VIII of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1919. Of 03 Plutarch's Suicide of Cato the Youngerįrom "The Parallel Lives," by Plutarch published in Vol. And he was a stoic whose death was not as calm and collected as a Stoic would hope. He was a paradox, who strove to become self-sufficient but desperately sought to affirm his identity by cultivating the love and respect of his half-brother, and the citizens of Rome. He was slow to anger but then implacable, inexorable. He was harsh and hostile to those who tried to flatter or frighten him, and he seldom laughed or smiled. Plutarch described Cato as an inflexible, imperturbable and altogether steadfast, but prone to childish pastimes. Although Cato has prepared himself and is reading a quiet text by Plato, he loses his cool in his final hours, succumbing to emotional outbursts and violence. If the Stoic life of a philosopher is to be in harmony with his logos, then Cato's suicide is not a philosopher's death. Sketch by the author.The oddness of the Cato's suicide has been noted by several scholars who compare Plutarch's description of the man as the quintessential Stoic in contrast to Plutarch's bloody and tortuous death. His tools and a door lock are shown to the right. In this field as well, the Roman engineers and craftsmen demonstrated superb innovativeness. The excess capital also led to a need for burglarproof storage. Huge amounts of wealth accumulated in Rome and other cities. Domestic trade was conducted via an extensive network of excellent roads leading to all parts of the empire. The raw materials, such as living animals, came from surrounding farms. Much of the manufacturing of consumer goods also took place in the cities. The local wine production was particularly profitable. Raw materials were bought from all parts of the empire and sold to artisans on the local market. Both slaves and free men worked in the workshops. The craftsmen were organized in collegia, which spread through Byzantium to become the guilds that arose in Medieval Europe. Their knowledge was passed along to professional craftspeople with their own workshops in the cities. They created and utilized tools and instruments with qualities that are still used in our day. They not only planned cities, they built buildings, roads, aqueducts, bridges, ports, ships, walls, sports arenas and much more. They demonstrated technical skills never before seen in history. The Romans were extremely practical and the Roman Empire was built and developed to a large degree thanks to skilled engineers and architects. The city was a physical manifestation of the social and financial powers at work there. Rome was a strict class society with extreme financial differences between slaves, plebians and patricians.Ī Roman city provided many services for its residents. They also built theaters and amphitheaters to entertain the masses. The emperors tried to outdo each other in building giant baths and numerous temples for rites. During the years after the death of Augustus, the Roman Empire went through constant power struggles. The seventh and eighth months in our Julian calendar are still named in honor of the memory of Julius Caesar, July, and Augustus, August.ĭuring the first 200 years the Romans lived in relative peace around the Mediterranean (known as the Pax Augusta) while the armies fought endless battles on the frontiers. During his reign the seeds of Christianity were sown. He became a dictator with practically unchecked power in the name of the people. After Antony’s death, this Octavius found himself with all power in his hands and took the name Augustus – Majestic – with the aim of finding a way of ruling the empire. He was the son of Julius Caesar’s niece, was adopted by him and became his heir. The first of a long series of emperors was Gaius Octavius Thurinus (63 BC–14 AD). The over 500-year-old city of Rome was the seat of the government and had become the center of the western world. With the murder of Gaius Julius Caesar (100 or 102–44 BC) and the suicides of Antony (83–30 BC) and Cleopatra (68–30 BC) the Republic had been lost. Cicero (106–43 BC) had been murdered, Cato the Younger (95–46 BC) had committed suicide. Carthage was also defeated and eliminated, Greece and all of its colonies had been conquered and their culture had been adopted as a national model. At the beginning of the Principate, the Etruscans had long been defeated and integrated into the population.
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