Yes-&-No Man

CICERO -- G. C. Richards -- Houghton Mifflin ($3). A prudent, patriotic, eloquent Roman genius, Marcus Tullius Cicero had the historical misfortune to live at a time when the more spectacular genius of Julius Caesar dwarfed all lesser men. Cicero's deeds have been forgotten, and he is remembered as the author of great models of Latin prose over which schoolboys still suffer. Last week Dr. George Chatterton Richards, offering a biography that called belated attention to the great orator's political virtues, tried to show the heroism and timeliness of Cicero's many middle-of-the-road perplexities.

Born in Arpinum in 106 B.C., Cicero was a "new man," an upstart and outsider, belonging to the mercantile class that stood between the nobility and the commons. Thin, long-necked, timid, wearying friends by overpraising himself, Cicero made a poor hero. Academic Dr. Richards considers his lifelong hesitancy a sign of devotion to the Roman Republic. But readers may feel, on the strength of Dr. Richards' account, that Cicero simply could not make up his mind where he stood in the issue of democracy v. dictatorship. He had a yes-and-no policy on the soldiers' bonus, a yes-and-no attitude toward Caesar, who wanted to change the constitution. He left the uncomfortable middle ground to denounce Catiline, in one of the greatest pieces of invective known to history, but Catiline's crimes were great: he planned to burn Rome, abolish debt and share the wealth by taking over the property of political antagonists. In the warfare between Caesar and Pompey, Cicero sided first with Pompey, became neutral, chose Pompey again, again became neutral, got on the losing side just before it lost. By that time he had antagonized both camps. He remained prudently true to his Republican convictions while Caesar was in power, was completely hoodwinked by Octavian in the chaotic situation that followed Caesar's assassination. In a last burst of eloquence he denounced Anthony, then faced his murderers. The more Dr. Richards labors to make his career inspiring, the more inept Cicero appears. When he was audacious it was at the wrong time. When he was caustic it was to those who might have been friends. When he leaped into action he was usually too late to do much except get in trouble. When he settled down to his studies, Rome needed him most. The most impressive lesson of his life would seem to be that the middle of the road was no place for an honest Roman in the days when both sides were closing in.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.