Politics of the Late Republic scholarship

Syme (Amacitia)

"a weapon of politics"

Bradley (Pompey’s Career)

“embodied everything that the oligarchy opposed yet they were responsible for granting him for many of his exceptional appointments."

Bradley (Pompey’s relationships)

"He was the catalyst in the breakdown of the republic, and yet his friendship was eagerly sought by the conservative Cicero'“

Marin (FT)

"ultimate origin of the civil war of 49."

Goldworthy (FT)

"all [were] seeking personal advantage."

Syme (Roman State)

"Reckless ambition had ruined the Roman State and baffled itself in the end."

Scullard (Populares)

some "aimed at a disinterested social and economic reform."

Vasaly (Cicero)

"a means by which the best statesmen achieved an ethically virtuous end”

Mitchell (Verres)

"The case of Verres provided Cicero with a particularly good opportunity to exploit the political benefits of such a prosecution at a critical point in his career."

Scullard (In Verrem)

"formed a terrible indictment on senatorial government in the provinces...[and] incidentally paved the way for further reform."

Beard (In Verrem)

"The case launched Cicero's career, as he spectacularly defeated the established lawyers and orators lined up in Verres' defence."

Vasaly (Cicero’s rhetoric)

"oratory is a tool to manipulate an audience, most effectively by playing on their emotions."

Beard (Cicero’s rhetoric)

Cicero's "showy rhetoric...certainly exaggerated the wickedness of Verres"

Mitchell (Cicero)

“a concerned senator and patriotic citizen seeking to serve the state and justice."

Beard (In Verrem TRUTH)

"Nevertheless the defendant's hasty departure suggests that he was guilty enough of the charges laid before him"

Mitchell (Cicero)

helped “valued clients… to boost his reputation and political prospects."

Scullard (Cato)

“idealised as a martyr of Republican liberty and a paragon of Stoic values"

Morrell (Cato)

"Recovering 'the real Cato' should not mean dispensing with 'Cato the Stoic' altogether"

Syme (Stoicism)

“nothing more than a corroboration and theoretical defence of certain traditional values of the governing class."

Drogula (Cato)

"energy and determination to defend the pre-eminence of the Senate made him a figurehead for Rome's elite"

Scullard (Cato)

"loyally if short-sightedly sought to uphold [the Republic] with unbridled vigour all his life"

Syme (Optimates)

"by ties of kinship and reciprocal interest" more than beliefs.

Marin (Cato)

“applauded Cato for his moral integrity...this did not translate to votes for his consulship."

Scullard (FT)

"the short-sighted reaction of the die-hard optimates...under the leadership of Cato"

Drogula (Cato)

“as complex and nuanced as other men of his day."

Greenhalgh (Cato)

In 55BC "He was the same old Cato, uncompromising as ever in his opposition to Pompey”

Syme (FT)

The FT was "the end of the free state"

Gruen (FT)

“No novelty in Roman politics."

Beard (FT)

"It was not such a complete takeover [as its opponents] imply"

Scullard (Civil War)

"It was the small Optimate clique...that forced the issue"

Morstein Marx (Civil War)

"Caesar's alleged fear of prosecution" did not cause the civil war.

Badian (Caesar’s reforms)

Caesar "had no plans for basic social and constitutional reform"

Morstein-Marx (Caesar as Popularis)

Caesar "was known as a popularis of a particular sort, but not a demagogue"

Meier (Caesar as Popularis)

"a certain method of political working, to use the populace, rather than the Senate"

Warner (Caesar as accidental dictator)

Caesar had not "planned from the outset of his career to overthrow the republic and seize power"

Brunt (Caesar as dictator)

Caesar was driven by "ambition" and "avarice".

Crawford (Caesar as king)

"A monarch 'de facto' Caesar certainly became"

Gardner (Caesar as no king)

Caesar had no "intention of converting his dictatorship into a monarchy"

Paterson (Caesar’s political skill)

“men who joined him did not for his benefit but for their own."

Shotter (Caesar’s assassination)

"his failure to find an acceptable solution...to the problem of trying to satisfy a variety of interests”

Syme (Caesar’s assassination)

"Caesar was slain for what he was, not for what he might become."

Brunt (Cicero and Optimates)

"Cicero was the first [novus homo] for thirty years… though often slighted by the nobiles, may ultimately have had their support."

Scullard (Cicero and Optimates)

"depended too much on the goodwill of the Optimates, who had accepted him with some reluctance"

Scullard (Cicero)

"Cicero...represented the gentry of the Italian towns...and had equestrian backing."

Kenty (Cicero and FT)

"As an orator without authority, Cicero...tried to present himself as a friend or ally of the triumvirs”

Beard (Cicero’s career)

"The year 63BC was the turning point of his career: for things were never quite so good for Cicero again."

Lawson (Cicero vs Catiline)

"The people responded to the speech with unbounded enthusiasm"

Tempest (Cicero’s career)

"War, Cicero believed, was the only way to save Rome from Antony's grasp."

Tempest (Cicero vs MA)

"If the law had to be broken in the process, the law had to be fixed to meet the current crisis."

Tempest (Cicero and Caesar)

Cicero "did not hate the dictator as a man. But he did hate the fact that Caesar had no desire to restore the Republic."

Paterson (Cicero)

"differed little from the majority whose own future careers were uppermost in their minds."

Morello (Cicero’s letters)

"An interactive genre--one half of a dialogue...letters are a substitute for a conversation."

Morello (Cicero’s letters)

The "intense and recurring focus upon the addressee's persona gives them...their artistic complexity..."

White (Cicero’s Letters)

"In letters to at least three quarters of his nearly one hundred correspondents, Cicero expressly refers to ties of friendship."

White (Cicero’s Letters purpose)

Cicero's letters were sometimes "an exercise in political re-education."

White (Cicero’s letters mystery)

"it would be naive to think that the corpus [of letters] ever reveals to us the real Cicero”