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Primary sourceSpeech63 BCE

Catiline Orations

Cicero · 63 BCE

Cicero's Fourth Catilinarian answers Caesar's Senate proposal to spare the conspirators, the only surviving record of that debate from someone present.

Records the Senate debate in which Caesar argued against executing the Catilinarian conspirators without trial.

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Manuscript page numbered 169 in Latin, handwritten in brown ink with a decorated illuminated initial letter in the upper left in red, green, and blue with gold accents. The text begins with the opening words of Cicero's first Catilinarian oration, 'Quo usque tandem abutere...'.
Cicero, Catiline Orations, 15th-century Italian codex.

About this source

What it is

Four speeches delivered by Cicero in 63 BC during his consulship, concerning the discovery and suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy. They were published around 60 BC as part of Cicero's defence of his actions. The fourth speech addresses the Senate debate over the conspirators' fate.

Why it matters

In that debate Caesar proposed life imprisonment rather than execution for the captured conspirators, momentarily persuading the Senate before Cicero's intervention. The speeches, delivered by someone present at the debate, are a rare first-hand record of Caesar's early political stance on justice and mercy.

Look closer

  • Why might Cicero have published these speeches years after giving them, and how could that change their content?
  • What does Caesar's proposal tell us about his political position before he held power himself?
  • Whose voice is missing from this record of the debate?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Julius Caesar and Cicero on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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