Moral Decline Of The Roman Republic Essay Example For Students

Moral Decline Of The Roman Republic Essay An Exploration of Sallusts and Plutarchs View of the Jamie NeufeldST# 864583For: L. FoleyClass. 111.3 (08)Though there are varied dates as to the time that the Roman Republic stood, it is agreedupon as lasting approximately 500 years. During the last century of its existence (133 BC-27 BC) there were the many violent years of The Civil Wars and much social strife. Thoughthe end result of these final years of the res publica was the adoption of an Emperor andthe birth of the Roman Empire, the focus of this paper will be the presentation of thenature of tensions at the end of the res publica using selections from Sallust and Plutarchas a basis. Sallust and Plutarch, while coming from different worlds and living different lives werevery much alike in the thoughts that they presented in their writing on the fall of theRoman Republic. Sallust was an active individual in Roman politics during the Republicsdecline. He was a tribune in 52 BC who was kicked out of the Senate amid allegations ofimmorality. In 49 BC Sallust was in command of one of Julius Caesars legions and waselected to Praetor in 47 BC. Taking part in the African Campaign earned him thegovernorship of Numidia in. Upon his return to Rome in the early 40s BC however he wascharged with extortion, only to be released by Caesar. At this point in his life he decidedto become a writer of history and lived a quiet life doing that. Plutarchs life was verymuch different form Sallusts. Born in Chaeronea he remained there for much of his life. His last 30 years he spent as a Priest at Delphi. There he was a devout believer in theancient pieties and a profound student of its antiquities. The only involvement in politicsat the time were stories that he was a man of influence and rumors of a governmental officebeing bestowed upon him by both Hadrian and Trajan. Despite the differences in their livesand backgrounds, their surviving literature has a basic underlying similarity; that beingmorality. To be more specific, the lack of morality on the part of the rulers of Romeduring the last century of the Republic. In the following essay I will show examples of howSallust and Plutarch point out again and again the lack of morality in the characters aboutwhom they write in reference to the decline of the Roman Republic. Sallust begins his Bellum Catalinae by telling us how the Roman Republic was built. Heshows us that the people put aside their differences and kept their common goal, peace, inmind. According to the version I have heard, in the beginning the Trojans who were wanderingin exile without a fixed home under the leadership of Aeneas founded and controlled the cityof Rome as a free and independent Republic along with the indigenous people, A primitivetribe of men without laws or organized government. It is remarkable how easily these twopeoples united after they had been gathered together in one community in the light of theirdifferences in race and in language and the disparity in the way in which each of themlived: in a short time a diverse and nomadic mass of people was transformed by harmony intoa Republic. Later after the Republic had grown in population, institutions and territoryand seemed to be sufficient in prosperity and strength then, as happens in most humanaffairs, envy grew ou t of success.1Clearly Sallust is setting up some contrast from what was good and right to what will becomethe Republics demise. At the end of the passage above Sallust points out as happens inmost human affairs, envy grew out of success. This idea is presented again later whenSallust writes: the rule of the Kings of which the original purpose had to protect theliberty and to strengthen the Republic turned into pride and tyranny 2 He isreiterating the fact that the agenda of the Kings had changed over time from one that wasmorally good to one that was mainly concerned with themselves and no longer with the wellbeing of the Republic. The Downfall Of China EssayPlutarch provides us with a glimpse of the depth to which Rome an Antony have fallen. Herelates the story of Dolbella where Antony goes straight from the Senate to murder Dolbella. Antony, backed by a vote of the Senate that Dolbella should be put down by force of arms,went down and attacked him, killing some of his and losing some of his own men;Rome has become a place where the Senate deciding the fate of common men or breaking up andturning into a lynch mob is not uncommon. The Gracchi for example were pursued andeventually were no longer living as a direct result of a decision made within the Senate. This is not what the founders of the Republic had in mind I am sure. Both Sallust and Plutarch come across trying to live their lives right. Plutarch shows thisby living as a Priest at Delphi and sternly believing in the ways and rites that such a lifeinvolved. When you consider that this was a way of life for him for 30 years, you have toaccept the fact that he lived a moral life. Sallust on the other hand displays moralbeliefs through his writings. He lived a public life, though by all accounts a prosperouspublic life, and his writings can be interpreted as h is reaction to the way that things arein the Republic at the time of his writing. It is clear that both Sallust and Plutarch holdthe view that good old-fashioned morality is a good thing. In their writings they portraythe founders of The Republic as possessing this morality. It was the pietas, virtus,clementia, and iustitia that the founders of the Republic possessed that built the respublica against all odds. Also in their writings they choose to make the founders of theEmpire (and therefore killers of the Republic) as people who lack these very same morals. 1 Sallust, Bellum Catalinae. Taken from Roman Civilization SupplementaryReadings, sec. VI, p. 30. 2 Ibid. sec VI, p. 30. 3 Sallust, Bellum Catalinae. Taken fromRoman Civilization Supplementary Readings, sec. XIV, p. 31. 4 Ibid. sec. IX, p. 31. 5 Ibid. sec. X, p. 31. 6 Plutarch, Antony. Taken from Roman Civilization Supplementary Readings, paragraph 1, p. 107. 7 Sallust, Bellum Catalinae. Takenfrom Roman Civilization Supplementary Readings, sec. IX, p. 31. 8Plutarch, Antony. Taken from Roman Civilization Supplementary Readings,paragraph 1, p. 107. 9 Ibid. p. 115. All biographical information on Sallust and Plutarch taken from:The Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard.