Intelligent people praised or criticized him in varying terms. One opinion was as follows. Filial duty and a national emergency, in which there was no place for law-abiding conduct, had driven him to civil war—and this can be neither initiated nor maintained by decent methods. He had made many concessions to Antony and to Lepidus for the sake of vengeance on his father’s murderers. When Lepidus grew old and lazy, and Antony’s self-indulgence got the better of him, the only possible cure for the distracted country had been government by one man. However, Augustus had put the state in order not by making himself king or dictator, but by creating the Principate. The empire’s frontiers were on the ocean, or distant rivers. Armies, provinces, fleets, the whole system was interrelated. Roman citizens were protected by the law. Provincials were decently treated. Rome itself had been lavishly beautified. Force had been sparingly used—merely to preserve peace for the majority.
According to a second and opposing opinion, “filial duty and national crisis had been merely pretexts. In actual fact, the motive of Octavian, the future Augustus, was lust for power…. There had certainly been peace, but it was a blood-stained peace of disasters and assassinations.”
Down the centuries, judgments have oscillated between these poles. But opposites do not have to be mutually exclusive, and we are not obliged to choose one or the other. The story of his career shows that Augustus was indeed ruthless, cruel, and ambitious for himself. This was only in part a personal trait, for upper-class Romans were educated to compete with one another and to excel. However, he combined an overriding concern for his personal interests with a deep-seated patriotism, based on a nostalgic idea of Rome’s antique virtues. In his capacity as princeps, selfishness and selflessness were elided in his mind.
While fighting for dominance, he paid little attention to legality or to the normal civilities of political life. He was devious, untrustworthy, and bloodthirsty. But once he had established his authority, he governed efficiently and justly, generally allowed freedom of speech, and promoted the rule of law. He was immensely hardworking and tried as hard as any democratic parliamentarian to treat his senatorial colleagues with respect and sensitivity. He suffered from no delusions of grandeur.
Augustus lacked the flair of his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, but he possessed one valuable quality to which Caesar could not lay claim: patience. He had the practical common sense of an Italian country gentleman, for it was from that stock that he grew. He made haste slowly, seeking permanent solutions rather than easy answers. He did not revel in power; he sought to understand it. Plutarch has an anecdote that sums up Augustus’ approach to his responsibilities. Hearing that Alexander the Great had been at a loss about what to do next after his vast conquests, the princeps remarked: “I am surprised the king did not realize that a far harder task than winning an empire is putting it into order once you have won it.”
Perhaps the most instructive aspect of Augustus’ approach to politics was his twin recognition that in the long run power was unsustainable without consent, and that consent could best be won by associating radical constitutional change with a traditional and moralizing ideology.
And what of the man himself? His public persona, the imperturbably calm young man of the statues, is unrevealing—to borrow Tennyson’s phrase, “faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null.” But luckily some of the ancient literary sources—above all, Suetonius—reveal the princeps in undress. Here is someone who loved his sister and spent fifty years happily married to his childless wife. In his personal life, he was not greatly interested in appearances, was a good friend, and had a self-deprecating sense of humor and sound judgment. It is impossible not to warm to the old man who adored his “little donkey” Gaius, and to sense the depth of his tragedy when, in their various ways, his closest relatives turned their backs on him—all except Livia.
The contrast between the splendor of state ceremonial and Rome’s restored monumental center, on the one hand, and Augustus’ austere lifestyle on the other, was, of course, a conscious policy, which magnified Rome while seeking to counter individual decadence. It would appear, though, that his simple habits had a basis in modest personal tastes.
Of course, there were two sides to Augustus’ personality, which looked Janus-like in opposing directions: the affectionate family man was also the ancient lecher; the plain-living Roman built a secret holiday palazzo; loyal to his intimates, he was blind to their excesses and sometimes criminal failings; the loving parent with high expectations sometimes behaved like a demanding bully who insisted on having his own way; the cultivated patron of the arts could be a heartless killer when crossed in politics.
One senses, above all, that the suppression of ordinary human emotions which his public duties demanded of the princeps pulled against deep and powerful currents of feeling for those closest to him. This internal struggle may have fueled the fury with which he reacted to betrayals of trust.
But for all his flaws, the balance sheet ends in credit. For the most part, the private man lived decently according to the standards of the time, and the public man did terrible things, but usually for the public good.
It is argued that Augustus was merely the last in a line of unruly, Republic-busting dynasts who came and went throughout the first century B.C. Like a surfer, he rode a wave of change that was already rolling.
There is something in this. If the Actium campaign had had a different outcome, the trend toward autocracy might well have continued unabated. But would the careless and unfocused Antony have been able to build such an enduring edifice? One doubts it.
Augustus once wrote in an edict: “May I achieve the reward to which I aspire…of carrying with me, when I die, the hope that these foundations I have established for the state will abide secure.” His hope was fulfilled. Of all Rome’s emperors, he reigned the longest; and his work lasted, with modifications, for many generations. His successors all called themselves Augustus and cited his example (however differently they in fact behaved). State institutions continued to evolve in ways he did not predict, but in the main along the lines he set down.
Augustus devoted his long reign to perfecting and implementing two core policies—constitutional reform, and imperial expansion under one-man rule. But no less important was his management of the provinces. Working with his friend and partner, Agrippa, he spent many years touring the empire. He disciplined, if he did not entirely eliminate, the rapacity of imperial proconsuls; he encouraged urbanization and the Roman way of life; and he extended Roman citizenship to many thousands of provincials throughout the empire.
This had a hugely important consequence. It generated loyalty and gratitude to Rome. It made people feel that they were not victims of the empire, but its stakeholders. They were members of an imperial commonwealth. It was this shared consciousness that helped to bind Europe and the lands of the Mediterranean basin together for half a millennium and more.
How many statesmen in human history can lay claim to such a record of enduring achievement?
NOTES
* * *
ABBREVIATIONS
Full publication data for modern works appears in the Sources section.
Aesch Prom
Aeschylus, Prometheus Unbound
App
Appian, Civil Wars
Res Gest
Augustus, Res Gestae
Barrett
Anthony A. Barrett, Livia
Aul Gell
Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae
Caes Gall
Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War
Carcopino
Jérôme Carcopino, Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Carter
J. M. Carter, The Battle of Actium
CAH
Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 10
Old CAH
Cambridge Ancient History (1923–1939), vol. 10
Castle
E. B. Castle, Ancient Education and Today
Dio
&n
bsp; Cassius Dio, Roman History
Celsus
Celsus, De Medicina
Cic Att
Cicero, Letters to Atticus
Cic Brut
Cicero, Letters to Brutus
Cic De Or
Cicero, De Oratore
Cic Fam
Cicero, Letters to His Friends [ad Familiares]
Cic Phil
Cicero, Philippics
Connolly and Dodge
Peter Connolly and Hazel Dodge, The Ancient City, Life in Classical Athens and Rome
CIL
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
Dupont
Florence Dupont, Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Florus
Florus, Epitome of Roman History
Fuller
J.F.C. Fuller, The Decisive Battles of the Ancient World and Their Influence on History
Grant Cleo
Michael Grant, Cleopatra
Grant Glad
Michael Grant, Gladiators: The Bloody Truth
Green
Peter Green, From Alexander to Actium
Green Erot
Peter Green (trans.), Ovid, The Erotic Poems
Hom Il
Homer, Iliad
Hom Od
Homer, Odyssey
van Hoof
Anton van Hoof, Autothanasia to Suicide: Self-killing in Classical Antiquity
Hor Cent
Horace, Centennial Hymn
Hor Ep
Horace, Epistles
Hor Odes
Horace, Odes
Hor Sat
Horace, Satires
ILS
Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, ed. H. Dessau
Jackson
Ralph Jackson, Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire
Jos Ant
Josephus, Antiquities
Levick
Barbara Levick, Tiberius the Politician
Livy Per
Livy, Periochae
Livy
Livy, Preface
Macr
Macrobius, Saturnalia
Mart
Martial, Epigrams
Meijer
Fik Meijer, The Gladiators
Men Double
Menander, The Double Deceiver
Nic
Nicolaus, Life of Augustus
Ovid Am
Ovid, Amores
Ovid Ars Am
Ovid, Ars Amatoria
Ovid Pont
Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto
Ovid Trist
Ovid, Tristia
Pliny
Pliny, Naturalis Historia
Plut Apo reg et imp
Plutarch, Moralia, Apophthegmata regum et imperatorum
Plut Aem Pau
Plutarch, Aemilius Paullus
Plut Ant Comp
Plutarch, Antony and Demetrius Comparison
Plut Brut
Plutarch, Brutus
Plut Cat Maj
Plutarch, Cato the Elder [Cato Major]
Plut Cat Min
Plutarch, Cato the Younger [Cato Minor]
Plut Cic
Plutarch, Cicero
Plut Ant
Plutarch, Mark Antony
Plut T & C Grac
Plutarch, Tiberius and Caius Gracchus
Plut Pomp
Plutarch, Pompey the Great
Powell/Welch
A. Powell and K. Welch, eds., Sextus Pompeius
Prop
Propertius, Carmina
Quint Inst Or
Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria
Sall Bell Cat
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae
Sen Contr 10 Praef
Seneca the Elder, Controversiae 10 Praefatio
Sen Suas
Seneca the Elder, Suasoriae
Sen Ep
Seneca the Younger, Epistles
Sen Clem
Seneca the Younger, De Clementia
Serv Ad Aen
Servius, Ad Aeneidem
Stambaugh
John E. Stambaugh, The Ancient Roman City
Strabo
Strabo, Geography
Suet Aug
Suetonius, Life of Augustus
Suet Clau
————, Life of Claudius
Suet De Vir Ill
————, On Famous Men
Suet Gaius
————, Life of Gaius
Suet Galb
————, Life of Galba
Suet Caes
————, Life of Julius Caesar
Suet Nero
————, Life of Nero
Suet Tib
————, Life of Tiberius
Syme AA
Ronald Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy
Syme RR
Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution
Tac Ann
Tacitus, Annals
Tac Dial
Tacitus, Dialogus de Oratoribus
Val Max
Valerius Maximus, Memorable Doings and Sayings
Varro
Varro, Res Rusticae
Vell Pat
Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome
Virg Aen
Virgil, Aeneid
Virg Ecl
Virgil, Eclogues
Virg Geo
Virgil, Georgics
PREFACE
“most events began” Dio 53 19 3.
INTRODUCTION
The introduction is an imagined narration of Augustus’ death. I take as my premise the proposition that the sometimes extraordinary stories told by the ancient sources are broadly correct, and attempt as satisfactory an explanation as possible. My central assumption is that the regime was, over-whelmingly and rightly, determined to effect as painless a transition as possible from Augustus to his successor. I note that the regime’s obsession with maintaining its power was accompanied by an undeviating patriotism and a willingness to sacrifice personal interests. Although there are problems and implausibilities with the stories, the explanation I offer is, just about, credible. This is how it might have happened. I use Suetonius’ Life of Augustus, especially chapters 97 to 100; Tacitus 15, 6; Dio 56 29–30; Velleius 2102, 123.
“Poor Rome” Suet Tib 21 2.
I. SCENES FROM A PROVINCIAL CHILDHOOD
The main ancient sources for this chapter are Suetonius and Nicolaus. The stories classical writers tell of the childhood of famous men are unreliable. That of Augustus is no exception. Children were of little intrinsic interest to Roman adults and their doings were seldom recorded, so historians devised fictional beginnings appropriate to their subjects’ later lives and propaganda needs. I have tried to weed out obviously legendary material (to which I return when dealing with the period when it was probably invented). Nicolaus knew Augustus, who may have been the source of the more day-to-day events of his early life.
“coin-stained hands” Suet Aug 42.
“came from a rich old equestrian family” Ibid., 23.
bad prognosis This story, told with circumstantial detail in Dio 45 1, may be a later invention by historians and biographers wishing to create an appropriately interesting childhood for Augustus.
“a small room” Suet Aug 6.
“a dignified person” Vell Pat 2592.
“a talking instrument” Varro 117.
“I can prove” Suet Aug 71.
“justly and courageously” Ibid., 32.
many health hazards This paragraph draws on Jackson, especially pp. 37, 42–43, 46.
by his maternal grandmother Nic 3.
Atia won a reputation Ibid.
“We must apply to our fellow-countrymen” Cic De Or 3137.
“There was not a great difference” Castle, p. 129.
“a good man skilled in speech” Quint Inst Or 12 1.
“humble origin” Suet Gaius 23 1.
He may have come from Venetia Syme AA p. 44.
According to Aulus Gellius Aul Gell
16 16 1–4.
born in this perilous manner Pliny 745.
II. THE GREAT-UNCLE
Most of the personal characteristics I ascribe to Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, Cato, and Mark Antony are drawn from the accounts given in Plutarch and Suetonius. Again Nicolaus is useful. Caesar’s own history of the civil war is accurate but self-serving. Appian is valuable.
“From now onward” Vell Pat 233.
optimates I use the English form, for the Latin word can only be used in the plural.
“His dress was” Suet Caes 45 3.
“It was really very difficult” Plut Cat Min 12.
“That cannot be true” Ibid., 19 4.
“Caesar was the only sober man” Suet Caes 53.
“in common with Antony’s” Plut Ant 25.
“provoked by the sight of her” App 58.
“for he often helped others” Plut Ant 43.
they quietly sent Gaius Nic 4.
“Let the dice fly high!” Plut Pomp 60 2.
“the new style of conquest” Cic Att 174c (97c).
“He does not know” Suet Caes 36.
III. A POLITICAL MASTER CLASS
Augustus Page 42