Citizenship and the roman res publica: Cicero and a Christian corollary

Throughout the history of the Empire, Romans defined a republic as a community of citizens bound together by justice and common interest. When justice no longer flourishes, then tyranny supplants the republic. An analysis of two responses to the res publica in crisis, the former by Cicero, during th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical review of international social and political philosophy 2003-03, Vol.6 (1), p.5-21
Main Author: Depalma Digeser, Elizabeth
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Throughout the history of the Empire, Romans defined a republic as a community of citizens bound together by justice and common interest. When justice no longer flourishes, then tyranny supplants the republic. An analysis of two responses to the res publica in crisis, the former by Cicero, during the last decades of Senatorial rule in the first century BCE, the latter by Lactantius, during the Great Persecution (299-313), illustrates not only the demands that such a definition placed upon citizens and government alike, but also the remarkable continuity in Roman political thought.
ISSN:1369-8230
1743-8772
DOI:10.1080/13698230510001702643