Elizabeth I and Cicero: between Clemency and Justice

Abstract

The article focuses on the Elizabeth I’s translation of Cicero’s speech “Pro Marcello” done by the Queen in the 1590s. The English version of his oration is analyzed in the context of Elizabethan political culture. Cicero praised Julius Caesar’s “clementia” towards his political rivals as the most precious moral virtue of a ruler. Textual analysis of Elizabeth’s translation demonstrates its adequacy to the original and the lack of any ideologically motivated censorship. She skillfully used the vocabulary of ciceronian republican discourse widespread in the so called “Elizabethan monarchical republic”. But Elizabeth’s own public rhetoric reveals that among the royal virtues she would give priority to justice over clemency. In her realpolitik the Queen never hesitated to use the sword of justice against her enemies. It seems that the translation of “Pro Marcello” only strengthened her conviction that the ruler’s clemency could undermine his personal security as well as that of the state, and mercy was not the most effective instrument of curbing the political opponents.