"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
4 comments:
Which writing was this from?
OK Benue I have to thank you .. some research finds this...
and this .... there is a claim from a historian, John Collins, Prof History U Northern Illinois, 1971 that the quote is from a Cicero Speech in TAYLOR CALWELL'S NOVEL.. A Pillar of Iron.
I can't substantiate that.
I also have Collecetd Cicero xlated, but a paper search is beyond the time I have.
I would thus rate this as questionable.
Epa, in this page, it says:
Summary of the eRumor:
A forwarded email with a quote dating back to 55 B.C. from Cicero of Ancient Rome about balancing the budget, reducing public debt, and curtailing foreign assistance.
The Truth:
This alleged quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero that began circulating on the Internet in October, 2008, is based on a true statement from the great Roman orator, but someone added a lot to it to make it match some of what the United States was facing economically.
The actual quote is: "The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign hands should be curtailed, lest Rome fall."
updated 10/08/08
Some others consider that is probably that, instead of being actually said by Cicero, it could have actually being said by Cato, possibly the Younger, because of the manner he spoke.
But I have always found it as you have written.
This is actually a great argument for authors letting their works filter on line after a time.
If this is an expanded quote directly from Taylor Caldwell, who has written several marvelous historical fictions, this entire thing would have been stillborn.
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