De Imperio Cn. Pompei

During his praetorship, he delivered a major political speech supporting a proposal to give Pompey extraordinary military authority against King Mithridates VI of Pontus.

The speech, commonly known as Pro Lege Manilia, helped associate Cicero with Pompey, who was quickly becoming Rome's most celebrated general.

The political challenges that Cicero faced were unusual for Rome at the time.

He lacked the ancient family connections that normally helped aristocratic candidates achieve high office.

His own soldiers, tired of their protracted absence, mutinied against him, and Glabrio, a later consul, who had been sent to take the command out of his hands, had feared to encounter the difficulty.

It was essential that something should be done, and one Manilius, a tribune, a man of no repute himself, but whose name has descended to all posterity in the oration Pro Lege Manilia, proposed to the people that Pompey should have the command.

Then Cicero first entered, as we may say, on political life.

Though he had been quaestor and aedile, and was now a praetor, he had taken a part only in executive administration.

But this he had done as an advocate, and had interfered only as a barrister of today might do who, in arguing a case before the judges, should make an attack on some alleged misuse of patronage.

Now, for the first time, he made a political harangue, addressing the people in a public meeting from the rostra.

This speech is the oration Pro Lege Manilia.

This he explains in his first words.