Restoring the Republic

While author Anthony Everitt is often critical of Cicero's actions as a politician, he still thinks that Cicero is the greatest statesman in the history of the Roman Republic. Why? Because he was both principled and shrewd about acting in accord with his principles. Cicero was, regarding the issues of his day, a moderate conservative. He did not reject reform in principle but thought that the Roman system of government was the most perfect system of government ever devised. In his book, On the State, Cicero argued that the Roman system was so excellent because it combined the best features of the three fundamental types of government: monarchy, democracy and oligarchy. While he saw that it had many checks and balances, with good personal leadership, Cicero thought most practical and structure problems could be overcome.

Thus, Cicero continuously fought to restore the governmental institutions of the...