Perturbatio, frugalitas, and bene beateque uiuendum: Ciceronian Philosophy as Ciceronian Defense in Pro Rege Deiotaro

Just as Cicero’s dialogues and treatises incorporate the rhetorical strategies of his oratory, his defense of Deiotarus bears marks from the philosophical writings that constituted most of Cicero’s output in the mid 40s BCE. Cicero shapes his defense around Deiotarus’ character, emphasizing not his royal valor and worth, but his philosophical virtue. Such virtue consoles him and furnishes him with an avenue towards good living despite the decreased potency of his old age. This pattern of defense closely resembles Cicero’s self-description in his philosophical works, wherein philosophy becomes a source of consolation for his own political impotence occasioned by the ascendancy of Caesar.