From Marcus Tullius Cicero to Manuel Antonio Carreño: A study on the life ideals of the elites in three moments of history

Abstract

The present article proposes to search for traces of De Oficiis or Teatry of Duties of Marco Tulio Cicero in certain key moments of History. It emphasizes the moment in which the protagonists conceived an archetype of man that had an ideal of life, according to this archetype, which was shaped by a determined way of social behavior. For this aim two modern books that deal with good manners and good customs were selected. These books were Erasmo of Rotterdam's De Civilitate Morum Puerilium and The Letters of Lord Chesterfield to His Son, both written in the XVIII century. Finally, this work centres on The Manual of Urbanity and Good Manners of the Venezuelan author Manuel Antonio Carreño, who expressed the ideal of life for the elite of young Spanish American nations. Thus, the final aim of this article is to contrast this book with ciceronian writing.