TOW #17 The Defense of Injustice by Cicero

     The battle between justice and injustice has been raging in the morals of man since the beginning of time.  A great piece of work that demonstrates the ongoing debate is the work of Cicero in the work titled The Defense of Injustice Marcus Tullius. Cicero lived through the most treacherous times at the height of Roman Empire. He was not only a writer but also a lawyer and politician. Cicero is a person in history who has been praised for his skillful rhetoric. While The Defense of Injustice was filled with marvelous strategies the one that had the most impact on proving the purpose was the structure of the essay.  The essay was set up in the dialogue with two speakers: Laelius and Philius. In the manuscript Laelius challenges Philius to make an argument against justice. Philius then goes on a whole speech that makes injustice seem like it makes sense and that we can never have a world where everyone is just to one another and follows the same rules. Laelius then comes back and shuts down the argument with some great arguments on how everyone follows the same basic rules of justice and how “there will not be different laws now and in the future” (24).  Since the essay is set up in a conversational structure it makes the ideas of the essay flow effortlessly. The structure also allows for a strong counter argument aspect that makes the whole purpose more valid. Philius’s argument is quite convincing but by having the conversation end with Laelius refuting the arguments it makes the writing solid. All of Cicero’s strategies go towards proving the purpose which is to show how the laws of justice are rooted in the laws of nature. The essay did prove its purpose in my own opinion. I find it pretty amazing how even today most of what was written still applies. It is a piece of work that should be studied for its rhetoric and ideas.