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Primary sourceSpeech

Pro Murena

Cicero

Cicero's courtroom defense of Lucius Murena, delivered during the Catilinarian crisis, which pokes fun at Cato's strict Stoic views.

Cicero delivered this courtroom defense himself, showing his legal skill and rivalry with Cato.

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Manuscript page from a 15th-century Italian codex with a painted illuminated initial and red and blue decoration. The running title reads 'PRO LUCIO MURENA' and the Latin text is in brown ink handwriting, with marginal annotations and the page number 267 at the top right.
Copy of Cicero's Pro Murena, from a 15th-century Italian manuscript of his orations.

About this source

What it is

This is a speech by Cicero defending Lucius Murena in court, delivered during the crisis surrounding Catiline's conspiracy. The page shown is a copy from a 15th-century Italian manuscript of Cicero's orations, headed 'Pro Lucio Murena'.

Why it matters

The speech shows Cicero at work as a practicing lawyer, using humor to undercut the strict philosophical positions of his opponent Cato, a leading figure of Stoicism in Rome. It gives insight into how Roman courtroom rhetoric mixed legal argument with personal mockery, and into the political alliances of Cicero's time.

Look closer

  • Why might Cicero choose humor as a legal strategy rather than only serious argument?
  • What does mocking Cato's Stoicism suggest about Cicero's own views on philosophy and public life?
  • What do the decorations on this manuscript page tell us about how valuable this text was considered later?

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

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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...'.Speech

Primary source

Catiline Orations

Cicero · 63 BCE

Engraved print of a bust of Marcus Tullius Cicero, shown in three-quarter view facing right. The bust has curly hair, a draped toga over the shoulder, and sits on a round stepped pedestal. Latin caption below reads M. TVLLIVS CICERO, Ex marmore antiquo, with small engraver credits in the bottom corners.Painting

Secondary source

Marcus Tullius Cicero, engraved after antique marble busts

Jan Witdoeck

Open manuscript leaf with illuminated Latin text. A decorated initial at left contains a small painted portrait of a bearded man wearing a crown. Ornamental borders in gold, blue, pink, and green frame the page, with cherubs at the bottom. The Latin text is written in brown ink in a formal script.Book

Primary source

De Officiis

Cicero · 44 BC

Engraved print on cream paper showing an oval cameo portrait in profile of Cicero, a bald-fronted man with curly hair facing left. Below are a label reading CICERO and two Roman coins, with a Latin inscription at the bottom and the number 78.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Cicero (Bildnis des Cicero)

Manuscript page of Latin text in dark brown ink on yellowed parchment, with a faded underlying script visible in the lower layer. Stained and darkened areas across the page, a palimpsest with the upper text dominant.Book

Primary source

De re publica

Cicero · c. 54–51 BC

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