Hey all, I've been reading rather a lot about Cicero lately and have recently started a fictional biography by Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron.
What strikes me in this telling is that she portrays Cicero as a sort of proto-Christian. In her foreword, she writes that he was "deeply involved in Judean theology and philosophy, and was well acquainted with...the prophecies of the Messias-to-come, and was a worshipper of the Unknown God."
She also states that "Cicero was particularly struck by...the prophecy of the Messias and the Incarnation of God as man. He was so fascinated, and so hopeful, that many of his letters include speculation on the event".
Now I gather this is all hyperbole at the very least, but she claims all this can be found in Cicero's letters, which she herself translated in the Vatican library.
Is there any truth to this? I've done a bit of research but can't find anything relating Cicero to Judaism. I'd be interested in reading these letters if they really do exist.
Thanks!
100% of that is made-up nonsense. At best, Cicero did not think about Judaism at all; at worst, he attacked the Jews as a people. He never mentions this topic at all, certainly not in any letter, except in two speeches which specifically involved Jews in the city, Pro Flacco and de provinciis consularibus. In both cases, Jewish elements of the population were aligned with his rhetorical opponent, and Cicero always went for the jugular. In his everyday life, he had nothing to do this topic.
See Judaism from Moses to Muhammed, ed. Neusner et al (Brill 2005), 46-48.