and increasing the power of the imperial MONARCHY
(CAESAR), Cicero adapted Greek REPUBLICANtheory to a
large EMPIRE. He emphasized military VIRTUEor patriot-
ism and the rule of universal LAWand is seen as a tradi-
tional, nostalgic Roman citizen. He valued the stoic
Roman soldier who had a strong sense of duty and
love of country. Cicero lamented the decline of this
faithful, CONSERVATIVERoman lifestyle and the rise of
luxury, immorality, and decadence. He saw the decline
of traditional Roman civilization (loyalty to family,
STATE, and virtue) as leading to first moral decline,
then economic weakness, then military defeat. His
criticism of the immorality of Rome and creeping
DICTATORSHIPled to his assassination by Mark Antho-
ny’s henchmen in 43 B.C., one year after the murder of
Julius Caesar.
Cicero, unlike Aristotle, identifies man’s “social
nature” with public-spirited duty and patriotism,
shared love of country, and a willingness to sacrifice
for the common good. Instead of Aristotle’s small
Greek polis of reasonable citizens interacting per-
sonally, Cicero sees reason encoded in Roman law,
which can be applied by judges across the vast Ro-
man Empire. He said that “no principle enunciated by
the philosophers ... has not been discovered and
established by those who have drawn up codes of
law for States.” He adopted Aristotle’s idea of a
“mixed CONSTITUTION” of kingship (rule of one), ARIS-
TOCRACY(rule of a few), and DEMOCRACY(rule of the
many), so Cicero supported the Roman senate but
saw the need for executive (emperor) authority, es-
pecially during social breakdown. The best leader
would be a combination soldier, orator, and states-
man, for Cicero.
Cicero is remembered as a kind of heroic prophet:
warning Rome to return to its glorious, disciplined
past and seeing the decline of virtue as leading to
destruction. Although the Roman Empire declined and
fell during a period of hundreds of years, Cicero was
correct in identifying the sources of its ruin in eco-
nomic luxury, moral decadence, and individual indul-
gence. His advice for maintaining a healthy, virtuous
republic influenced later republican thought, espe-
cially in England and America (see James HARRINGTON
and Thomas JEFFERSON).
Further Readings
Douglas, A. E. Cicero.Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 1968.
Millar, F. G. B. “State and subject: the impact of monarchy.” In
Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects,F. G. B. Millar and C. Segal,
eds. Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 1984.
citizen/citizenship
The way we define who is a citizen, or a member of a
nation or society. It deals with the qualities or activities
of a citizen of a country. This ranges from the CLASSICAL
Greek definition of someone who actually rules or par-
ticipates in governance to the modern limited idea that
a citizen is simply a person born and living in a certain
country. Citizenship implies a more important, active
life than just being a subject of a ruler (or slave of a
master); being a citizen implies having some kind of
power to make or influence laws or determine public
policy that affects oneself.
The most complete or rich concept of citizenship
comes in ARISTOTLE’s idea of a person who rules, gov-
erns, participates in making laws, or serves as a judge
or administrator in government. The Aristotelian ideal
of active citizenship then involves “participation” in
public life. This has influenced all later DEMOCRATIC
ideas of citizenships, which regard a passive, unin-
volved, or apathetic person as not really a citizen. Aris-
totle said that such active citizens must be qualified
and prepared—educationally, economically, and politi-
cally—to govern well, but with the right preparation,
active citizenship can be the most satisfying human
life because it uses the highest human faculties of rea-
son, speech, and ethics. This classical democracy, how-
ever, can only exist in a small community where
everyone can know fellow citizens. In a large country
then, classical citizenship is either impossible or
requires dissecting jurisdictions into smaller units
(such as states, countries, wards, etc.). Thomas JEFFER-
SONadmired this Aristotelian ideal of citizenship and
tried to replicate it in a large country (the U.S.)
through division of government locally, regionally, and
nationally. Jefferson also hoped that public education,
economic EQUALITY, and political participation (as well
as CHRISTIANethics) would prepare Americans for full
citizenship.
Roman citizenship began with the Greek ideal of
political qualification and participation through the
Roman senate, but with its expanding EMPIRE, it had to
rely more and more on formal, legal definitions of citi-
zenship. Legal citizenship is based here on where you
are born or whether you bought your citizenship.
Then citizenship granted certain legal rights (as when
St. Paul complained that as a Roman citizen he could
not be beaten publicly without a trial [Acts 22:25]).
During the MIDDLE AGES, in Europe, citizenship
tended to be limited to associates with membership in
a class, GUILD, corporation, or royally sanctioned58 citizen/citizenship