I would forgive him if he were merely bloviating, but there’s fairly good evidence now that his early legal speeches weren’t as trenchant in their criticism of

I would forgive him if he were merely bloviating, but there’s fairly good evidence now that his early legal speeches weren’t as trenchant in their criticism of Sulla as he liked to make out, and his voting record is often him upholding Sullan constitutional reforms. So it’s hard to buy him as the fierce opponent of despots that he clearly wanted to be seen as. And I find it almost impossible to to swallow his account (and let’s be clear it’s his account alone) of the Catiline conspiracy, and even if you do, again here the arch defender of the Roman constitution has it suspended so he can commit extra judicial murders. He did real harm to the Republic at a time he could have had huge influence. I’ve always felt there were strong parallels with Pompey. They both just wanted to be loved and accepted by the aristocracy and so were easily captured for their very obvious talents. But he just spent so long blowing in the wind that I’m baffled by the popular historical perception of him. Cato, who I think is by far a bigger bastard, was at least consistent in his own self interest. Anyway, fascinating period to study.