‘‘AS YOU have sown, so shall you reap.’’ This remark is often attributed to the protagonists of war and their reaping of the inevitable whirlwind.
This derivation of a popular proverb was attributed to Roman senator, lawyer, statesman and renowned orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, although what he actually said: “You acquire what you reap (or take by force)”.
A philosopher, humanist and republican, Cicero influenced the founding of the US and also the revolutionaries of the French Revolution.
Cicero wasn’t a soldier and loathed war. He used his quotation during his denunciation of the conspiracy of Catilina in 63BC, led by politician Lucius Sergius Cataline, who supported the local plebs and wanted to cancel all debts.
The aristocratic conservative Optimates opposed this intent by the more socialist populist faction, as the aristocrats were appalled by handing power to the people.
Cicero’s principles would be popular today. He believed the ruling elite should improve their own characters by seeking individual virtue and social stability, rather than personal fame, wealth and power.
Our own political masters should learn from the past. As Cicero himself remarked: ‘‘To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.’’
T Scaife, Manor Drive, York.
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