In Westerns Studies, we were educated on six different virtues that were displayed by six different Romans. The six different virtues that were displayed were, honesty displayed by Regulus, service without reward displayed by Cincinnatus, courage displayed by Horatius, forgiveness displayed by Saul and compassion/kindness displayed by Androcles. Among those six virtues, the virtue that was the greatest was the virtue of service without reward, which was displayed by Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus displayed the virtue of service without reward when he was given the task to lead the men of Rome into a battle, and when he returned the white-haired Fathers offered him power over Rome, but he did not want that and instead went back to his farm (Bennett,
Cincinnatus the Statesman- Farmer is a statue that is in Cincinnati, Ohio. This statue was made in honor of Cincinnatus defeating the Aequians and rescuing the trapped Roman army. In the statue, Cincinnatus is holding the handle of a plow and a fasces. Before he lead Rome, he was a farmer, which is what the plow handle represents.
However, today corrupt people use cunning tactics for bad reasons and give cunningness a bad reputation. Another one of Aristotle’s ideas on virtues and vices from Nicomachean Ethics suggests similar arguments about how virtues are applied and if it’s virtuous or not. “Virtue lies in our power, and similarly so does vice; because where it is in our power to act, it is also in our power not to act...” (Aristotle). What makes an action virtues is how one acts, if it’s virtuous it’s out of good, if it’s not it’s a
Most importantly Julius Caesar was remembered for his righteous ruling in government that helped many. Document A really shows how Caesar put civilian lives and needs first. He doesn't care about governing the richer, well-known city of Rome he cared about helping the struggling village. By wanting to be the first man in that underprivileged rather than well-off Rome it shows how he really wants to help the poor than get famous for helping the rich. Many people found his performance in government to be important and truly valuable.
To them virtue meant having honor, this is how they lived their spiritual journey. The journey that Aeneas takes in book six shows that the ancient cultures of the Greeks, Trojans, and Romans had a concept or understanding of the afterlife that influenced their moral decisions and values. They believed much like Christians that the good would be rewarded and the evil would be punished. While what they believed to be virtuous is different than what we as Christians believe, they like the character Aeneas still
(Potter, pg.74) Men wanted to accomplish something great so that they could bring honor to their family for generations to come. Another main reason was their selfishness. (Potter, pg.74) The Romans wanted to be the best.
While, emperor Antoninus ruled in the interest of the good of his subjects, and Emperor Marcus, dealt with courage and patience, all the
In this story written by Cicero, he is ridiculing, (rightfully so), and explaining every reason to Catiline why he deserves punishment and negative sanctions. Catiline’s intentions were to destroy Italy and all the people because of a feud that happened between him and Cicero. The feud was that the two of them were running for a consul position, but because Catiline’s intentions were known to everyone, he was banned from running, therefore, he got mad. While ridiculing and explaining to Catiline, Cicero wouldn’t allow him to speak, but then again, what would he have said? How would he respond to: “You need to die!
The Underlying Motives of Brutus Understanding the human psyche is no easy feat. Often times, people do not even fully understand their own motives. This seems to be the case for Brutus in Shakespeare’s Tragedy, Julius Caesar. Brutus does truly believe that his actions are what is right for Rome; he truly thinks he has pure intentions.
Virtue is defined in many ways. Some say that it comes from the Latin word ‘virtus’, meaning virtue or courage, which comes from the other Latin word ‘vir’, which means man, meaning that virtue is the qualities of a man, such as courage. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines virtue as, “conformity to a standard of right [and/or] a particular moral excellence” (Merriam-Webster 899). With all these definitions floating around, it is hard to determine what virtues really is and what it really means to have virtue. In Plato’s Meno, Socrates and Meno discuss the definition of virtue and whether it can be taught.
I think that the Roman ideas of honor are much more intense than our ideas of honor, making them more unlike our ideas. An example of honor in our society today is standing up for a friend or staying true to an agrement. Although today, if you do not honor an agreement than the consiquences are not too severe, you may only lose someones trust, athough that too can be gained fairly easily. In Roman times if you broke an agreement the consequences were much more severe, such as ridicule or even death. Another way the Roman honor is different from modern day is they believed if you did something that went against honor than you are no longer good, or pure in Lucretiaś case.
Cicero presented himself as a lawful and just leader of Rome. However, were his actions truly selfless? Cicero’s crowning achievement was his triumph over Catiline, using his superior oratory skills to protect the senate. Could this case have only been to keep his seat in the senate, and not to keep Rome safe? If a leader does not keep a country safe, he could be killed or cast out of office, something which Cicero knew could happen to him.
For instance, he demonstrates his loyalty to Rome by continuously defending them in battle, even after his promised term of duty has surpassed. Furthermore, he exhibits his compassion by praying for his men as they are sent on a final mission by Germanus. In this prayer he offers his own life to spare theirs.
I do believe that brutus is noble and one of my reasons is that he put the
“If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it”- Julius Caesar, the man who is known as one of the most fascinating political figures of all time. The one who through his military genius, expanded the Roman Republic to include parts of what are now Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. Although the hero had many followers and admirers, he was ultimately stabbed to death by his own fellow politicians. Caesar was born in July, 100 B.C.E to Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. The family claimed a noble history but hadn’t produced many influential people till then.
They held themselves up to high moral standards that they did all they could to live up to . For Romans, life was about living with as much virtue as they could. This meant that one must keep high standards for themselves that they could fulfill