Aristotle and Cicero

WinstonSmith

Hey all,
I have come across a specific line from a book I am reading and would like a little help, if anybody could offer it (This may be just as effective in a Philosophy/History thread but anyways...): What set, if any, of humanist and civic principles could Aristotle and Cicero be said to have espoused?
Many thanks in advance for answering such a dense question!

Denerick

Aristotle: developed the concept of civic and personal virtue; also recognised politics as a fundamental characteristic of humankind ('Man is by nature a political animal') Through mass co-operation in the interests of the public good, the state as a collective partnership would naturally result in a good life with high cultural achievement. A state that did not hold virtue as a fundamental principle was destined to lead to opposite results. Seems quite obvious when you point it out like that. I could be mistaken...

Cicero: Cicero achieved great fame when he denounced the conspirator Catilina and thus stopped an attempted conspiracy by an elite group of patricians to overthrow the Republic. While not exactly as principled or indeed as zealous as Cato, Cicero believed the Roman Republican system of limited power and a limited state checked by a strong independant judiciary free of corruption or decadance was the ultimate desire and objective of governance.

Not sure if this is what you were asking for, but I did my best

WinstonSmith

Denerick wrote: »

Aristotle: developed the concept of civic and personal virtue; also recognised politics as a fundamental characteristic of humankind ('Man is by nature a political animal') Through mass co-operation in the interests of the public good, the state as a collective partnership would naturally result in a good life with high cultural achievement. A state that did not hold virtue as a fundamental principle was destined to lead to opposite results. Seems quite obvious when you point it out like that. I could be mistaken...

Cicero: Cicero achieved great fame when he denounced the conspirator Catilina and thus stopped an attempted conspiracy by an elite group of patricians to overthrow the Republic. While not exactly as principled or indeed as zealous as Cato, Cicero believed the Roman Republican system of limited power and a limited state checked by a strong independant judiciary free of corruption or decadance was the ultimate desire and objective of governance.

Not sure if this is what you were asking for, but I did my best

Thanks a lot Denerick- Can you recommend something by Cicero where this is discussed?

Manach

One of the judicial princpiles espoused by Cicero was the legal concept of Natural law: a law that had to be in agreement with nature and had a higher moral basis that state law. I'd not know which of his work's this comes from but I reckon introductary college level law books would have this in context.