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From: gibbs32
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  • cicero was a bitch.

  • Compared to the way Caesar died, this was quite pleasant.

  • If I lived back then I would have stayed the hell out of politics because sooner or later this happens to you.

  • I wish I would die such a noble death.

  • What a fag LOL

  • @enigma19833 yeah any person who's straight would die screaming and being overall plain pathetic. I perfectly understand your reasoning...

  • Ah Cicero, how great he truly was. I mean apart from all the hypocrisy, paranoia witch hunts he caused, snobbery, reactionary views, disdain for the common Roman people, slaveholding, slumlording and extortionate taxes he levied, he truly was a great guy.

  • @fistfulofknowledge I disdain the roman people too, with their blood fests in the arena. And slaveholding was common in that time, not having slaves then was like being a vegetarian these days. Compared to the other vile men those days, he was great.

  • @fistfulofknowledge Paranoia witch hunts? Yes, because killing a couple of senators who were plotting a coup is a "reactionary with-hunt".

  • @fistfulofknowledge He led paranoid witch hunts against people who tried to overthrow and take over Rome. And of course he had reactionary views against the dictatorship.

  • @Ejabasnecu Are you white? With heritage on Mainland Europe, preferably Western Europe like Spain, Germany, France or Italy? If so, then you are most likely part Roman.

  • This isn't the way it really happened. Cicero was condemned to death simply because he was too powerful and influential. He was beheaded, and went to his death willingly. It took 3 blows to cut the head off completely.

  • Rome could no more have subdued Parthia (roughly based on Pakistan) than India China and that was always their big mistake. They had a natural border in Iraq even though most Eastern Allies preferred Parthia as allowing more traditional freedom to treat their people like slaves. Where Islam comes into that 700 years later after Iran re-conquered most Parthian territory and Muslim Arabs conquered Iran 30 years later - well that's anybody's guess!

  • @Saiaton parthians are iranian tribe who were based in Iran not Pakistan dude. 

  • @Saiaton It was the Sassanids who took over Parthia. They took over Parthia and the land that was once Scythia, Pontus, and the Seleucid Empire. After a series of wars with the Eastern Roman Empire in 500-700 A.D, the Sassanids were conquered by Caliph Abu Bakr and Caliph Umar and turned into an Islamic state. Although Persia became an Islamic State, it wasn't long before it rebelled against the Umayyad and formed its own Islamic State independent of Banu Umayya.

  • @angryant1220 He was a coward, a slumlord and an executioner. 

  • Cicero was a slumlord and a ruling class mouthpiece. The idea that he and the other oligarchs that composed the senate were "principled" is a testament to the pitiful state of our education systems. Caesar was pushing through reforms that were helping his veterans as well as ordinary people and somewhat reducing the vast sums the ruling class extracted from them. The senate scum couldn't have that, so they killed him and penned themselves as the saviours of their oligarchic "republic".

  • @DuffmanIRL Its not like Caesar cared about these rabble. He was only concerned with gathering as much support as possible so the people would accept a dictator. Under the Empire the inequalities became even more apparent along with the complete loss of all political rights and freedoms. I think it can be certainly argued that the enormous division in wealth between rich and poor allowed all this to occur in the first place. Something we might do well to remember today.

  • @fvgdfbdokd Caesar was already supremely powerful, he was the commander in chief of the empire, he even said he was "sated with power and glory" and that the important thing now was "to get things done", like public works projects that create jobs. The emperors that came after Caeser used their power to crush the people and protect the wealth of the aristocratic parasites and so the "principled" senators were happy to go along with this. Human history is a class struggle, rich against poor.

  • @DuffmanIRL "Human history is a class struggle, rich against poor."  Only the poorly educate Marxists believe this. Nothing in Marxist dogma has any connection with economic reality.

  • @gregvs3 Look out! You're so full of shit it's spilling onto the internet!

  • @DuffmanIRL Agreed. Caesar's project when he was killed was to subdue Parthia, the great power just out of Roman Reach which claimed the lives or careers of multiple subsequent emperors and formed a great pillar of the Islamic empire, so his premature death really did change history.

  • EEK. there's got to be a better way...like a head chop. ew.

  • @Rachulie Actually, I think that way was a sort of standard execution method in ancient Rome. You stick your sword in from above.

  • @bluworm ....fuck dat

  • Mmm Peaches 

  • @MrAop2 Because he hit artery on purpose, DUH.

  • @angryant1220 Except this scene which redeems Cicero. I found that his death in this series' is definitely one of the more honourable ones. He accepts his fate and dies like a true fearless Roman. There's nothing cowardly about it.

  • He got what he deserved

  • Die weak scum of the cowardly senate. One emperor is what an empire needs, not a mob of fat squabbling rats.

  • @angryant1220

    historically, he was considered a weak individual. He always allied with one faction or another to do his deeds. Against Caesar, he allied with Pompeii. Once Pompeii was defeated, he came back to Caesar. Against Anthony, he went to Augustus (Octavius) for assistance.

    The only thing he would do against his opponents was give speeches. First against Catiline then 12 speeches against Anthony.

    He has no military accomplishments and was used by stronger individuals

  • @sabeeh89 Actually, Cicero did have military accomplishments (nothing like Caesar though). And historically, he was not a "weak" individual. He was a highly respected orator, lawyer, senator -- and managed crushed the Catiline conspiracy.

    Also, it is Pompey, not Pompeii.

  • and the moral of the story is that , you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Because of his role in Ceasars death Cicero died without honour

  • @junglejedi1 Cicero was targeted for proscription because he was hated by Mark Antony. He was purposely kept out of the loop from the group of assassins. Whether he had knowledge of it or not is of speculation, but he was not one of the senators who stabbed Caesar.

  • I've been to the Rostra in Rome where that animal Marcus Antonius nailed Cicero's head. And I stood there and I whispered "Marcus Tullius Cicero, you are not forgotten".

  • I WOULD like Cicero if he wasn't involved in Ceasers death

  • @Rambokala Contrary to popular belief, your heart is actually in the middle of your chest and NOT the left side. Don't believe me? Research it yourself

  • That's probably the fastest way to die...right through the heart

  • @MrElucidate Heart's on the left side.

  • @MrElucidate Why not reach heart from the front, it looks pretty nasty from this side... I think that the fastest way to die is actually a neck break... The death is instant...

  • @AlmightyZEDANIUM From the front you have all kinds of ribs in the way. It's possible, but from the top I guess there's less resistance.

  • @JanPospisil42 yeah, I thought to stab him below ribs in plexus region...

  • @AlmightyZEDANIUM Mhm. I guess that's possible too. Although you might get stuck in the breast bone and you'd have to stab through abdomenal muscles. This way you're thrusting downwards and can put your weight behind it.

  • And Cicero gave some peaches to Pullo.

  • That's gotta be the nicest executioneer I've ever seen on screen.

    ''Easiest if you kneel.''

    and

    ''you might not want to watch this.''

    XD

  • @angryant1220 Wow yeah

    He was even "friends" with Caesar

  • *sob* CICERO!!!

  • yeh! i think this is the only scene in an otherwise fantastic series which shows cicero at his best!

  • "pretty okay guy, that cicero..."

  • death to all thoes who betrayed julius

  • @angryant1220

    for sure he didnt die like one.

  • no reason not to be civil, right?

  • it was nice how Titus was well mannered to Cicero, and how he mentioned in a way how he will be famous forever.

  • For ROME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • FUCKING PULLO FUKCING MANIAC

    cicero for ever

    "quo usque tandem..."

  • umm, this is a TV adaptation-why get so angry

  • @bulked obviously... you don't understand how true and great Marcus Tullius was... go whine somewhere else

  • Damn that Pullo!!! Cicero was the greatest Roman to ever live.

  • history is so facinating...but is after all just someones opinion or version of what really happend

  • If Cicero died from natural death? Well in Rome, being assassinated by a legionare IS natural death.

  • @GetenGeten he didnt die a natural death

  • @GetenGeten it's quite natural to die when you get a sword into your heart..

  • @GetenGeten You are badly informed about him dying naturally.

  • @GodmyX This thing called irony, do you get it? Do you seriously think that the upvoted comment is me actually believing getting fricken murdered is a natural cause of death? I hate to be rude but... Come on, bro ;(

  • @GetenGeten I hate to be rude too, but "irony" leaves some signs (context, situation, expresion, well "used" words... etc etc etc) for people familiar with the thing so they can discern it. Sorry bud your message looked just like from thos many kids there on the internet who have complete mess in the history - I wasn't even thinking it could be otherwise, as this "state" is quite normal.

  • @GodmyX

    Looked like a joke to me. Though I can understand that it might be hard to see anything with your being so far up your arse.

  • lol

  • best show in the world.

  • lol at youtube arguements

  • I didn't particularly like this scene, because Cicero was so much more bold in reality. He was reading in his garden, and simply extended his neck so that his head could be cut off cleanly. No protest, no fear. Apparently, he even smiled.

  • How do any of us know how it really transpired? None of us were there to see it, after all.

    In my opinion, only two kinds of people greet death as you describe Cicero's behavior...the truly at peace, and the insane.

    The former, too few of us nowadays. The latter, too many.

  • @scarabmango SHUT THE FUCK UP POSER ASS NIGGER. "The former, too few of us"!!!??!?? My god you are fucking retarded. Unless your a ww2/korea/vietnam war veteran you need to shut the fuck up poser ass bitch

  • He ran around Italy for a year evading his assasins. That's not bold.

  • @Rikudemyxdert would you stick around...

    Caesar did the same no?

  • @Oldcartoons571 Caesar did so for political reasons Cicero did it to save his life, in Rome there was this thing called honor. While he was alive he did many great things and I love him for that but he sullied it with his death. There is no honor in hiding from your assasins

  • DAMN, THAT WAS CHILLING. Was that one of Mark Antony's men who killed cicero?

  • Titus Pullo. One of the main characters of this show. He was Antony's man in an on-again, off-again sort of way, but otherwise a free agent.

  • i loved the violence on this show

  • praetorian guard was corrupt too......they killed many emperors

  • Can't say Anthony ended up much better off.

  • Cicero created modern culture.

  • RIP Cicero. This moments very well filmed i think. historically Incorrect according to Plutarch but still good.

  • Poor Cicero.

    He may have been a coward at times, but in the end he died for what he believed in. Credit given where credit's due.

  • @LordNorminator When was he ever a coward? I hope you're joking.

  • You can say what you want, but Marcus Tulius Cicero is regarded as the most influential and powerful political philosopher and linguist before the Enlightenment.

  • did cicero really died by one of mar antony's soldiers or was a natural death?

  • He really died from one of Marc Antony's soldiers.

  • yeah that shows how corrupted the triumviate was..they killed 100 senators...and basically they opposed the conspirators who tried t save the Republic is a way...So after all when people have power in their hands they dont kno how t deal with it:P

  • Absolute power corrupts absolutely

    -Lord Bryon.

  • Apparently he said (and he was 63), "Firstly, this is iillegal, and do try to kill me properly, soldier".

  • "You might not want to watch this"....yeah, either that, or you might want to put it in your favorites so you can watch it everyday!

  • i just did lol

  • Wow, that was gross. Why couldn't they slit his writs or throat instead? That's a painful way to die!

  • They also cut his head, his tongue and the hand with which he had written the Philippicae, and hung the three of them in the Forum.

  • cause gladius is a stabbing sword and isnt effective when used in a cutting motion

  • On the contrary, the gladius is most noted for its stabbing, but it was very much a hacking weapon as well--polybius notes that Roman infantrymen could hack the legs off a horse in one swipe, while other accounts detail arms being sliced off in one blow with the weapon. It was all around very powerful, it's just it's short nature made it more suitable to the warfare the Romans developed.

  • :O my teacher taught us that gladius was strictly stabbing sword and they hid it behind shield and then BAM in the chest or some vital part,i didnt see it used in hacking motions really so sorry for wrong info on my part

  • Your teacher is half right half wrong. I don't know how old you are, but you will learn if you haven't already, regarding a subject, teachers are some of the most ignorant people I know, especially in elementary school and middle school. High school with few exceptions you will find the same case.

    The sword is more of a stabbing sword because of its short nature. This was perfect for the Romans because of their close formation most of the time so a relatively short sword was more manageable.

  • laughable.

    I'd more trust those "ignorant" teaches with diploma's & years worth of teaching experience than some know it all 21 year old with a computer.

  • I'm sorry, but most teachers in a class room in public school have a degree in Sociology or some bull shit major, just to get a half ass paycheck.

    Sorry to knock your future career mate.

  • That said, keep in mind that 'gladius' is just Roman for 'sword.' The nomenclature for the sword we all think of as "roman" and the one being used at the time is "gladius hispanieus"

    Or "Spanish Sword" because that is where the Romans adopted the sword from--Spaniards/Iberian Celts who originally developed it. Incidentally, the Celts are believed to have invented chain mail, and the technology spread down south over 300 years. The Romans were very resourceful, and adopted enemy weapons too.

  • ye like aspis is general world for shield in greek and xiphos is generally a weapon,doesnt have to be a sword.And ye romans started using phalanxes like greeks,then adopted celtic weapons and armor,curved shields,different helms and such

  • Recruits were trained to stab as a deep wound to the vitals will kill much quicker than slash wounds. Sure, it had sharp edges as well but these were secondary to the stabbing point.

  • @Kaca999999 The word gladius stands for 4 or more different types or swords,(Hispaniensis, Mainz, Fulham and Pompeii). The Hispaniensis was the only one available during Caesar's and some of Augustus' period and it was a hack and stab sword.

  • Because your heart is pierced, and you lose conciousness almost immediately. Also, there's no living through that. Jugular and carotid severed, 100% blood loss.

  • 100% blood loss you say.

  • He was a bit of a coward in the Phillipics...he was brave against Catilina tho. I never enjoyed translating his speeches -.-'

  • Cicero was absolutely THE BEST. I don't absolutely mind having to traslate all of his speeches at school.

  • I dunno; in this clip at least, he's pretty impressively brave. Most people wouldn't have half that composure when threatened with imminent and excruciatingly painful death.

  • fuck forgot how graphic that was haha any1 know if theyre making a third series?

  • i heard they might make a movie

  • :o really, cool would be good I'd say. fingers crossed eh :)

  • LMFAO! Look at 0:30, the man in the back's face expression! He's all like: Ö

  • one of my fav scenes of Rome. "I will cut off these soft pink hands & nail them to the senate door" Mark Anthony rules in this series.

  • As many men of intellect Cicero wasn´t really brave. I respect him as philosopher, speaker and writer, but not as politician and statesman.

  • well i mean he was raised in a time where your name on a list meant that any one could kill you and take your land, and from him rising up and having the balls to point out catalines dick head move, and round up all those ass holes and have them killed was a good thing im my and many peoples opinions, him doing that was his ultimate downfall but i still think he did some brave things

  • This is when I started to get annoyed by Pullo

    Cicero's speech about Antony was the best

  • I agree. He was a brilliant lawyer, philosopher, linguist, writer and orator and statesman, but he did display some sycophantic behavior at times.

  • Sorry, Rythem4ever01... I made something wrong with your comment but it wasn't my intention... I was trying to answer your comment, and my answer is: He takes his death as a true Roman.

  • No need to be sorry.

  • he was a worm, but in that one scene he was a man

  • Cicero takes his death well.

  • As a true Roman.

  • I agree to me Cicero is just another snake in the grass. :)

  • He did have his fancy final words infact! the are just not in the serie...and the words go: Soldier there is nothing proper what are u doing but atliest trie to do it properly. RIP Cicero one of geatest romans

  • cicero was corrupt mate bad asset to the senate

  • He turned to face the assasins before he died. Cicero was the most interesting of the famous late-republicans in my opinion. It is unfair for us to make anachronistic judgements on the Romans. They came from a different society. Even so, Cicero was an idealist, he believed in freedom and the republic and it got him killed.

  • cicero was a great roman

  • This is one of my favourite scenes from the series but I always wondered why Pullo thrust his blade through the right artery and lung instead of the left and heart, but hey, it's television.

  • maybe because either way cicero will die?

  • But a honed killer like Pullo would not take such chances with a kill as important as this.

  • i'm not sure that it was a bad choice in the way pullo killed him. from that angle he would have caught only the top of the lung and would likely have sliced through the aortic arch, which would be a guaranteed kill. also, the heart is pretty centered in the chest, it's only the left ventricle and apex that push into the left lung.

  • Because Pullo is right-handed...

  • if uve ever seen Troy, in the start of the movie Achilles killed the giant Boagrius the same way as Pullo did...both were instant kills

  • They cut off his hands and tongue and nailed it to the door of the Senate...so I've heard.

  • I wonder what it's like to die protecteting a dying democracy? even one as corrupt and faltering as the Republic?

  • I imagine it would feel the same as a death protecting Britney Spears honor. A waste.

  • It doesnt seem that way, certainly the Republic had it's flaws but fountin of greed, hypocrisy and cruelty that was the Empire and what we know of democracy vs totallitarian monarchies make Ciceros cause one worth dying for.

  • that is one of the scariest things i have ever seen

  • you should see my grandmother's va-....nevermind...

  • I agree. If he just had known that his words still inspire and move people all over the world! Imagine he had met Bush-he would have torn him apart;)

    Cicero vivat! Pater patriae nunquam vere de vita decessit.(Cicero Lives! The Father of home did never really die.)

  • Cicero was a self-made man, one of such intelligence, wit and political skill that I doubt the world has ever since seen a politician of his calibre. He was a martyr to democracy.

  • He's portrayed really badly in this, very unfair depiction of a man with great strengths and flaws who tried his best. At the end of the day he didn't have the armies of Caesar or the lofty family history of Brutus or Metellus nor did he have the wealth of Crassus, all he had was his oratoral skill. And with it he made himself the greatest speaker of Rome.

  • The fact that Cicero comes accross as insufferably arrogant stems from one greatly overlooked fact. Cicero, as a man, was incredibly insecure. Not in himself, but his position. He knew he lacked martial prowess and family connections. He also knew this would always be held against him. All he had was his brain and his voice. Thus if he was going to make a name for himself in an already notoriously crowded field, he would have to do more than excel everyone else. He knew as a fact that every man

  • in Rome had to be constantly reminded who the greatest orator in Rome was.

    As to his politics, Cicero was in British terms what you would call 'A One Nation Tory'. That is to say, unquestionably a conservative, but one with a sense of decency. It was his belief that the Republic had to be a force for good. His prosecution of Verres being the best example of this.

    Reform rather than revolution was his ideal, but by the time he finally did acquire any real influence, the senate was too far gone.

  • NOW that's a decent KILL!

  • If that slave was any kind of man he who would have pretended to be his master and stood in for him ,Pullo didn`t know Cicero from a bag of onions and was a knuckleheaded grunt anyway.Cicero could also have made an escape and chose not too,big drama queen.

  • Tiro, who is his slave, was an extremely clever and well known man. He invented the concept of a book, and most famously the system of shorthand. Cicero, being extremely strong willed in his love for the republic and the constitution wouldn't have allowed anyone to die for him, especially not someone as valued as Tiro... who Cicero loved dearly and holds MUCH info of Cicero who without him we would now very little about.

  • hey i agree with u about Tir, I dont know if u read it but there is a great book about Tiro and Cicero called "Imperium" look it up on amazon its quite good.

  • Hehe of course I've read it! Its amazing indeed.

    Couldn't put it down.

  • ahhh, that was pleasing. Although, historically, he was completely decapitated, which would have been much more pleasurable. So dies one of the most shameless scoundrels in the history of the Roman empire. A perpetual ass kisser of the Roman Aristocracy who always argued against the well being of the people to preserve their entrenched power and greed for wealth: Cicero.

  • This is wildly inaccurate... Cicero had absolutely no connection to the Roman aristocracy. He was a "new man" from the provinces who rose to the Consul's chair out of sheer talent, force of will, and ability. Before his death, he was the only true Republican who held any semblance of power in Rome. He was a REPUBLICAN, not an aristocrat. He was a patriot of Rome, who loved his country and, in spite of the flaws in the system, wanted to maintain the delicate balance between Senate and people.

  • ...to conclude, he was a moderate, someone who stood for balance and neutrality throughout his entire career. He valued the the spoken word over the sword. Because of these things, he gets inaccurately portrayed, and gets slagged by idiots on YouTube who don't grasp the concept of civic virtue. It's no coincidence that any historian, philosopher, and statesman who wasn't a twisted tyrant over the last two millenia have credited Cicero as one of Rome's greatest leaders, thinkers, and citizens.

  • "Cicero had absolutely no connection to the Roman aristocracy"

    That statement right there proves one of two things, or both.

    1) You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and have never actually read into anything concerning Roman history beyond wikipedia

    2) You are blinded by your bias to the ideal of the "Republic", when in all actuality, it was an oligarchy.

    If you want to better your Roman knowledge beyond what Plutarch, Livy, or Suetonius "both biased to the aristocracy".

  • .....read The Assassination of Julius Caesar A people's history of ancient Rome by Michael Parenti. It provide a incredible revelation into the cut throat politics of Rome, as well as a view of Rome entirely from the people's perspective. Since you value the "Republican" ideal so much, then you will know the people's view is what matters most, unless you think like Cicero. Also, it provides hundreds of excellent sources in the citation pages just in case Parenti's truth is too much for you.

  • I suggest you do it, because right now you are the only one who is a wildly inaccurate idiot.

  • @JTowersIV: I take the idiot remark back. It is rare that you ever find anyone on youtube who actually has a thorough knowledge of anything, much less Roman history.

  • It's true that in effect, Rome was more oligarchy than Republic, but to make the claim that Cicero perpetuated said oligarchy by empowering the aristocrats is invalid. He understood the flaws in the government of Rome (chief among them, that there was no constitution,) and he attempted to balance progressivism with pragmatic maintenance of the status-quo throughout his career.

    What you say abut the Republic is not inaccurate; what you say about Cicero is.

  • Like i said, I was taught in my Roman Classes that Cicero was a great orater, republic etc etc etc, but those people don't get into detail with his political life or his cut throat background. Please, i want you to read Parenti's book. When you read it, don't let your bias get in the way because it must be read with an open mind. If you want truth beyond Parenti, hundreds of sources are cited in the back, and can be found at a Barns and Nobles near you. If you like Rome, read that book.

  • Fair enough. I'll look make Parenti my next read, and I'll look forward to it, on the condition that you look into Anthony Everitt's "Cicero." Although it's a bit heavy on Plutarch citations, and light on Cicero's philosophy and rhetoric, it does a good job situating him as a historical figure - a moderate man living in a time that called for immoderate measures.

    And if you want a balance between my man and (who i can only assume would be) yours, Everitt also attempted a biography of Augustus.

  • For the sake of this I shall. I will say though, after reading Plutarch's "Fall of the Roman Republic" I've been somewhat suspect of his reasoning since his perspective toward the very end was basically the entirety of Rome "The holy grail" vs Julius Caesar "Satan himself".

    Augustus is my favorite Emperor, yes. However, my "man" in Roman history is Julius Caesar "haha!". People label him a tyrant, and he did commit crimes "Vercingetorix?", but the man was for the people to the very end.

  • BAH! Julius Caesar was brilliant, no question that he was a genius in his own right. But he lacked the subtlety and utter deviousness that his adopted son possessed. In my opinion, throughout history, much credit has gone to Julius Caesar that Augustus deserved.

    That, and as a pale, skinny youth, I can't help but envy and admire Octavian.

  • Absolutely, and lacking those qualities is not particularly good if you want to pursue a successful career in politics in ancient Rome AND survive to see it through as we all know. That is what i admire about Caesar in that he basically put his policy on the table and told everyone else to take it or leave it. Very true to his own principals regardless of what anyone thought. His defiance of Sulla "which was basically a death wish" back in Sulla's proscriptions is a testament to that.

  • Absolutely, and lacking those qualities is not particularly good if you want to pursue a successful career in politics in ancient Rome AND survive to see it through as we all know. That is what i admire about Caesar in that he basically put his policy on the table and told everyone else to take it or leave it. Very true to his own principals regardless of what anyone thought. His defiance of Sulla "which was basically a death wish" back in Sulla's proscriptions is a testament to that.

  • Well, i would have definitely admired his position. As Augustus, I seen him as incredibly efficient politically, with an impenetrable almost invincible figure. A person who was entirely ruled by logic.