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The Fall of the Roman Republic

Plutarch

Paperback | Pages: 414 pages

Rating: 4.09 | 3610 Users | 74 Reviews

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Title	:	The Fall of the Roman Republic
Author	:	Plutarch
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 414 pages
Published	:	April 25th 2006 by Penguin Classics (first published 100)
Categories	:	History. Classics. Nonfiction. Biography. Ancient History

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This Penguin Classic covers six Roman lives - Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, Cicero - written by Platonist philosopher Plutarch (AD 46-Ad 120), the great biographer from the ancient world.

These were chaotic, bloody times when, fueled by treachery and ruthless violence, the Roman republic fell and was replaced by the Roman Empire. To share a taste of Plutarch, I will focus on one of my all-time favorite people from the ancient world, illustrious Roman philosopher/rhetorician/orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero. Here are quotes from the text along with my comments:

"His natural abilities made him altogether remarkable and won him such a name and reputation among the other boys that their fathers used often to go to the schools to see Cicero with their own eyes and to observe the quickness and intelligence which he showed." --------- To be such a virtuoso of language, adults flock to your school to listen to you speak. So telling about the Greco-Roman world: a supreme value on intelligence and verbal acumen. In our modern world, our most immediate association with a youngster having virtuoso talent would be playing a musical instrument, usually violin or piano. The implications of the difference are worth pondering.

"Elocution and delivery were an important element in his powers of persuasion. He used to ridicule those who were given to shouting out their speeches and said that, just as lame men rode on horseback because they could not walk, so these orators shouted because they could not speak." --------- Ha! Think about this the next time you witness a politician or public figure shouting at the top of their lungs. Would the person speak with more subtlety and eloquence if they really had something insightful to say?

"In Rome itself there were most alarming revolutionary tendencies - the result of the unequal distribution of wealth." -------- Ah, the bane of the "civilized" world since we as a human species left hunter-gatherer communities and began agriculture and started accumulating wealth: the haves and the have nots. It was only a matter of time before a thinker like Marx came along.

"Cicero, more than anyone, made the Romans see how great is the charm which eloquence confers on what is good, how invincible justice is if it is well expressed in words, and how the good and efficient statesman should always in his actions prefer what is right to what will win popularity, and in his words should express the public interest in a manner that will please rather than provide offensive." --------- The dream of having a philosopher as a political leader goes back to Plato. Occasionally, as in the case of Cicero, this much heralded combination was actualized.

"The conspirators, however, were unbalanced characters who seldom met together without wine and women, while Cicero was following their schemes with patient care, with sober judgment, and with exceptional intelligence." --------- Plutarch is a philosopher and his chapter on Cicero serves as a shining example of what a wise person in the political sphere can achieve.

"At this time, Cicero was the most powerful man in Rome. However, he made himself obnoxious to a number of people, not because of anything which he did wrong, but because people grew tired of hearing him continually praising himself and magnifying his achievements." -------- Alas, one with great intellect and strength of character can still have shortcomings; for Cicero it was his habit of continually patting himself on the back. Some things never change: people don't want to hear it. (Plutarch includes a couple dozen of such comebacks - one of the prime reasons to read his life of Cicero).

"His ability to put things cleverly would often lead him to forget good manners. . . . Wanting to underscore Cicero's humble family origins, an aristocrat by the name of Nepos asked Cicero repeatedly, "Who is your father?" Cicero replied, "I can scarcely ask you the same question since your mother has made it rather a difficult one to answer." - Nepos's mother being a lady whose reputation for chastity was not high." --------- It's one thing having a Jonathan Winters/Robin Williams-like sharp wit, but if you don't want a gaggle of enemies, you would be well to employ your tongue with discrimination.

"He occupied himself also in writing and translating philosophical dialogues and in rendering into Latin the various terms used in logic and in natural science." --------- Not only was Cicero a leader and hero of his country, dedicating a huge portion of his life as a public figure, but he had the ability to render Greek philosophy into Latin and thereby make the wisdom of the Greeks accessible to his countrymen for generations.

And how, you may ask, did Cicero's life end? Sorry to say, the Romans periodically turned their country into a bloodbath and poor Cicero was caught up in a political crossfire.

Itemize Books Supposing The Fall of the Roman Republic

Original Title:	The Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives
ISBN:	0140449345 (ISBN13: 9780140449341)
Edition Language:	English
Characters:	Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Marcus Licinius Crassus, Julius Caesar, Marcus Tullius Cicero

Rating Regarding Books The Fall of the Roman Republic

Ratings: 4.09 From 3610 Users | 74 Reviews

Notice Regarding Books The Fall of the Roman Republic

I read the section on Julius Caesar, and it didn't really tempt me to read any further. It isn't really fair to hold Plutarch to the standards of a modern historian, but even if you don't, it's still hard to deny that Plutarch's histories just don't have much value for a modern reader, except as an historical study on Rome. This is very much 'great man' history, focused just as much - if not more - on mythologizing as it is on really documenting an era or a series of events. As such, it's pretty

The thing about Plutarch's Lives, is that it gives a timeless insight into the inner workings of humankind's motivations and weaknesses. It quite frankly is pretty scary to read because there are moments where you will see some of your own traits inside the men that Plutarch highlights and realize that those same traits contributed to the fall of a civilization. Nevertheless it is a book that every human being should read. You'll not only gain a greater insight into yourself but also others.



The Fall of the Roman Republic by Plutarch is a collection of biographies about six men important in the fall of the Roman Republic. These men are Gaius Marius (Marius), Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (Sulla), Marcus Licinius Crassus (Crassus), Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), Gaius Julius Caesar (Caesar), and Marcus Tullius Cicero (Cicero). Plutarch's belief is that history is mainly concerned with a few individuals, so instead of writing generally about the time period with important characters,

This Penguin Classic covers six Roman lives - Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, Cicero - written by Platonist philosopher Plutarch (AD 46-Ad 120), the great biographer from the ancient world. These were chaotic, bloody times when, fueled by treachery and ruthless violence, the Roman republic fell and was replaced by the Roman Empire. To share a taste of Plutarch, I will focus on one of my all-time favorite people from the ancient world, illustrious Roman philosopher/rhetorician/orator,

Read in the gazebo during some hot days and finished after run today with daughter. 6 lives of great Romans. Really enjoyed reading. Now finished as my Cicero by Anthony Everitt has arrived.

Plutarch's Lives are classic biographies of famous individuals, usually written with a moral lesson in mind. They are fascinating, gripping narratives that read like a great novel, attempting to get at the character and moral fiber underneath his subject, in order to inspire the reader to emulate or avoid certain characteristics. This penguin collection includes six lives that are key to understanding the fall of the Roman Republic: Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, and Cicero. Plutarch's