To this day, in many legal discussions that deal with the abuse of the public good by some politician, the expression is often used "catilinary". This expression refers to a set of speeches by the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, delivered against the then senator of the Roman Republic, Lúcio Sérgio Catilina, hence the name “catilinarias” – speeches against Catilina. But to fully understand what these Cicero's catillaries, it is necessary for us to remember how the Roman Republic worked.
As we know, it was in ancient Roman civilization that the political model of the republic developed. Republic, in a literal sense, means “Public Thing”, “Public Good”, that is, what concerns life in society, the administration of everyone's interests and needs. This political model came into force in ancient Rome after the fall of the last king of the Etruscan dynasty (a dynasty that ruled Rome for 244 years), called Tarquin the Superb, in the year 509 BC Ç. With the advent of the Republic, the monarchical structure was abandoned and, in its place, new institutions were built. Among them, the most important were the
magistracy (which ran the public administration) and the Senate (composed of older citizens, who were in charge of drafting laws and controlling the action of magistrates).Of the various positions in the magistracy, the highest was that of consul. The heads of the Republic's power were two consuls, chosen by the AssemblyCuriata. In the 60's a. C., Catilina, who was already a famous military man and senator, and who had also held positions in the magistracy, intended to be appointed consul of the Republic. But Catilina was regarded with suspicion by his peers. Many saw him as a risk to republican institutions. In retaliation, Catilina, along with his allies, including the former consul Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, sought to organize an uprising, or coup, against the Republic. This coup consisted of the assassination of the two consuls and the subjugation of the Senate.
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As researchers Michelly Cordão and Marinalva Lima point out:
“”Cicero's Catilina' represents the corruption of traditional customs, as it lacks a private and public morality. Private interests would have guided his plans to promote a conspiracy against Rome, since, after being defeated repeatedly in consular elections, the Roman would have been willing to build plans disconnected from Roman laws and customs, in order to make concrete his personal idealizations in the field of politics.” [1]
However, the senators discovered Catilina's plans. Cicero, that he had been appointed as one of the consuls, in that year 63 b. a., was in charge of unmasking Catilina within the own senate, by means of speeches. These speeches became known as catilinary and they became notable for the elegance of style and the firmness of Ciceronian accusations. The most famous phrase of catilinarians is: Qvsque tandem abvtere, Catilina, patientia nostra? (How long, Catilina, will you abuse our patience?).
Cicero often refers to the Republic in the Catilinárias as being synonymous with himself. Given that his life, as consul, was at risk along with the entire structure of the Republic. Catilina, faced with the revelations of his plot, had to opt for an open struggle and even asked the Gauls for support. But his attempted coup was defeated by the Republic and he was eventually sentenced to death, as were the other conspirators.
GRADES
[1] CORDÃO, Michelly Pereira de Sousa; LIMA, Marinalva Vila de. Ciceronian discourses: oratory as a political strategy in Ancient Rome. Classical – Brazilian Journal of Classical Studies. 20. 2, 2007. P. 282.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
