Roman History, Literature, and Philosophy Practice Flashcards

These flashcards provide vocabulary and key concepts from Sallust, Vergil, the New Testament, Procopius, Mandeville, and Dante as covered in the lecture notes.

Proem

A preface or introduction to a work in which the author explains their purpose, such as the beginning of Sallust’s The Conspiracy of Catiline.

Declinism

A cognitive bias where individuals view the past more favorably than the future, a view Sallust held regarding Rome's moral corruption.

The Speech of Caesar

Found in Sallust 51, a speech where Caesar urges leniency and clemency for the conspirators to avoid a violent precedent that might undermine the Republic.

The Speech of Cato

Found in Sallust 52, a speech where Cato urges the Senate to react harshly to the conspirators to prevent further attempts at insurrection.

Senatus Consultum Ultimum

Meaning 'the ultimate decree of the Senate,' it is a declaration of a state of emergency that granted total authority to the consul to ensure the Republic suffered no harm.

Piety (Pious Aeneas)

In the context of the Aeneid, a sense of duty or devotion to one's country, family, and gods.

Pater

Latin for 'father'; in the Aeneid, it refers to Aeneas as a leader or a national founder.

Dido

The founding Queen of Carthage and lover of Aeneas who represents a contrast to the image of an ideal Roman man.

Augustus

The nephew of Julius Caesar and the first Roman Emperor who established the principate, instituted morality laws, and sponsored the creation of the Aeneid.

Ekphrasis

A literary description of a visual work of art that serves to amplify a piece’s meaning, such as the description of the shield from Vulcan in Book 8 of the Aeneid.

Arma Virumque Cano

The first line of the Aeneid, meaning 'My song is of war and a man.'

"The Way"

The movement and subculture formed by early adherents of Christ’s teaching, specifically when composed of local Jews within mainstream Jewish culture.

Paul

Originally named Saul, he was a strict believer in Judaism who converted to Christianity after a vision on the road to Damascus and spread the faith to the Gentiles.

The Sermon on the Plain

A teaching of Christ in the Gospel of Luke that is more directly addressed to a gentile audience with concrete principles compared to the Sermon on the Mount.

The Unknown God

An altar in Athens that Paul used as a framework to preach a vision of God the creator to the Athenians during his sermon on the Areopagus.

Universalism

The belief that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God.

Theodora

The wife of Justinian and Empress of Rome who was a former actress and sex worker but is now a Saint in the Orthodox Christian religion.

Satire

A literary technique used to criticize or ridicule its object, utilized by the Timarion to target Byzantine political and religious culture.

Invective

A form of literature that sets out to publicly denigrate an individual without necessarily aiming for humor, as seen in Procopius's The Secret History.

Orthodoxy

Meaning 'right belief,' it refers to the authorized version of a religion defined in opposition to heresy by a state.

Romanía

The name the Romans (Byzantines) gave to their state, reflecting their view as an unbroken continuation of the ancient Roman Empire.

Ethnography

The name that the Romans gave to their state, as they viewed their society as an unbroken continuation of the ancient Roman Empire.

Chauvinism

The unreasonable belief in the superiority of one's own group.

Cynocephali

Dog-headed human-like creatures mentioned in Mandeville's Travels and ancient works like Ctesius's Indica.

Moral Relativity

The principle that an individual's values and actions should be understood in the context of their own times, culture, and conditions.

Moral Essentialism

The belief that at least some morals are inherently right or wrong regardless of cultural and social context.

Prester John

A mythical Christian king of a far away kingdom who served as a positive example of Christian leadership and a potential distant ally.

Dante the Pilgrim

The literary character, narrator, and point of view character of the Divine Comedy, who differs from Dante the author.

Indignance

Righteous or virtuous anger, as shown by Dante toward the soul of Filippo Argenti in Hell.

Incontinence

In Dante's Inferno, this is the state of being unable to control one's actions or desires, applying to sins of lust, greed, anger, and gluttony.

Simple Fraud

Fraudulent acts committed using one's intellect to harm others who do not have a 'special relationship' with the perpetrator.

La Diritta Vita

Italian for 'the right path,' representing the journey from a state of sin toward spiritual enlightenment and salvation.