Author: Díaz Fernández, Alejandro
Title: A Ciceronian exemplum: Cicero’s Self-Portrait as Provincial Governor through his Letters
Review/Collection: In : Berno, Francesca Romana & La Bua, Giuseppe [Edd.], Portraying Cicero in Literature, Culture, and Politics. From Ancient to Modern Times, Berlin, De Gruyter, 2022, 483 p. [Berno & La Bua 2022]
Place edition: Berlin
Editor: De Gruyter
Year edition: 2022
Pages: 33-60
Keywords: Biographie - Biografia - Biography, Stylistique et genres littéraires - Stilistica e generi letterari - Stylistics and literary genre
Description: Building essentially upon Cicero’s private correspondence, this essay explores Cicero’s experience as governor of the province of Cilicia (52–51 BCE), interpreted as a good example of provincial administration in late Republic. Through an accurate reading of the letters, it appears that Cicero depicted himself as the ideal governor, exercising his power with aequitas, continentia and moderatio. Cicero offered his deeds as models of political virtue. Within this process of self-canonization Cicero eulogized his governorship as an exemplary case of virtuous administration, radically opposed to past provincial commands and the praetorship in Asia held by his brother Quintus (Q. fr. 1.1). In presenting himself as a positive model and blaming predecessors for their negligence and irresponsibility, Cicero championed a Stoic-sounding ideal of governance sharing canonical elite virtues and showing lenience towards the provincial population. [Berno & La Bua 2022, xiv]
Works:
Link: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110748703-005/pdf
Author initials: Díaz Fernández 2022
Title: A Ciceronian exemplum: Cicero’s Self-Portrait as Provincial Governor through his Letters
Review/Collection: In : Berno, Francesca Romana & La Bua, Giuseppe [Edd.], Portraying Cicero in Literature, Culture, and Politics. From Ancient to Modern Times, Berlin, De Gruyter, 2022, 483 p. [Berno & La Bua 2022]
Place edition: Berlin
Editor: De Gruyter
Year edition: 2022
Pages: 33-60
Keywords: Biographie - Biografia - Biography, Stylistique et genres littéraires - Stilistica e generi letterari - Stylistics and literary genre
Description: Building essentially upon Cicero’s private correspondence, this essay explores Cicero’s experience as governor of the province of Cilicia (52–51 BCE), interpreted as a good example of provincial administration in late Republic. Through an accurate reading of the letters, it appears that Cicero depicted himself as the ideal governor, exercising his power with aequitas, continentia and moderatio. Cicero offered his deeds as models of political virtue. Within this process of self-canonization Cicero eulogized his governorship as an exemplary case of virtuous administration, radically opposed to past provincial commands and the praetorship in Asia held by his brother Quintus (Q. fr. 1.1). In presenting himself as a positive model and blaming predecessors for their negligence and irresponsibility, Cicero championed a Stoic-sounding ideal of governance sharing canonical elite virtues and showing lenience towards the provincial population. [Berno & La Bua 2022, xiv]
Works:
Link: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110748703-005/pdf
Author initials: Díaz Fernández 2022
