Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, and philosopher famous as one of history's greatest public speakers. He served as a Roman consul, wrote extensively about ethics, government, and rhetoric, and worked to defend the Roman Republic against those trying to seize absolute power. Many of his letters and speeches survive today and are still studied as models of persuasive writing, and in translating Greek philosophy into Latin he coined or popularized many words still used in English today, including "quality," "moral," and "humanity."