Patriotism In Fabius

Julius Caesar was a man the people of Rome loved. He brought Rome prosperity, happiness, and power by ruling Rome in a way that had never been done before. He put the corrupt senators of Rome in a position where they could no longer pull Rome down to benefit themselves, and he made sure that he ruled Rome fairly and correctly, and for this, Rome loved Caesar. This is proven in the article “Killing Julius Caesar” by Jon Herman.

The military campaigns of the Caesars made Rome one of the largest empires of the ancient world. Suetonius conveys through his writings that being a good military leader and a good Caesar were synonymous. Augustus, who Suetonius thought an excellent leader, reunited the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire ( 51) and greatly expanded Romes territory (53). Augustus “showed not only skill as a commander, but courage as a soldier” in the eyes of his contemporaries (47). On the other hand, both Caligula and Nero, considered poor leaders by Suetonius, had very limited military success and aspirations. Only once did Caligula initiate a military exploit, and it was rife with his madness. His campaign into Germany was on a whim and all he accomplished was receiving the surrender of a

Although all of these values are in fact seen in the Roman Society by other sources, Polybius as a source may be inaccurate. Some historians have noted Polybius to been seen as being argumentative to some of the subject material. They believe that Polybius cannot be seen as impartial or a neutral character in relation towards ‘this type of thing’. Polybius is quoted in chapter 56 of Book VI saying; “the laws and customs relating to the acquisition of wealth are better in Rome than at Carthage. At Carthage nothing which results in profit is regarded as disgraceful” and “the quality in which the Roman commonwealth is most distinctly superior is in my opinion the nature of their religious convictions…” among many other examples, even of that found in the extract, including the numerous usages of the Roman values of society as a means to manipulate public opinion and persuade them to become more ‘Roman-esque’ and patriotic, in the interest of their country.

Throughout his career as a politician and warrior, Fabius always took the time to make a wise decision. Hannibal tried to trick Fabius into fighting so that Hannibal could surprise Fabius, but Fabius was wise and did not fall for Hannibal’s traps. Fabius was so wise that his tactics of defeating Hannibal seemed senseless to the Romans. However, Fabius knew that it was best to try to corner Hannibal rather than attack him. Fabius cared about the good of Rome more than his own reputation that he instructed look up, his successor as leader of the Roman army, to continue Fabius’ tactics of avoiding battle with

In “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus” Augustus portrays Rome as a dignified cut above the rest. In this reading, we learn about the ruling of Augustus and how he feels entirely responsible for all the successes of Rome. I believe that this writing is not a display of the “real Rome” but rather a depiction of its author. Throughout “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus” Augustus repeatedly refers to himself in the text and how all these successes are a result of his leadership. An example of this is when Augustus states, “In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction.” There are

power was quick and it was believed by many on his senate that concerning the good of Rome,

Many people have their own diverse opinions as to Brutus being a patriot or a betrayer. I believe Brutus could be called both a patriot and a betrayer! Brutus just wanted to protect Rome and the people in Rome. He respected everyone and wanted the best for the city of Rome.

In his own way, Brutus was a patriot. He had to murder his dear friend Caesar for the sake of his beloved Rome. Everything he did, every action, every speech, every thought was for Rome. “Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his.” He did a hard painful thing in killing Caesar, but he did it for his true love: Rome. “And therefore think him as a serpent's egg, Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell.” However, when Brutus spoke these fateful words he showed his true colors. He killed Caesar out of his own fear. Because Brutus was afraid of a new leader, he committed a terrible act of murder.

Brutus’s patriotism enables him to be a strong leader because his desire for a strong republic is based on his devotion to the Roman citizens and not selfishness, like Caesar was. His debate of

Aeneas had to give up true love in order not to disrespect or defy Rome.  Giving up true love is a pretty tall order to fulfill for any reason , let alone to give it up because of patriotism.  I consider myself a patriot , but I would not give up anything like true love for my country.  When the Romans read the Aeneid they were supposed to understand how important the state was and how much of a duty they had to do what they could for it.  Rome was supreme and was to be honored more that anything. The Aeneid showed the people what Aeneas and others went through to start the republic.  That’s why  it should be honored , for all those hard ships.  This is an idea aside from all the other political references.

became the protector of the Roman people. His backbone of his power was his army but

The Triumvirate stealing from the public’s fortune shows their lack of morals and concern for Rome. Before the war against the conspirators started, Mark Antony commanded Lepidus to “fetch the will” (4.1.11) in order to see how they would “cut some charge in legacies” (4.1.12). Some may say Antony took the money to help protect the people of Rome. However, Mark Antony used the poor, naive, confused public to ensure he got revenge on Brutus and the conspirators. Antony sparked the fire to start this war in order to get revenge and will use the people’s money to get revenge, not to protect.

He had now reached a state of political perfection. A state he arguably and narcissistically deemed necessary to establish a Rome of greater equality, efficiency and profitability, a state in which he could covertly dictate. The Principate was made a permanent establishment; his rule would only end in death. Changes were still required, past mistakes must be corrected, time was poor. His mission was nearing completion. Rome was now under the autocratic rule of Augustus, the senate and the people were none the wiser. The republic was far from restored, the republic could not be restored, the republic was flawed. The people and the senate must not know.

Roman values and their importance to the state play a central role in Julius Caesar. These values are portrayed as integral to the success of Rome, because the majority of these virtues act in favour of the state. Each person in Roman society has their own role which is part of a more important collective whole. Characters in the play seem to identify more with being a citizen or “soul of Rome” rather than a unique individual (Shakespeare, 2.1.323). The play emphasizes Rome as “an alien society” and analyses the relationship “between Rome and the Romans, who see themselves as ‘citizens,’ rather than ‘men’” (Miles, 2). Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of the state over personal thoughts or feelings: “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (Shakespeare, 3.2.21-22). Each of the Roman virtues arises out of a sense of duty to put the state over the self. Following this duty evokes a necessary recognition of

Being Patriotic is a great thing until it goes bad. Over the course of the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus was a very impactful character. He was one of the main leaders of the conspiracy that killed Caesar. Brutus had a wife named Portia, who later in the play died. After the conspiracy killed Caesar, there were two speeches spoken one from Brutus and the other from Antony who was Caesar's right hand man. Soon after the death of Caesar, Brutus and Antony fought in a battle against each other. The battle lead to countless people left dead and Brutus kills himself. During the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare Brutus patriotism caused him to make decisions based on the good of Rome, not thinking of others’ thoughts, or opinions including his own.