Justice for Tyrants

The whole first half of Cicero's Selected Works is a series of writings against tyrants. Thus, a major theme of Cicero's Selected Works is the desire that justice be done against tyrants who would destroy the Roman republic. Cicero is a lifelong patriot of the Roman republic, defending Rome's traditional republican form of government and the full range of liberty for Roman citizens. Whenever anyone is a threat to republican government and Roman liberty, Cicero opposes them, either in public or privately. Against Verres is Cicero's first public stand against a tyrant. Verres is the infamously corrupt governor of Sicily who has terrorized his people, imposed revenge rather than justice and used his position for person gain. He is in every way a tyrant and unjust ruler, and as such, Cicero spares him no mercy in his accusations.

Cicero's letters concern many matters but two are...