Pamela Murgia
Recensione di J. Osgood, Lawless Republic. The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome, Basic Books, New York, 2025, 373 pagine; ISBN 9781541604254
Piergiorgio Floris
2025-01-01
Abstract
Josiah Osgood's monograph “Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome” explores Cicero's role in the political and judicial context of the late Roman Republic, focusing on the period between Sulla's dictatorship and his death in 43 BC. Rather than a traditional biography, the work is a thematic study of legal practices and the functioning of criminal justice, interpreted as a reflection of the profound social and political tensions of the 1st century BC. Through an in-depth analysis of emblematic court cases and Cicero's rhetorical strategies, Osgood explores the ambiguity of the relationship between law and violence. The result is a critical reflection on Cicero's own contribution to the progressive crisis of the late Republican order, a system that was formally legal but essentially dominated by the arbitrary power of the elite.Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
University of Cagliari