Culture/History: Political climate of the Late Republic
Grammar: Subjunctive with verbs of fearing
The period of unrest at the end of the Roman Republic began with the wars between Marius and Sulla. But throughout Roman history a military career had been as important for political success as a good education and family connections. These are not necessarily bad credentials, but too often the successful generals relied on violence for their success. Their military skills didn't guarantee their interest in the common good. Armies were more loyal to their commanders than to the Republic, and their leaders used them to fight against fellow Romans instead of a common enemy. True, there were campaigns to subdue King Mithridates or the pirates, but most wars of this time against non-Romans were intended to increase the bounty available to a conquering army and thus keep it faithful to its general. Plutarch --as translated by Rex Warner -- explained the generals' predicament thus:
The generals of this period were men who had risen to the top by violence rather than by merit. They needed armies to fight against one another rather than against a common public enemy. And so they were forced to combine the arts of the politician and the authority of the general. They spent money making life easy for their soldiers, and then, after purchasing their labor in this way, failed to observe that they had made their whole country a thing for sale and had put themselves in a position where they had to be slaves of the worst sort of people in order to become masters of the better.
Who were these men who drew Rome into a second civil war? Both were good generals, both had the respect of their armies, and both had huge egos.
Caesar (100-44 BC) rose to power in a noble but relatively poor family. His father had been a respected general. He could trace his ancestry to Aeneas. His aunt had married Marius, and his first wife was the daughter of Cinna. Thus, by family connections he was a member of the Populares party. His intelligence and people skills endeared him to many but also created provoked much jealousy. Prior to the outbreak of the civil war, he had campaigned in Gaul for seven years, where he was faced with a united group of tribes under the leadership of Vercingetorix. It was a formidable campaign and Caesar made the most of his victory. He now commanded the financial resources to pay off his debts and purchase the loyalty of certain senators. But he also incurred the jealousy of many in the Senate who, by virtue of their wealth, were members of the Optimates party.
Pompey (106-48 BC) also was the son of a general. When his father died the young Pompey commanded three legions from his home state of Picenum to fight alongside Sulla in 83 BC. Pompey was a very good military tactician and, like Caesar, he also had a huge ego (one story has it that he himself selected the surname of Magnus). Many in the Senate viewed him as a safe ally because he was so young. They gave him many opportunities to prove his skills and allowed him to circumvent the Cursus Honorum in becoming co-consul with Crassus in 70 BC. Not only was he below the minimum age, he had not served in the prerequisite lesser offices.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was an inveterate letter writer. Over a 25-year period he wrote to his wife, children and brother from his exile and also to his trusted slave Tiro. He wrote most often to his friend Atticus who, together with TIro, saved much of the correspondence. More than 800 surviving letters allow us the benefit not only of his excellent style and use of the Latin language but also an excellent view -- prejudiced though it might be -- of the dramatic events in the civil war between Pompey and Caesar.
Cicero was a novus homo, meaning that he was the first in his family to serve in the Senate. He was allied with the Optimates, in whom he saw a hope for retaining the Republic and restoring it to its earlier strength. Cicero was caught in the middle of the civil war. He respected the abilities and skills of both men but feared for the Republic under Caesar's control. Pompey had assisted in his recall from exile in 57 BC, and his son Marcus was serving in Pompey's army at the time of the letter to his wife Terentia. Cicero was, however, concerned whether Pompey was making proper decisions that would win the war.
Cicero divorced Terentia after a 30-year marriage. Terentia was reputed to have been a demanding person. In her defense, it was she who maintained their finances so that Cicero, who did not attend to affairs on the family's estates, could enjoy a life of writing and reading.
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Alea acta est. -- Caesar, on crossing the Rubicon river
Cedant arma togae. -- Cicero, De Consultatu Suo
J. Jahnige, September 2003
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