At one stage, Julius Caesar had to hide in a different place every night from the secret police of the dictator, Sulla, who, when he at last gave way to the eminent men who had pleaded Caesar's case, warned them:
"'There are many Mariuses in this fellow Caesar.'"
-Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars (London, 2007), p. 1.
As another point of interest, one woman, Julia, was the wife of Marius and an aunt of Caesar.
While we live, we learn.
4 comments:
Well, the Roman aristos regarded Marius as dangerous -- the lower classes rather liked him. We get a consistently upper-class Roman view of politics in the late Republic, mostly.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, and Marius held power as consul for an unprecedented stint of six one-year terms successively because of that popular support.
I think Julius Caesar was a far abler man than his uncle by marriage. But his great weakness was too openly craving the symbols of power after triumphing over his enemies. His grandnephew Octavian was wiser, with his soothing palaver about "restoring the Republic."
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: yeah, everyone knew it was bunkum, but it gave a graceful "out".
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Exactly, Octavian understood the need, value, and uses of hypocrisy and face saving.
Ad astra! Sean
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