In 62 B.C.E., the poet Archias, Marcus Tullius Cicero’s childhood tutor, faced prosecution based on the tribunal law of Gaius Papius, which expelled non-Roman citizens from Rome. In Pro Archia Poeta, Cicero implied that Archias, a resident of Heraclea, might have qualified for citizenship under the Lex Julia and Lex Plautia Papiria,¹ but chose instead to base his defense on Archias' status as a heralded Roman poet.² In this context, Cicero asserted that even lawyers lack a proper education, unless they possess a thorough knowledge of literature. Cicero, by including the distinguished writing of Archias, attempts to establish the pre-eminence of literature within a legal education in the Roman Republic.

I. The Literary Foundations of an Early Legal Education

Recalling “the most remote memories of my boyhood,”³ Cicero acknowledges Archias’ influence as a poet and teacher in the Exordium of Pro Archia Poeta.⁴ Cicero’s emphasis on his own early childhood provides a glimpse into the earliest foundations of his education.⁵ To this extent, Cicero maintains, “It was he [Archias] who first fitted my back for its burden and my feet for their destined path.”⁶ Although Cicero maintains his conventional guise of humility,⁷ the emphasis on burden and destiny suggest that it was Cicero’s earliest ambition to enter the political arena in Rome.⁸ As evident in Pro Archia Poeta, Cicero’s ambitions were not fostered by an eminent politician or a member of the aristocracy. Instead, Archias, who not only was a poet and scholar, but an individual facing expulsion from Rome, provided Cicero with the means to engage in politics. In Pro Archia Poeta, Cicero asserts that a devoted literary apprenticeship at a young age remains pivotal for a legal education.

Cicero states, “I…persuaded myself from my youth up, thanks to the moral lessons derived from a wide reading, that nothing is to be greatly sought after in this life save glory and honor.”⁹ By classifying the study of literature as an exceptionably noble pursuit, Cicero demonstrates the inherent value of literature, especially for the youth.¹⁰ Cicero recognizes that the values cultivated at a young age will carry over into a political career. Moreover, the impressionable nature of youth remains vital for the preparation of a legal career. To this extent, Cicero asserts, “But this [literature] gives stimulus to our youth and diversion to our old-age.” Literature remains a captivating and appealing force, especially for aspiring adolescents.¹¹ Literature “links together all arts [and occupations] which have any bearing upon the common life of mankind.”¹² Cicero, in reference to Archias’ childhood, contends that young people lack corruption and possess an inherent innocence.¹³ Thus, aspiring youth need good influences, such as Archias and his poetry.

Due to this need for good influences, the role of a poet is essential in fostering honorable characteristics,¹⁴ which are crucial to a legal career. Due to Archias’ “studious seclusion,”¹⁵ he remains outside of the corruptible morass of politics. Essentially, Archias lacks conflicting motives. Furthermore, the education provided by Archias, and presumably other poets, lacks bias and promotes unhampered and critical thought. Cicero expressly acknowledges the importance of literature in the educational curriculum of his ‘aspiring youth’:

Yet, I do at the same time assert that when to a lofty and brilliant character is applied the molding influence of abstract studies [literature], the result is often inscrutably and unapproachably noble.¹⁶

Although poets seemingly isolate themselves from the entrapments of politics, they nevertheless promote the well being of the state. Archias taught Cicero about the great deeds of Roman citizens. For example, Archias, “wrote on the Cimbrian campaign, thereby winning the approbation of the great Gaius Marius himself,”¹⁷ and he even composed an account of the war with Mithridates.^{18 19} Cicero’s references to glory, honor, and duty assert that Archias provides an honorable set of standards upon which aspiring youth can model their behavior:

But deep in every noble heart dwells a power which plies night and day the goad of glory, and bids us to see to it that the remembrance of our names should not pass away with life, but should endure coeval with all the ages of the future.²⁰

These attitudes of Archias inspired Cicero to pursue a legal career. Archias glorified Rome, not as a means of securing temporary fame, but to assist Romans in living up to their full potential.²¹ While politics are often seen as dangerous, Cicero was taught from an early age that he must stay above their snares and corruptions.²²

Strengthening the contention that the proper legal characteristics for a legal career are fostered at a young age, Cicero turns to Archias’ own adolescence. For example, at Antioch, Archias’ “intellectual pre-eminence rapidly gained for him a commanding position among his contemporaries.”²³ After he experienced the “influences which mould and elevate the boyish mind,”²⁴ Archias devoted himself to a literary career.²⁵ Once again, a strong foundation in literature appears foremost, regardless of whether the eventual career is scholarly, legal, or even political. By referring to Antioch, Tarentum, Rhegium, and Neapolis,²⁶ Cicero underscores the importance of traveling and experiencing the dynamic cultures of the Mediterranean world at a young age.²⁷ For example, Archias traveled to the former cities “even before he received the garb of manhood.”²⁸ Traveling also fosters an awareness of other forms of society, which eventually will be pivotal in understanding the complexity of Roman laws.²⁹ Although Archias traveled extensively, his learning environments were exceptionally stable.³⁰ Such stable environments in and of themselves promote a reasonable mentality, which are vital to a lawyer.³¹ Typically, Archias remained in the presence of notable politicians and statesman,³² and their homes “were the earliest resort of his youth, and have given him an affectionate shelter to his declining years.”³³ Archias was exposed to politics, yet he was not immersed in the “perils of the courts.”³⁴

Pro Archia Poeta demonstrates that the earliest foundations of a legal education do not merely reside in actual political ties, but in the cultivation of honorable characteristics.³⁵ To this extent, the ability to determine right and wrong is not imbedded in a blind confidence in laws, but through a proper grounding in literature, which can teach those honorable characteristics. With the assistance of an honorable tutor like Archias, literature provides the foundations from which to explore the historical figures and the nature of a political society, without witnessing or being dragged into the actual strife.³⁶ It is as if poets and writers in general serve as a medium between the pure and corruptive forces of politics. Thus, poets are indispensable in the preparation for the legal burden Cicero was destined to accept, and so are essential to the proper education of a lawyer, politician, and citizen.

[ Abstract - 1 - 2 - Notes - Bibliography]

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