The contextual analysis of Cicero's concept of crudelitas

The article is devoted to the analysis of the concept of crudelitas and its derivatives ( crudelis, crudeliter ) in Cicero’s writings, its compatibility with the words which denote vices, crimes, virtues and other phenomena of social and political life, the study of its semantic environment in which it is used in Cicero’s works, in the invectives in particular. It is concluded that crudelitas is often used in the synonymic series with the words that mean crimes ( scelus, nefarium, crimen, facinus, flagitium, injuria, etc.), vices of cruel rulers and tyrants ( libido, cupiditas, audacia, superbia, immanitas, improbitas, avaritia, etc.), it is also combined with the word bellum in the military-political discourse. The concept is opposed to moral beauty, virtues ( virtus, honestas / honestum, misericordia, clementia, diligentia, innocentia, beneficium, humanitas, fortitudo, constantia, mansuetudo, magnitudo animi, probitas, etc.), positively connotated political and juridical categories ( auctoritas, consilium, judicium, dignitas, salus, lex, potestas imperium, etc.).