General Discussion

We traced the quote down to a 1965 fictional novel by Taylor Caldwell called "A Pillar of Iron." On page 661 of the book, it attributes the passage to a speech Cicero made in the Roman Senate in 58 B.C. as "Recorded by Sallust."

While the novel often includes recorded speeches and letters of Cicero, it is a work of fiction, and the passage could not be located in online archives or compiled works of Cicero’s writings and addresses.

Catherine Steel, professor of classics at the University of Glasgow, told PolitiFact she has not come across this quote in any of Cicero’s work.

"I'm not aware that this is translation of any work of Cicero," Steel wrote in an email. "The idea of an internal threat does surface in his speeches against Catiline from 63 B.C., particularly e.g. 2.11, but there aren't any close parallels in terms of language."