Ciceron i Platon - uzor Ciceronovih 'Zakona'

Abstract

Ciceron u svojoj političko-pravnoj raspravi O zakonima uzima kao uzor istoimeno Platonovo delo. Ovaj članak nastoji da utvrdi razloge i domašaj Platonovog uticaja na Cicerona. Kad je reč o razlozima vezanosti Cicerona za Platona, nalazimo ih u zajedničkim konzervativnim političkim opredeljenjima u sličnim društvenim prilikama u kojima su ugrožene aristokratske vrednosti i tradicija. Pored nesumnjivog oslanjanja na Platonove Zakone, Ciceronovo delo ima još dva sloja; jedan u kojem se ogledaju drugi filozofski uticaji, naročito ideje stoika u opširno iznesenoj teoriji prirodnog prava i drugi, originalni sloj proizišao iz Ciceronovog političkog iskustva.

Cicero's Laws by all means are not a simple transcript and an uncritical transfer of another's ideas, but also not an original philosophical work. It is a political-philosophical and legal treatise of an outstanding expert of political theory and practice, whose intention was to extend spiritual horizons or Roman citizens, while instructing them about Greek philosophical thought, but at the same time to express his own ideas and views concerning the questions he was rather competent to treat. In doing the above, he started with the Plato's treatise under the same title, applying the same dialogue form without an introduction, and with the same number of persons led by the author as the principal narrator, and by placing the conversation into a similar milieu. Moreover, while wanting to emphasize that connection s much as possible, Cicero is directly quoting Plato, sometimes with the aim to express his respect and enthusiasm for him, and sometimes to quote it as an authority, but also to criticize some of his views. The reasons for Cicero's closeness to Plato should be sought in Plato's conservative political ideas shared by Cicero too, as well as in the harmony of Plato's noble origin and character - which altogether impessed Cicero to quite a degree. However, Cicero extends his theoretical basis also by other philosophical theories, while critical choice is mainly reduced to Plato's followers and admirers, and more particularly to stoics and members of the Academy, who, due to changed social reality, depart from Plato and occasionally even completely abandon his theories. The best evidence for the above is the fact that there is a thorough elaboration of stoic law of the nature theory in Cicero's Laws. However, Cicero did not stop at the theoretical plane. He has used his (and Roman) advantage of a practitioner, so that he has applied that philosophical framework in practice and to the specific example of Roman Republic, while inquiring into the adequacy in terms of the law of nature of Roman political and legal institutions. By using pragmatic and empirical approach, based on historical and his own experience, Cicero has verified the elements of his theory, while correcting them and coordinating the ideal and the attainable in practice, so that these are the elements of his contribution and originality.