is a speech delivered by Cicero in defense of Lucius Licinius Murena. The speech can be dated to late November of 63 BCE.
Cicero was one of the consuls for that year, and during his term he was preoccupied chiefly with suppressing a conspiracy to overthrow the republic, led by Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline). In the midst of growing alarm over Catiline’s evident intentions, four candidates stood for the next year’s consulship. Murena was one of the victors. The defeated candidates were Catiline and Servius Sulpicius Rufus. Marcus Porcius Cato, a rising political star with a reputation for unbending rectitude, had declared before the elections that he would prosecute anyone he believed to have violated the laws against electoral misconduct, or ambitus (Plutarch, Cato Minor
1240 words
Citation: Seal, Carey. "Pro Murena". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 August 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=20489, accessed 25 November 2024.]
