Ciceronian Convictions -

Thoughts on Ancient Rome and America- Brian Keeler

Ok, this is a title concerning ancient history but the relevance of Cicero to political occurrences today is striking and poignant.  The convictions of the Roman orator, philosopher and senator, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BC) could be applied to how this eloquent citizen of the Eternal City would regard current events.

I like to recall the travails of ancient Rome as they seem so uncanily relevant and spot-on to our current dilemmas.  It occurs to me as I read about the corruption, opportunism and duplicity of the ancients that the parallels to so much coming out of our tyrant in chief are unmistakable. When ever I read about a bad example or missuse of power, moral crime or lack of virtue from ancient Rome- he ( the D.T.) is the epitome of these.

Above- an 1889 painting by Cesare Maccaris of Cicero addressing the Roman senate with the conspirator Cataline shown seated off to the right. Cicero's speech denouncing the conspiracy of Cataline occurred in 63 B.C.

Let's take Cicero's courageous unmasking and subsequent defeat of Catline.  The event was often

evoked in early American history, as our founding fathers were steeped in the classics.  Washington DC was conceived as a new Rome and a small creek there was even named the Tiber after the river in Rome.  Alexander Hamilton, for instance, referred to Aaron Burr as "That Cataline." 

Cicero's speech to the Roman senate saved the republic from a conspiracy that was nearly enacted by the disaffected in the city and with troops assembled by Cataline in Pistoia in Tuscany.  We can easily wonder where a Ciceroninan equivalent is today. Why is there not a current example of Cicero coming forward to undermine the fraud and corruption of our democracy by the henchmen in the Whitehouse? Well, in all fairness, I suppose two impeachments and being found guilty 34 felony counts were steps in the right direction.

To further invoke Roman history, (and fall of the republic) we could say our equivalent of the Rubicon was crossed long ago and we are now in the post mortum state.   Our own Congress has essentially punted.  The sycophants are in ascendancy with nary a Cicero in sight.   In ancient Rome at that time the republic had not yet been completely supplanted by tyrants.   We think of the murderers of Julius Cesar as being  motivated by the urge to rid Rome of Tyrants in years after the Cataline conspiracy. Although they killed that tyrant, more were yet to come and the Roman Republic was lost.

John Adams was called the American Cicero and Washington the American Cincinnatus. Washing was compared to Cincinnatus for following his example by relinquishing power after the Revolutionary War and returning to his agrarian roots. Compare that to today's power hungry occupant of the Whitehouse and his conspirator politicians. With preserving the integrity of the republic as the goal, our founders did everything possible to prevent tyranny. 

Speaking of Sycophants, there was an excellent article in the New Yorker magazine recently, August 28, 2025, titled,  "The Sycophancy Must be Televised"  by Susan B. Glasser.  The title, I suspect, is an interesting reference to that song by Gil Scott-Heron from 1971 titled, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."  In the article Glasser lays out how one press conference by the D.T.  set a record for the longest such meeting- a bloviating, blistering and even blasphemous  ramble full of typical hyperbole, outright lies and rants.  The sycophancy aspect comes in as all the cabinet members were completely mum for the entire charade. 

This is what we're up against.  Worse than no adults in the room, we now look back to D.T. 101 and wish for the likes of  John Bolton, James Comey or even "The Mooch- Anthony Scraramucci"- remember him?  There was at least a semblance of dialogue and discussion as there should be at a cabinet meeting of our nation's leaders.

Here's a quote from Glasser's article;

As for Trump, his performance, too, seemed right out of the Kremlin playbook. As the meeting dragged on, I remembered Vladimir Putin’s tradition of a marathon annual press conference, in which he holds forth on matters as varied as street cleaning and the perfidy of the West. Putin’s all-time record for one of these appearances, set in 2008, was four hours and forty minutes, so I guess there is still something for Trump to aspire to. In the end, Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting clocked in at three hours and seventeen minutes, which, if it did not beat Putin, was still significantly longer than “The Godfather,” as was quickly noted. (Can you imagine the Rotten Tomatoes score if audiences were actually forced to watch Tuesday’s meeting in full?)

Glasser goes on to  make the observation that the  transgressions out of the Whitehouse have become  "Watergate Everyday"  Yes, we are even nostalgic for the Nixon days of crime and corruption- at least it was one big event and not a continual onslaught of every principle of democracy and decency (as we have today.) Further, our democracy worked in 1970's of the Nixon era, our courts held up and there was still an inkling of integrity in the powers that be.  

Is Trump our current Cataline?  There are other examples from Roman history that beg for comparison. The trouble is that they are frequently too charitable for the D.T.  In other words, even dissolute figures like Nero, Caligula or Tiberius often appear much more principled than the D.T.

The desecration of the White house is on everyone's mind as the images of the east wing coming down are as tragic as they are disturbing.  Nothing seems sacred- tradition, history, symbolic architecture, our constitution or our laws.  And here we can find further comparison to Nero,  which is apt and instructive.  No, the D.T. has not had his mother murdered, as did Nero or had the equivalent of his teacher, Seneca urged to commit suicied. But with the wrecking ball mentality we can easily compare his actions to the burning of Rome. And like Nero, crass gilded monuments and edifices to the vain and deluded will rise. A ballroom goes up, but unlike Nero, he does not even fiddle or even dance.

Others concur in regards to Nero- Claude Malhuret speaking to the French Senate, Tuesday March 4 2025:- hits the nail on the head:

Washington has become the court of Nero, a fiery emperor, submissive courtiers and a ketamine-fueled jester in charge of purging the civil service.

This is a tragedy for the free world, but it is first and foremost a tragedy for the United States. Trump's message is that there is no point in being his ally since he will not defend you, he will impose more customs duties on you than on his enemies and will threaten to seize your territories while supporting the dictatorships that invade you.

Mareen Dowd, columnist for the New York Times had an excellent article on the destruction of the east wing titled "Burning Down the House" in the Sunday, October 26 issue.  Here's a quote:

“He’s saying, ‘I can do whatever the hell I want and you can’t stop me!’” said David Axelrod, who worked in the Obama White House. “In this case, it’s sundering history.

“If you worked in the White House, you have a reverence for every wall of that place. Tattered as it may have been, there was a dignity to it. It was a quietly stately citadel of power in America, not a palace for a mad king. Trump has a manic desire to tear down history and write his own.”

A Jackie Kennedy garden was plowed over by the bulldozers. The woman with the best taste in the history of the White House was rubbished by the man with the worst taste in the history of the White House.

One of the most jarring and pertinant correspondences to ancient Rome is the policy of vengence and retribution from Trump. Bolton, Lettia James, James Comey and many others are on the chopping block without legal or historical justification. In ancient Rome there was another insdioius equivaltent to these revenge campaigns- called proscriptions. The supposed enemies of new dictators in Rome were sought out,(proscribed) and killed and thier property confiscated. Sulla was one the pepetrators but there were others.

The No Kings Day was a reassuring show that helped bolster our spirits and show that we can make a change. It indicated the early American mission to rid ourselves of British Monarchy and not fall prey to an even worse form today. I would prefer however the event had been titled, No Tyrants Day- as the former is too charatible possibly. Here's a quote form Stephen Greenblats' book, "Tyrant" that hits the nail on the head;

What he actually wants is loyatly, and the loyalty he does not mean integrity, honor or responsibility. He mans an immediate, unreserved confirmation of his own views and a willingess to carry out his orders without hesitation. When an autocratic, paranoid, narcissistic ruler sits down with a civil servant and asks for the loyalty, the sate is in danger.

Unlike the convictions and clarity of Cicero, the D.T. only traffics in calumny, or false blame, inuendo, endless accusations and nursing grudges on people with real principles. I am sure, James Madison and John Adams would find the D.T. a contemptible and flagrant miscreant with little of Cicero's verve- only false bravado.

The well thought out plans of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and other founders instrumental to the core principles of the constitution are now thrown aside with the sycophants and their leaders. Traditions, principles and aspiartions are thrown asunder and our dreams of equality and human dignity are lost as well. We need some Ciceronian verve in America today.