A description allegedly proposed by an ancient philosopher of how some people live at the expense of others is spreading on social networks. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
The text that gains popularity on social networks usually looks like this:
“Marcus Tulius Cicero wrote:
Poor: works and works.
Rich man: exploits the poor.
Soldier: protects both.
Taxpayer: pays for all three.
Banker: Robs all four.
Lawyer: deceives all five.
Doctor: bills all six.
Rogue: Intimidates all seven.
Politician: lives happily at the expense of all eight.
Written in 43 BC. e., but still relevant today"
This supposed quote from an ancient philosopher is published by users "VKontakte", Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pikabu, YouTube and other platforms.
Judging by Google search results, the list allegedly compiled by Cicero was not widely known until the fall of 2021, when publications began appearing on the site "IDAPrikol" and on social networks. Earlier mentions are quite rare: for example, in April a quote appeared on the website Smart-Lab, and in 2017 - on the portal "Out of town". At the same time, the search results did not contain any references to collections of texts by Cicero, studies by specialists in ancient philosophy, or any authoritative or simply thematic sources in general.
Where before, the list attributed to Cicero spread abroad - so much so that back in 2016, viral publications disassembled American fact-checking project Snopes, and two years later this done our Australian colleagues from the AAP. According to them, for the first time the list presented as a quote from an ancient philosopher in 2012 on a forum associated with the movement Occupy Wall Street. By the way, then it had not eight, but 11 points. In the Russian version, the wanderer, the drunk and the undertaker are missing.
Snopes and AAP could not find any mention of this quote in the texts of the ancient author known to scholars. They also emphasize that Cicero himself actively was studying jurisprudence and politics, so it is unlikely that he openly opposed his colleagues in the shop. Our fellow fact-checkers describe the language of this text as overly modern, from which they conclude that we are not dealing with a genuine quote, but with “the invention of some anonymous Internet joker.”
The authenticity of the statements attributed to Cicero is also refuted by historians. Expert on the biography and legacy of the philosopher John Hall confirmed fact-checkers' guess that the style of the text does not coincide with the works of the ancient author, and also reported that Cicero held different views: “It seems to me that someone [else] came up with such a cynical view of the world. By hanging it on Cicero, he seemed to give him a touch of either authority or longevity.” Your colleague's position supported and antiquity scholar Sean McConnell.
In 2021, the American fact-checking project CheckYourFact will also disassembled saying attributed to Cicero. Our colleagues interviewed several prominent American experts at once: Professor Clifford Ando from the University of Chicago, Professor T. Corey Brennan from Rutgers University and Professor Anne Carol Vasili from Boston University. They all expressed confidence that Cicero had nothing to do with the viral list.
Thus, the viral quote has nothing to do with Cicero; it is not in any of the works of the ancient philosopher. Experts in Antiquity deny the authenticity of such an attribution, and fellow fact-checkers point out that the unusual hierarchy was first associated with Cicero only in 2012 on a regular forum.
Fake
- Snopes. Cicero's View of Life
- AAP. Marcus Cicero wrote many pithy quotes – but not the ones in this meme
- CheckYourFact. Fact Check: Did Cicero write these 9 observations about Roman Society?
- Did Cicero say: “The closer the collapse of the empire, the crazier its laws”?
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