On This Day
43 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius.[1]
Marcus Tullius Cicero[a] (/ˈsɪsəroʊ/ SISS-ə-roh; Latin: [ˈmaːr.kʊs ˈtʊl.lʲi.jʊs ˈkɪ.kɛ.roː]; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic,[3] who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire.[4] His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics, and he is considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists.[5][6] He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC.
His influence on the Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime, and it has been said that subsequent prose was either a reaction against or a return to his style, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century.[7][8][9] Cicero introduced into Latin the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary with neologisms such as evidentia,[10] humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia,[11] distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher.
Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the second Catilinarian conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero suppressed the revolt by summarily and controversially executing five conspirators without trial. During the chaotic middle period of the first century BC, marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican government. Following Caesar’s death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate and consequently executed by soldiers operating on their behalf in 43 BC having been intercepted during an attempted flight from the Italian peninsula. His severed hands and head were then, as a final revenge of Mark Antony, displayed on the Rostra.
Petrarch’s rediscovery of Cicero’s letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs, humanism, and classical Roman culture.[12] According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, “the Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity.”[13] The peak of Cicero’s authority and prestige came during the 18th-century Enlightenment,[14] and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers and political theorists such as John Locke, David Hume, Montesquieu and Edmund Burke was substantial.[15] His works rank among the most influential in global culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.[16]
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Born On This Day
521 – Columba, Irish missionary, monk, and saint (d. 597)
Columba or Colmcille[a] (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission.[3][4] He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the patron saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.[5]
Columba studied under some of Ireland’s most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 AD he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Celtic Christianity among the pagan Northern Pictish kingdoms.[6][7] He remained active in Irish politics, though he spent most of the remainder of his life in Scotland. Three surviving early medieval Latin hymns may be attributed to him.[4]
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FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
By Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone: The Windy History of Penny Lane: The Beatles, the Slave Trade and a Now-Resolved Controversy Was Penny Lane named after a notorious slave trader? Recent protests reignited the debate.
Pocket Editors: Pocket’s Best of 2022: Big Ideas Thought-provoking essays that helped Pocket readers look at the world differently this year.
Ernie Smith, Tedium: Willow’s Second Wind Why the NES game Willow somehow resonates more than the film that inspired it. It might have been the mindset of the company that made it.
Ernie Smith, Tedium: Math + The Mechanics The story of the Curta Calculator, a stylish portable mechanical calculator that doesn’t use electricity and has a surprisingly dramatic origin story.
Quartz Weekly Obsession: Bellwether: That sound you hear
Quartz Weekly Obsession: Trompe l’oeil cakes: Have your fake and eat it, too
Quartz Weekly Obsession: Video assistant referee: Replay reactionaries The referee of the future is now
“I scored a goal but I didn’t know whether to celebrate or not. If there is a questionable party of the play, you don’t celebrate. It can make you look stupid.”
Diego Costa, Spanish soccer star and notorious goon, in 2018.
Just A Car Guy: Determined Alabama teen gifted a new car for high school graduation (in 2018), after it was noticed that he woke up every day at 4:00 am to get ready for school and catch the 5:41 am city bus that would take him back to his old school so he could graduate with his class, after his family moved across town
Just A Car Guy: Ken Block has been dethroned from Gymkhana videos… his last couple were lame, and here’s the proof by comparison. (skip the first 30 seconds)
Colion Noir: I Feel Unstoppable Riding This Mountain E-bike In The City – Aventon Aventure
Anthony Brian Logan North Philly Gas Station Hires ARMED SECURITY For THIS Reason…
Tom Kubiniec – SecureIt Gun Storage | Black Rifle Coffee Podcast Ep 240
Recipes
By Patty Catalano, The Kitchn: I Tried 5 Latke Recipes and This Is What I Learned A quest to find the simplest, easiest latke recipe.
Wit & Delight: 6 Beloved Recipes That Make Casserole Cool Again
Natasha’s Kitchen: Borscht Recipe with Meat A tasty spin on a classic Ukrainian dish.
By Linda Larsen, The Spruce Eats: Graham Cracker Icebox Cake
By Kimi Goffe, Pocket Collections: 15 Perfect Pie Recipes for Cozy Weather Celebrate this season’s flavors—apples, cranberries, pecans and more—with these delicious pies special enough for your holiday table.
Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Nutella Stuffed Cookies November 22, 2024Nutella Stuffed Cookies. Yes, they are as naughty and indulgent as they look. But so much easier to make than you think! No electric beater, just a wooden spoon. That moment when the melty Nutella floods in your mouth…. send help! Nutella Stuffed Cookies This is no ordinary cookie. This is a cookie that is... […]Nagi
- New Orleans Chicken Wings November 19, 2024Why settle for plain chicken wings when you can have bold, spicy, New Orleans sass?! Tossed in Creole seasoning and garlic butter then baked until golden, the smell alone will make you drool. Easy enough for dinner, excellent for parties. Get in my belly! New Orleans Chicken Wings Today’s recipe is inspired by New Orleans... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 24 November 24, 2024Picture of the day The Scroll of Eighty-Seven Immortals, drawn by an unknown painter, measuring 30cm high and 292cm wide, is a line-drawing Chinese figure painting. Drawn on a long silk scroll with lines, the painting depicts 87 taoist immortals, including three supreme gods with halo, ten divine generals, seven deities and 67 celestial maidens […]
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 23 November 23, 2024Picture of the day Rainbow yarn for knitting displayed in front of a needlework shop in Graz, Austria
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