Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on 3 January 106 BC in Arpinum, a hill town southeast of Rome. He was a statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator and writer, and as consul in 63 BC he suppressed the conspiracy of Catiline.
In October and November of 44 BC, in under four weeks, he wrote De Officiis (On Duties), three books on how to live and meet one’s moral obligations, in the form of a letter to his son. It later became a moral authority in the Middle Ages and a standard school text. He was killed on 7 December 43 BC, at Formiae, on the orders of Mark Antony.