Crassus, Pompey, Cicero and their Contemporaries (Extra Credit)
I'm very late getting this posted, so today's blog is optional.Please read Plutarch's account of one of the many "ambitious young men" who lived during what is sometimes called the age of Cicero. Pick out a key line that shows how this man's work might have tended to support or destroy republican government in Rome. Explain why you chose this particular line. Useful are these abridged biographies of Crassus, Cicero, Pompey, Sertorius, Cato the Younger, and Lucullus.
posted by Ancient Art at 2:17 PM
7 Comments:
Cato the Younger was a person that tried to preserve the Roman Republic against the efforts of Caesar and the First Triumvirate.
Cato was a person that took responsibilty seriously. In his biography, Cato, "on his return to Rome he was made quæstor, or public treasurer, but he would not enter upon the office until he had studied its duties, and when he knew them he brought every one to account who had misused the public money, and turned out every servant who did not do his work faithfully and honestly. At first many complained, but they soon found that, although they were not so heavily taxed as before, the state had never been so rich, so they were satisfied, and as time went on there was no man in Rome whom the people trusted as they did Cato."
Cato would undergo training to learn his job, understand it, throw out corrupt people, and gain the trust of the people. That is what a statesman in a democracy should do to serve the people best.
Cato did his best to keep the Roman Republic and prevent tyranny from descending upon the state. However, he was unable to stop Caesar and his successors from becoming the emperor and killing most of democratic components of the Roman Republic.
Pompey stood perfectly still and said nothing; but Crassus advanced towards him, and, holding out his hand, said, "I am not ashamed, fellow-citizens, nor do I think it beneath me, to make the first advances to Pompey, whom you called Great while he was but a beardless youth, and whom you honored with a triumph before he was even senator."
Crassus was once a decent man who paid attention to those who worked for him and built his way up from solider to consul. In the end, you see that his bitterness towards Pompey is the only thing he cares about. His pride keeps him from becoming a better consul and from doing a better job for the Roman people. In the end, it really is Crassus bitterness and pride that is his demise.
The prisoners were not put to death; Pompey, was too humane for that; he gave them small tracts of land in various scantily-populated regions, thus offering them a chance to become honest citizens.
I like this passage because it shows compassion. You do not do evil to those you intend to rule. This set the stage for treatment of conquered lands. The Greeks and other peoples did the same thing in the past but history tends to repeat itself --- the good and the bad.
Cæsar gained most by this league, for it helped him to the very top of the ladder of fame. Pompey agreed to it because he loved power, Crassus because he worshipped gold and saw a way to increase the millions he already had.
This line shows that Crassus was just in it all for the money. Greed is a powerful motive, it is also a powerful foe. Greed can cause people to make rash and bad decisions. They focus ont he prize, not the methods of getting to the prize. I truly believe that if Crassus had focused on the means of getting into Syria and if he had made the correct tactical decisions he would not have met the end that he did.
"But Crassus had two grave faults: he was avaricious and covetous; so when Pompey was honored with a triumph, it made him very angry because he did not also get one."
This is a good thing to know about Crassus because any man that has these two traits is not going to be one you want running the governemnet. The biography on Crassus says that he wanted glory and gold so much that when fighting a war, he basically lost because he was too busy trying to fatten his pockets than keeping his troops well disciplined. THe Republic of Rome was already suffering because the senators cared nothing for the good of Rome. THey cared only for what would benefit them and make them rich. Crassus is basically no better than the senators. He is all about what will benefot him and increase his wealth, which can help contribiute to the further decay of the republic.
I feel that this passage about Cato the YOunger shows that he wanted the Republic to succeed: "He succeeded in putting a stop to the bribery in this way: a certain sum of money was collected, and it was agreed that the candidates for office should use it in canvassing for votes, but if any man were found guilty of having offered a bribe, all the votes he brought in were to be destroyed."
I think that this shows that he wanted the government to be run fairly. HE showed that he wanted the republic to succeed to helping ensure that votes were earned, not bought.
Rumors had reached Rome that Pompey was coming back with a powerful army for the purpose of establishing himself as sole ruler. But as soon as he landed in Italy he mustered his soldiers, [391] bade each farewell, and sent him home, only requesting that none would fail to take part in his triumph. Then he went to Rome as a private citizen, and the whole city turned out to meet him with loud shouts of greeting.
I choose this line because if you had that big of an army and you could march on rome specially when there was rumors that you would do. Then you get of the ship and you bide everyone of those soldiers goodbye and then you go to rome as private citizen also you ask all your soldiers to join in the festivals. to me this is an act of a man that believes in the system of government that they had at the time and was not willing to compromise it even to better himself.
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