To understand the influence of the Roman Senator, writer and teacher Marcus Tullius Cicero it is important to understand the context of public debate during his rise to popularity.  Public debate in the Roman Senate had been marked by a stoic, logical discussion of issues that was lively but modeled more after a scientific discussion than the type of public debate we are used to.

The lectern-thumping, emotional stem-winder speakers of today can trace the roots of their art directly back to Roman Senators such as Cicero and Cato who turned the art of public speaking on its head.  While the Greek debate would live and die by the logical structure of an argument, Cicero was the first to declare the following, seemingly obvious statement:  “Delivery is the single dominant power in oratory.”

Born in 106 B.C., Cicero had written one of the leading texts on public speaking, or rhetoric, De Inventione, by the age of 20.  The book, according to one scholar, could serve today as “a manual for courtroom lawyers.”  His passionate speaking style became known for its vivid examples and it vicious treatment of enemies.  Cicero was a groundbreaker in the use of such terms as “swine,” “pest,” “butcher,” and “filth” to describe opponents.
We are fortunate enough to have a large number of Cicero’s letters to give us insight into the daily life that produced such an unorthodox and lasting method of speech.  Given the lack of tools to extend the day, aside from the candle, Cicero rose at dawn, dressed in a loincloth, toga, and possibly a tunic and promptly ate a breakfast that commonly included water, bread dunked in wine with cheese, honey or olives.

He then would have prepared for the day by visiting the barbershop for a shave, but just as importantly, to catch up on the latest news by talking with all the other Romans that visited the barber daily for a water and straight razor shave.  When the Senate was meeting, the morning would be spent at the Forum.  When he was not required at the Forum, Cicero would spend mornings writing and corresponding for several hours in his home study.

Lunch was a very light meal when it was taken.  It was followed by some form of relaxation including visits to the public baths, races, gladiator contests, the theater or a nap prior to the next opportunity for public interaction.

Cicero enjoyed the company of many friends and admirers at dinner, which would have been served at 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. and lasted several hours.  Dinner would start with honeyed wines or other drinks, followed by a wide variety of meats including all types of farm-raised animals along with game, foul or pigs.  Dessert would include fruit and shellfish.

Dinner would begin an important part of Cicero’s public discussion of the ideas that would make their way into his books.  This extended period of interaction was an essential part of the process that resulted in action by the Senate since debate and conversation often stretched the dinner hour into the early evening.

Cicero was at home by sunset.  While Romans usually went to bed early, given the tradition of rolling up the streets at sunset, Cicero would spend his evenings writing books, essays and speeches and reading papers and correspondence by candlelight.  Sleep would consume between six and seven hours of the Roman politician’s day before he would start the entire process over again.
Cicero’s influence on our own founding fathers was profound. 

His writings served as the unpinning for many of the democratic thoughts that were transformed into our own Republic.  Washington, Jefferson and Adams devoured Cicero’s books.  David McCullough, in his book John Adams, writes of Adams early work as a lawyer in Massachusetts:  “To gather strength, he read aloud from Cicero’s Orations.  The ‘sweetness and grandeur’ of just the sounds of Cicero were sufficient reward, even if one understood none of the meaning.”  All of this influence stemmed from a man who started his daily routine with a shave at the barbershop.