Never mind the Ides of March. These days, we must beware the so-called information on the internet!

A friend of mine re-posted something yesterday that she had read and appreciated. It was an alleged quote by the “Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer, and Academic skeptic” (whew!), Marcus Tullius Cicero. And when I read it, it spoke to me and I decided to pass it on today. But first I checked, as I always do, to be sure I was quoting it correctly.

And it turned out that Cicero didn’t say it at all.

I know it’s disappointing, and incredibly difficult to believe, but we must face the fact that not everything we read on the internet is true and correct, no matter how real it may seem.

This particular writing — which sounds as though it may indeed have been issued by an ancient Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar . . . well, all those other things — actually came from the pen of 20th-century author Taylor Caldwell in her novel about Cicero, “A Pillar of Iron.” Apparently, on page 661 of the book (depending, I suppose, on whether you have the hard-cover, paperback, or digital version), Ms. Caldwell attributes the passage to a speech allegedly made by Cicero in the Roman Senate in 58 B.C., as “Recorded by Sallust.” [Samantha Putterman, Politifact, May 3, 2019.]

Of course, I only have Ms. Putterman’s word for that. But regardless of who said it first — a 2,000-year-old Roman genius, or a prolific American novelist — the statement bears repeating. So here it is:

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. For the traitor appears not a traitor — He speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation — he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city — he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared.”

Disclaimer: Any similarity to living persons is purely coincidental. But wow! It sure sounds like someone we all know.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/14/25