THE TEACHERS CHAPTER EIGHT- Page 1

ONE AFTERNOON SAUL heard his name called, and turning, saw Marcus running toward him in a great state of excitement. "Saul, I have some great news! My father has decided I should go to Rome and study law. He has secretly been in touch with the school where the grandson of Musius Scaevola teaches. It was Musius Scaevola, you know, who first taught my uncle Cicero! He produced the greatest lawyers of his day. They say his grandson, who will be my teacher, is much like him. My father says I will travel to Rome by ship. Let's go to Lake Rhegma and see if there are any ships there now."

"And you plan to get on board immediately," replied Saul dryly.

"No, no, of course not," answered Marcus with a laugh. "I won't be leaving for some time yet, but I can hardly wait. May we at least see what ships could be in the harbor? I wonder what type I will travel on? Isn't it exciting? I am named Marcus after Cicero, and now I will follow his steps."

Saul nodded, realizing he would miss the friendship of Marcus. He also felt a certain tinge of fear and envy. He wondered how long he would remain in Tarsus awaiting word from Gamaliel. Or worse--what if the Hillel school refused to allow him to be taught in Jerusalem? He did not want to think about it. All inquisitive boys wanted to leave Tarsus, sooner or later. The world had more exciting and vital cities, though Tarsus was no mean city. Even Cicero had longed to return to Rome during his governorship.

As the two boys walked toward the lake, Marcus could think and talk of little else but following in the footsteps of his famous uncle. "I can imagine how excited Cicero must have been when his father first told him that Musius Scaevola would accept him as a student. Young Cicero, they said, talked only of being a lawyer. He would gather boys his own age, and play the part of prosecutor. And when he would find the accused boy guilty, he would have his colleagues tie his hands and lead him away to an empty room. They called it the Tullium prison of Rome."

When Saul and Marcus arrived at the lake they walked along the shore, noting the various craft coming and going. There were the merchant ships that came to pick up lumber, flax and textiles. Saul thought of his brief friendship with Damon, wondering if any of the ships belonged to his father. And there were colorful ships of the Roman Navy.

Marcus seemed more intent on lauding the virtues of his great Uncle Cicero. Saul felt subdued by the eagerness of his friend, and became content to listen. They walked along the shore until they reached a quiet place near one of the warehouses. It was closed for the day, and the two boys sat in the entrance.

"When Cicero was my age, he wrote poetry," Marcus continued. "His elders engaged the Greek Archias to teach him, and he wrote several works in tetrameters."

"Can you recall them?" asked Saul.

"I believe his first was Glaucus Pontius."

"Glaucus Pontius," repeated Saul. "There is one I have not read."

"It is about a fisherman changed into a sea god."

"Now that's some interesting nonsense," remarked Saul.

"His second was more serious; about Marius, the famous Roman general. Marius came from the place where Cicero was born, in the Arpinum foothills. Anyway, Cicero's teacher Scaevola was not happy with his spending too much time writing poetry. He told him that if he were to succeed in law, he must refrain from all other detractions. He must forego all social life and other recreations, and give himself without reservation to the study of law."

"Well, did he?" asked Saul.

"He studied day and night. Much of the night, they say, was the study of history and law by the light of a little oil lamp that his brother Quintus had purchased for him on the island of Samos. Our family has that lamp and they show it to me quite often to remind me to be diligent. Cicero also associated with other great men such as Diodotus and Molon. He said he spent much time with them and learned much from them. He sat with men such as Marcus Piso and Quintus Pompeius in preparing speeches that could be delivered dramatically. He said that he benefited from his time with these who were masters of the Greek language. But he did not stop merely with study in such private company. He spent many days in the Forum listening to men like the Tribune Sulpicius Rufus, who delivered almost daily his speeches in the Forum. Cicero wanted to copy his style of oratory.'

"Many of the great orators met in the home of Demetrius the Syrian, and Cicero would join them there in discussions that extended, as he said, 'through the day and often much of the night.' Another man whom Cicero copied was Aurelius Cotta, a man eight years older than he was, who would win the highest accord in the Forum. As Cicero listened to him and his spell-binding oratory, he determined to learn some of his manners. Cotta liked Cicero and contributed much to his future success at the bar. Because people were allowed to freely attend the legal cases tried in the Forum, sometimes the crowds would be so great, it was difficult to hear what the speaker said. Those at a distance had to rely as much on the gestures of the speaker, as his words. So Cicero studied the motions of the great speakers.'

"To improve this technique, he took lessons from the comic actor, Roscius. Then he studied with Arsopus, an actor of tragedy. He imitated the voice of the tragic, and the mimicry of the comedian. He practiced flexibility of voice, pacing, and play of features, without losing dignity of manner and deportment. Poetry was still in his soul, you see? All of these things are the skills of the poet. When training with Roscius, the comic, the two of them would hold contests to see who could best express the thought with only gestures. Year after year, he trained and rehearsed, feeling, as he said, that he was not yet perfect."

"With so much preparation, when did he finally practice in public?"

"He made his first suits judicia privata. He felt it best to try his skills in private cases before attempting a public case at the Forum. But he was 26 years of age when he went before the public. It was against Nevius, who was defended by Hortensius, referred to as the King of the Courts, and at the very peak of his career. Hortensius suddenly realized that he had a formidable opponent. Cicero framed questions with precision. He presented arguments to command the attention of the judge. And he harassed Hortensius, which resulted in his winning the case for his client. Soon, of course, he won fame and fortune, too. That is what I want to do. I want to have many homes, like he had, and you can come visit me in one of them--or all of them"

"I would like that."

"One of Cicero's most charming homes was at Tusculum, only fifteen miles from the Capena Gate of Rome. It was on the eastern slope of one of the mountains of the St. Alban chain. It looked out across the valley, with springs and lakes and the forest-clad slopes of the mountains. The villa, like many Roman villas, had the appearance of a portico. It contained about twenty rooms, opening on a vaulted gallery of about three hundred feet of ornamented columns. Cicero's library in this villa at Tusculum was fashioned after a Greek palaestra, with many statues. Furnishings included, for example, a cedar table valued at 50,000 sesterces. He had other villas like the one at Formiae, valued at 250,000. But the one that cost most was the palace on the Palatine--3,500,000 sesterces. When he bought the palace on the Palatine, he gave his house on the Campus Martius to his brother Quintus."

"He made some powerful enemies with all that wealth and fame."

"He did. But he served in some hard days in Rome. You and I have been blessed with better days."

"True, and sometimes the challenges of peace are more difficult."

"I think you are right. On one occasion there was a plot against the Senate and Cicero helped to expose it. When such a thing was done, Rome demanded a parade. The people needed to have the event stamped on their memories with some kind of ceremony. Cicero understood this well. He led a procession dressed in a purple-bordered toga, mounted on a white horse, along the Clivus Capitolinus where huge crowds could gather to watch. The cheering crowd that surrounded him was so dense the procession could hardly make its way through to the steps leading up to the largest Temple in the city, an edifice dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus. Imagine the grand scene; here, Cicero descended from the horse and offered it as a sacrifice to the gods. Then he ascended three steps as the city echoed with cheers. The waiting consulars rose to receive him, and gave him the title, 'Father of His Country'. Now that is an honor. There is a reason to study hard."

Marcus' voice rose with hypnotic excitement as he seemed to visualize the magnificent scene of his great uncle in this glorious moment. "Some day, Saul, some day I will follow in his footsteps. For now, I will go to Rome and study with the grandson of Scaevola. Don't you wish you were I? Don't you wish you could follow me?"

Saul felt a tugging in opposite directions within. As a Pharisee he could never aspire to such pagan glory. But the power of the oratory of Cicero drew him anyway. "It is your heritage, your path to follow, Marcus," he said, covering his own temptation. "I am glad for you."

Clouds descending on the peaks of the Taurus mountains suddenly blocked out the last rays of the afternoon sun. A chilly breeze began disturbing the surface of the lake and a squall approached. Saul and Marcus quickly arose and started back toward the city.