704. De Legibus Book 1

Garden in House of Loreius Tiburtinus or D. Octavius Quartio

704.  De Legibus Book 1 by Cicero.  Atticus admires an oak near by.  The observation produces a mini-discussion about permanence.  What has more permanence an object or a thought or an idea?  What if a thought is applied to an object?  Does the object ever depart?  Cicero takes an odd turn here and suggests that reality is a slippery slope.  I wondered as I read, if this was designed to get the thinker/reader to contemplate matters from a different perspective in preparation for the coming topic. History is then brought up as they walk and Atticus asks Cicero to write a history and then Atticus, Cicero and Quintus discuss what period he should cover.  

Subjects flow from one to the next.  I wonder if this was offered not only as a means to bring on the topic at hand but also to give a method for discussion. Romans or at least Cicero and his friends enjoyed a wide range of topics.

The topic selected is the origin of law, that is Law with a big L.  

Cicero makes the assertion that all nature is ruled by divine power, nature, reason of the gods.  To this all agree.  For any one disturbed by this, I ask them to ponder for a moment if a discussion can ever begin unless a premise is accepted.

There are comments about the beauty of birds and water. 

Cicero seems to equate Nature= God, God = Nature.  Reminds me of Pliny the Elder (Natura deus est).  Cicero goes on- it has not been chance that so much has been provided for humans, as in seeds, animals, soil, climate.  Countless skills have been derived from nature- our tools for these are the five senses and the shape of our bodies.  The eyes and faces of a human provide keen insight into a person- not so with animals.  Nature helps to perfect reason. This reason is personal ( i.e. I can think) but only has value in terms of others.

Virgil in the Georgics, Book 1, gives nice examples of this ability of Nature to teach skills when he says (lines 121-135)

The Father himself scarcely desired the path of farming to be easy, and first through skill works the fields, sharpening mortal hearts with problems, nor having permitted his kingdoms to be motionless and sluggish with heavy drowsiness.   Before Jupiter no farmers mastered the fields: it was not even possible to mark or divide up the fields with boundaries…. Jupiter gave poisonous venom to black serpents, he ordered wolves to plunder and the sea to be moved with storms, he shook honey from the leaves, and removed fire from easy access and restrained the wine once flowing in streams, in order that he might squeeze out various skills  by meditating practices and uses little by little, to seek weeds in the furrows of grain, to strike out hidden flame in the veins of flint.

Note that the modern view of natural human nastiness is absent.  I suggest that modern thought has been heavily influenced by Christianity's concept of original sin.

Cicero continues- we were born to seek justice.  Humans differ in kind but not degree, differ in educational background but equal in that fact that all humans learn.  Humans are similar in good and evil tendencies but Cicero insists that even the bad things have the appearance of being good which is why these are sometimes mistakenly sought. It makes sense then that knowledge is what makes us better.  Knowledge of Nature.

It is interesting that Cicero defines and quantifies humans in terms of the mind- not legs, arms, feet, appearance.

We have been made by nature to share justice- we talk, write, listen, look, observe and embrace life in terms of others.

Cicero comments that one of the most dangerous assertions was to separate utility from justice- from this springs much mischief. He uses friendship as an example- if the smallest thing comes between two people, there is no friendship.  If justice fights with utility, justice will only prevail when it is useful.

Atticus summarizes the argument:

1.  Humans have been provided by Gods with special gifts.

2.  One guide exists by which humans live together.

3.  People are bound together by a certain fondness and kindness.

4.  That all people are bound together in an association of justice.

What is the point of the above?  That law/justice cannot be separated from Nature.  To do that is to deny that humans are part of nature.

Cicero has combined with his style Stoic logic as a basis.  My guess is because Stoic logic creates a very tight argument. He suggests to which Atticus makes a joke, that he, Cicero, is just following the rules.

Atticus wonders if Cicero, who was known for his willingness to take on difficult arguments in Senatorial debate, if he, Cicero, felt obliged to follow someone else's rules.  Cicero laughs and replies that he hopes to seeks approval from those who think that what is right and honorable is worth seeking for its own sake, not for the sake of something else.  

He has no interest in those who take pleasure as the guiding light.  The reason is that every virtue, justice included, is sought for something else- pleasure or a release from pain or potential pain.  Cicero points out that under this system only fear of punishment keeps people from doing harm- this he says is a good example of how important the principles of Nature are.

Cicero spends a great deal of time refuting Epicureanism.  It must have been, as it is now, very prevalent and pervasive. 

Only law, as in the common sense of the word, combined with force will keep people from doing harm.  If such a person does do the right thing it is only to avoid trouble.  Cicero must have been something in debate- he goes on:  So is every law which is passed just and proper just because it was passed? Cicero says no.  There is only one principle by which a law can be judged.  A law is a true Law which is right reason applied to command and prohibition.  This is what is meant by living in harmony with Nature- the nature of the universe and human nature and life.  The kind of Law which Cicero discusses exists whether someone is aware or not.

For Cicero points out that if justice does not exist in nature there is no justice at all.  Because then it would only exist by the whim of people and only when it suited their purpose.  To put it another way- if justice rests on utility then utility will destroy justice out of interest in its own utility.

Cicero is clearly looking for a rock upon which justice can stand- that rock is Nature.

The foundation of justice is the tendency of humans to love other humans.  But if a human is the measure of all things, then utility must be the new God.  So Cicero issues a challenge, if justice is not based upon Nature, then just exactly is the rock of justice?  But if justice is derived from Nature, then we have a standard by which to judge laws.  So what criteria do we use to judge a law?  Answer:  Is it contrary to Nature?

So, I do not think that Cicero is talking about judging a traffic stop sign.  

He gives an example.  The proper excellence of a tree is found in Nature, it is not found in personal judgement or a vote of the crowd.

It is important to understand that Cicero thinks this way to a degree because Romans did not view humans as an intrusion upon nature but part of nature.

A good is viewed as worthy of praise in and of itself by nature, not by opinion.  (For Cicero emotion is largely dangerous, for only by study and mental discipline can someone rise to a higher level than simple emotion and learn to know the true self.

The wide variety of opinion on this matter makes it very confusing.  In addition the senses are not perverted but the mind can be.  Cicero separates the mind from that which perceives things.  That is why his definition of human has everything to do with the mind/intellect.

The sense of smell, the ability, is not perverted by  a parent; the same with sight, touch etc. But our minds can be by the counterfeit of good which is pleasure.  The only defense our minds have is the ability to reason, observe and live in harmony with Nature.

If someone does something nice without anticipation of reward, then it is disinterested; if it is done with the anticipation of reward, it is hired.  Something is good and in accordance with Nature if it is sought for its own sake and not for something else.  The same is true for justice and all other virtues.  If this is not true, then people will act decent only in order to acquire a good reputation. There will be no standard for judgement, if any action is not evaluated by Nature.  So if virtue is sought for any other purpose there must be something better- what would that be?

Then there is a discussion about Zeno and the Old Academy, Quintus brings the discussion back to the one at hand.

Cicero states Law's purpose:  

1.  to correct vice

2.   a system of living may be lead from it.

3.  it encourages virtue

In Cicero's opinion wisdom is God's greatest gift to humans because the most difficult thing in life is to know oneself.

Some understanding of a power beyond ourselves is essential for the realization that we have an obligation to be good people. By obtaining knowledge and the acquisition of virtues, all those material wants, fears and such will be viewed in terms of a true understanding of true religion and worship.  This is accomplished by study and observation of the sky, land, sea and the nature of all things.  Cicero combines religion, science and the study of Nature as the means we have to grasp wisdom.

What to study to acquire these?  To learn from where things have been derived, where they will go, when/how they will perish, then the mind will see what is everlasting, what is perishable, what is eternal and divine, and the mind will grasp almost the very thing (ipsum) guiding these things and regulating them.  When the mind realizes that it is not bordered by the physical world but through these studies the mind will realize that it is permitted to go further and then lift itself above the material world and see what is truly valuable.

The mind will develop skills of argument and persuasion to protect, promote and develop laws and record for all to read the achievements of the wise and disgrace of the evil.