of any race who, if he finds a guide, cannot attain to virtue” (DL 1:30). The fundamental role of language in political community has also been stressed by other political theorists from Aristotle to Hobbes. See Lord 1984, 1253a14; Hobbes 1985, 100.

21. This definition echoes DR 3:33, DL 1:18, and DL 1:33, and foreshadows Kant's categorical imperative as a rational standard for action that every individual has the capacity to understand. See Friedrich, 1993, 187.

22. On the weaknesses of the democratic majority, see DL 1:43.

23. The centrality of justice to the civitas is reemphasized here through Law, lending further support to its translation as political society.

24. The moral dimension of civitas is once again emphasized here through the threat of moral corruption, consistent with its translation as political society.

25. Although this quotation employs Keyes’ translations of civitas as government and res publica as state, it is notable that the threat of violence here applies to the civitas, which is once again identified with justice and law, whereas res publica is simply mentioned in reference to the constitution. In light of these observations, our translations of civitas as political society and res publica as government appear more appropriate.

26. That incitements to luxury can bring ruin to the civitas reinforces its moral dimension consistent with its translation as political society.

27. The destruction of justice entailed in the death of the civitas is consistent with its translation as political society.

28. One notably unconvinced observer was Montesquieu, who accuses Cato of abandoning “the Republic along with his life in a cowardly way” (Montesquieu 2002, 736).

29. Cicero often remarks on the loyalty that is due to the patria (DR 1:8; DR 1:Frag.; DR 6:16), but the critical injunction that loyalty is due only to the state that preserves justice (DR 2:46) sets Cicero apart from those who advocate dictatorship based on collective subjectivity, such as Gentile: “Concrete personality … is nationality”; Lukács: “It is precisely the conscious activity of the individual that is to be found on the object-side of the process, while the subject (the class) cannot be awakened into consciousness and this activity must always remain beyond the consciousness of the—apparent—subject, the individual”; and, more subtly, Marx: “Man is a species being.” See Gentile 1922, 17; Livingstone 1971, 165; Tucker 1978, 75. It also distinguishes Cicero from his Greek predecessors’ prioritizing of the self-sufficient state: “Self-sufficiency is an end and what is best … the city is thus prior by nature to the household and to each of us” (Lord 1984, 1253a1–20; cf. Bloom 1991, 369b; Bloom 1991, 520a).

30. This universality of the civitas is consistent with its translation as political society, though it bears less on that translation than on the interpretation of Cicero's ideal state.

31. Cicero here goes on to say, “Hence death is not natural for a State (res publica) as it is for a human being.” The similarity of language in this passage regarding each term is among the strongest pieces of evidence for the synonymous-terms reading, but that language is not inconsistent with a distinct-terms interpretation. The deaths of the government and the political society are intertwined, as Cicero lays out. If the government dies, its political society falls prey to internal and external sources of discord; if, on the other hand, the political society dies, the government falls prey to corrupt magistrates. Rather than indicating that the terms are synonymous in their death, this passage may simply recognize that the death of one entails the death of the other.

32. In its combination of the three Latin terms, this passage may be read as using them synonymously, but it may also be read as employing their distinctions intentionally to illustrate how the government—and by extension, the fatherland—deserves patriotic support first and foremost due to its role in supporting a universal political society.

33. On the strengths of kingship, see DR 1:56–64. On the strengths of aristocracy, see DR 1:51 and DL 2:30. On the strengths of democracy, see DR 1:49.

34. The prevalent use of res publica in discussions of the various forms of government such as this one strongly reinforces its translation as res publica.

35. Tempering that volatility in order to permit a stable political order is one of Cicero's key goals. “What … turns out to dominate DR is a concern with degeneration and its patterns and, in turn, a concern with stabilization and the balancing and mixing of regimes in the name of that stabilization” (Nicgorski 1991, 239).

36. Machiavelli would follow Cicero in supporting the mixed constitution, “judging that to be the most stable and solid” (1950, 115). Regarding Cicero's influence on Machiavelli, particularly his defense of the active political life, see Barlow 1999; Colish 1978.

37. Once again, the use of res publica when discussing the forms of government supports its translation as government. Cicero's discussion of monarchy in DR 2:41–43 provides arguably the strongest evidence for the synonymous-terms reading, since it intermixes three occurrences of civitas among seven occurrences of res publica. Far from requiring an interpretation of synonymy, however, the passage is entirely coherent when approached with a distinct-terms reading in mind. Consistent with that reading, the occurrences of res publica in this passage refer directly to the institutions of government, as when Cicero writes, “For in a State (res publica) where there is one official who holds office for life … such a government (res publica) is inevitably a monarchy.” The significant occurrences of civitas in this passage refer to the forma and genus civitatis (the form/type of the civitas), describing it as regale. Though some may read this as equating civitas and res publica, it merely identifies a monarchical form of the civitas. Since it is reasonable to expect substantially different political societies under varying forms of government, this passage is equally consistent with a distinct-terms translation. Moreover, it is notable that all three instances of civitas occur in the same short discussion of the monarchical state, divided only by the definition of monarchical government quoted above (which reverts to res publica). Rather than intermixing the terms intermittently for rhetorical effect, therefore, we may infer that Cicero employed them deliberately to distinguish between distinct aspects of the state.

38. The appearance of civitas here when discussing harmony among the social classes is consistent with its translation as political society.

39. Once again, res publica is employed in reference to the forms of government, supporting its translation as government. This occurrence of civitas is potentially problematic for its translation as political society since it can be read as referring to institutions of government, yet given its emphasis on balance among disparate social groups, it can also be read as consistent with that translation. Cicero here foreshadows Hobbes’ recognition of the “seeds of a natural mortality, by Intestine Discord” within states (Hobbes 1985, 272). By balancing the political power of society's various elements, Cicero further separates his thought from those with aspirations to unify the political will, who declare, “I want anything only in so far as the State wants me to want it,” as in Gentile's Italy, which can only be achieved if “whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to do so by the entire body,” as in Rousseau's social contract. See Gentile 1922, 29; Cress 1987, 150.

40. This discussion of forms and institutions of government reinforces its translation of res publica as government.

41. Hence Carl Schmitt's phrase: “Sovereign is he who decides on the exception” (Schmitt 2005, 5). While rejecting Schmitt's logic in supporting decisive dictatorship over the “negotiation” of liberalism (Schmitt 2005, 63), Cicero has similar doubts that a legal code can foresee all future conflicts, doubts which necessitate the continuous political activity of the citizenry. “There never has lived a man possessed of so great genius that nothing could escape him, nor could the combined powers of all the men living at one time possibly make all necessary provisions for the future without the aid of actual experience and the test of time” (DR 2:2).

42. In this, Cicero differs from Aristotle (Mulgan 1990). This occurrence of civitas is consistent with its translation as political society, since the political society needs to be governed, and the additional term gubernatio is present in reference to that government.

43. The reverse actually occurred in Rome: “Spurius Cassius, who enjoyed the greatest popularity, plotted to make himself king. The quaestor … when the father of Spurius testified that he knew him to be guilty, put him to death with the approval of the people” (DR 2:60). In distinguishing crimes that threaten justice, Cicero foreshadows Hobbes, who would consider the severity of crimes to depend upon the contempt for the law displayed in their commission (Hobbes, 1985, 347, 352). For Cicero, there is no contempt for law that compares to that contempt which threatens the political society.

44. This passage is consistent (though not exclusively) with the translation of civitas as political society, and by elevating it to the level of the gods, the passage reinforces the interpretation of the civitas as the core concept of Cicero's ideal state.

45. The emphasis on customs in this occurrence of civitas is consistent (though not exclusively) with its translation as political society.

46. The emphasis on the form of the res publica here is consistent with its translation as government.

47. This occurrence of res publica references its stability, which is consistent (though not exclusively) with its translation as government.