[Victor]

cicero was badass. the wiki doesnt do him justice. mebbe ill look up some good sites for him someday. some things from memory:

cicero was not of the noble class, yet he still rose to the most powerful political rank in rome of the time of the republic, consul.

he stood up and saved the republic from powerful conspirators. his orations against cataline are what made him famous. look up cataline etc.

he was so well liked that despite supporting pompey, caesar forgave him and accepted him back to rome. this was a huge gesture considering caesar killed nearly all of his even marginal opponents.

its somewhat surprising that cicero is not more studied in american education considering that his political thoughts are quite in line with democracy and he devoted his life to defending the roman republic.