In the blog I’ve mentioned how Cicero’s letters offer an unparalleled look into the personal life of an elite Roman man at the end of the Republic. Indeed, there is no equivalent collection of letters any where in Greek literature. In fact, most of the collections of Greek letters are either forgeries, such as letters attributed to Plato, Socrates or Diogenes. Others, such as the letters of Chion of Heraclea, are works of fiction similar to Bram Stroker’s epistolary novel Dracula.
Back to Cicero. Cicero’s most famous slave and later freedman is Tiro. Tiro was a trusted companion of a high literary caliber and ambitions that paid no mind to his status as a slave. For example, he had no compunction in criticizing Cato the Elder’s rhetoric, a stance that the later Roman writer Aulus Gellius found to be out of line for either a slave or a freedman. Cicero apparently didn’t mind this chutzpah. Tiro’s interest in literature went beyond rhetoric: he is credited with inventing a form of shorthand that was used from antiquity and into the Medieval Period. Furthermore, it is likely that Tiro is the one who edited and collated the collection of Cicero’s letters.
However Cicero didn’t have a thriving relationship with all his freedmen and slaves. Given how many slaves and freedmen he interacted with, that is not surprising. When reading his letters, you can get a sense of how invisible, but vital, these workers are: who delivers the letters, who cooks, cleans and educates etc.
One of his freedmen that Cicero did not like at all was named Chyrsippus. In one of his letters to his dear friend Atticus, Cicero explains that he is going to try and get Chrysippus re-enslaved on the grounds that his hasn’t fulfilled some of his obligations (2.7.8). The kind of duties that Cicero is referring to are similar to the paramone duties that I’ve mentioned when talking about the manumission of Greek slaves.
Back to Cicero. Cicero’s most famous slave and later freedman is Tiro. Tiro was a trusted companion of a high literary caliber and ambitions that paid no mind to his status as a slave. For example, he had no compunction in criticizing Cato the Elder’s rhetoric, a stance that the later Roman writer Aulus Gellius found to be out of line for either a slave or a freedman. Cicero apparently didn’t mind this chutzpah. Tiro’s interest in literature went beyond rhetoric: he is credited with inventing a form of shorthand that was used from antiquity and into the Medieval Period. Furthermore, it is likely that Tiro is the one who edited and collated the collection of Cicero’s letters.
However Cicero didn’t have a thriving relationship with all his freedmen and slaves. Given how many slaves and freedmen he interacted with, that is not surprising. When reading his letters, you can get a sense of how invisible, but vital, these workers are: who delivers the letters, who cooks, cleans and educates etc.
One of his freedmen that Cicero did not like at all was named Chyrsippus. In one of his letters to his dear friend Atticus, Cicero explains that he is going to try and get Chrysippus re-enslaved on the grounds that his hasn’t fulfilled some of his obligations (2.7.8). The kind of duties that Cicero is referring to are similar to the paramone duties that I’ve mentioned when talking about the manumission of Greek slaves.