Chris
2019-11-04 19:07:33 UTC
I doubt Cicero ever met a Jew or had even heard of them.
Oh, but I think you'll find he did!CICERO (Marcus Tullius Cicero). First century B.C. Roman statesman,
writer:
"Softly! Softly! I want none but the judges to hear me. The Jews have
already gotten me into a fine mess, as they have many other gentleman. I
have no desire to furnish further grist for their mills." (Oration in
Defense of Flaccus)
Cicero was serving as defense counsel at the trial of Flaccus, a Roman
official who interfered with Jewish gold shipments to their international
headquarters (then, as now) in Jerusalem. Cicero himself certainly was
not a nobody, and for one of this stature to have to "speak softly" shows
that he was in the presence of a dangerously powerful sphere of
influence. and on another occasion Cicero wrote: "The Jews belong to a
dark and repulsive force. One knows how numerous this clique is, how they
stick together and what power they exercise through their unions. They
are a nation of rascals and deceivers."
Like I said, an early example of classic anti-semitism.