While Cicero's use of Greek has been the subject of a number of studies, scholars have generally ignored his use of politikos . Most assume that Cicero simply utilized the Platonic definition of the word. However, an investigation of Cicero's use of politikos and its derivatives reveals a much more nuanced meaning, one that is particularly suited to the political situation of the late republic. As opposed to being a ruler, as in Plato, the Ciceronian politikos holds no permanent position within the state, and his only purpose is to resolve temporary crises in the functioning of the state.

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This paper examines the intricate relationship between De Senectute and the Second Philippic, arguing that De Senectute is an important lens through which to read the Second Philippic. When Cicero decided on irrevocable opposition to Antony, the moral and political theorizing about the role of senes (literally, ‘old men/elders’) in the state found in De Senectute provided a convenient and topical framework for synthesizing the invective of the Second Philippic. A close reading of De Senectute with the Second Philippic demonstrates that the philosophical thinking of De Senectute informed Cicero’s political persona in the Second Philippic and establishes the Second Philippic as the intellectual successor to De Senectute.