Cicero's Contemporary Impact
Cicero is believed to be one of the most important minds of ancient Rome. He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary, distinguishing himself as a philosopher.
Probably the best example of his influence is considered to be Hortensius, which is now lost. It turned him away from his sinful life and towards philosophy andthen to God. Augustine later inherited Cicero's definiton of a commonwealth and used it to support the idea that Christianity was not responsible for the destruction of Rome by the barbarians
He intended to make the moral ideas of the Greek philosophers available to Roman people who were faced constantly with decisions. These philosophical works were immensely significant in the life of Europe until very recent times and were an essential part of the education of 18th century Americans. One of Cicero's most important works is "The Dream of Scipio," a short work on the duties that different members of a republic owe eachother. He also wrote De La Republica, which is Cicero's version of Plato's "Republic".
Cicero was very influential to later philosophers of this era and helped change Rome's governmental ideas.
Page by: Jarrod Johnson
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero
http://www.btinternet.com/~glynhughes/squashed/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/c/cicero.htm http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ROME/CICERO.HTM
