Roman Crossings: Theory and Practice in the Roman Republic

353 Pages·2005·2.964 MB·English

by  Kathryn Welch, T. W. Hillard

ROMAN CROSSINGS

RO MAN
CROSSIN GS
Theory and Practice
in the Roman Republic
Editors
Kathryn Welch

and
T.W. Hillard
Contributors
Jane Bellemore, Jon Hall,
T.W. Hillard, Benjamin Kelly, B.A. Krostenko,
A.M. Stone, R.F. Tannenbaum, David F.T. Thomas,
Kathryn Welch, Simon Whitehead, T.P. Wiseman
The Classical Press of Wales
First published in 2005
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© 2005 The contributors
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ISBN 1-905125-00-3
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset by Andrew and Ernest Buckley, Clunton, Shropshire
Printed and bound in the UK by Cambridge University Press
The Classical Press of Wales, an independent venture, was founded in 1993, initially to support the
work of classicists and ancient historians in Wales and their collaborators from further afield. More
recently it has published work initiated by scholars internationally . While retaining a special loyalty to
Wales and the Celtic countries, the Press welcomes scholarly contributions from all parts of the world.
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CONTENTS
page
Preface vii
1. Res publica in theory and practice 1
T.W. Hillard (Macquarie University)
2. Origines ludorum 49
T.P. Wiseman (Exeter University)
3. Optimates: an archaeology 59
A.M. Stone (University of Sydney)
4. The law that Catulus passed 95
Benjamin Kelly (Australian National University)
5. Priests and politicians: reflections on Livy and Cicero’s
De Domo Sua 119
David F.C. Thomas (University of Sydney)
6. Cicero’s viri clarissimi 141
Simon Whitehead (University of Sydney)
7. What Caesar said: rhetoric and history in Sallust’s Coniuratio
Catilinae 51 209
R.F. Tannenbaum (University of Sydney)
8. Cato’s opposition to Caesar in 59 bc 225
Jane Bellemore (University of Newcastle, NSW)
9. Cicero Fam. 16.21, Roman politeness, and the socialization
of Marcus Cicero the Younger 259
Jon Hall (Otago University)
10. Style and ideology in the Pro Marcello 279
B.A. Krostenko (University of Notre Dame)
11. Lux and lumina in Cicero’s Rome: a metaphor for the
res publica and her leaders 313
Kathryn Welch (University of Sydney)
Index of passages 339
Index of proper names and subjects 341
v

PREFACE
In September 1999 the two campuses in Sydney which at that time offered
Ancient History mounted a jointly-run conference entitled Roman Crossings:
interdisciplinary approaches to Rome. The conveners were Kathryn Welch
and Frances Muecke from the University of Sydney and Tom Hillard from
Macquarie University. The conference attracted much support from both
within Australia, its neighbour New Zealand and international centres but
it quickly became apparent that what made an interesting and successful
conference could not be forced into a coherent book.
What was clear was that the papers which examined aspects of the Roman
Republic did indeed fit together. These (from Stone, Whitehead, Tannen-
baum, Hall and Welch) form the nucleus of the present work. Wiseman, our
keynote speaker at the conference, gave a paper on Ovid on that occasion
but, when the Republican theme was mooted, proposed a piece on the origin
of the Roman Games. To these were later added the contributions of Kelly,
Thomas, Bellemore and Krostenko.
The editors would like to acknowledge the gracious way in which the
other contributors to the conference accepted the decision to publish only
a part of the proceedings and wished us well in the road we decided to take.
We would also like to thank Frances Muecke first for being a co-convener and
for later assisting us in our editorial venture.
As the lapse of years reveals, the production of this book has often met
its own crossroads, largely due to the fact that both the editors tend to
be somewhat accident-prone. Without the assistance of colleagues and
the patience of the contributors it might never have come into existence.
Particular thanks are due to Patrick Tansey who at an early stage provided
excellent research assistance, to our anonymous readers who helped to assess
the papers, to Fiona Tweedie for preparing the index, and to Anton Powell
who as reader for the press gave valued critical as well as editorial comment.
Our gratitude goes above all to Martin Stone who from beginning to end has
put his time, his knowledge and his good sense to the purpose of ensuring
that this book would eventually happen. He is the finest of teachers and the
best of colleagues.
Final thanks are due to Lea Beness for her personal and professional
support of a project she will undoubtedly be glad to see finalized and to James
vii
Preface
Buckman for keeping one of the editors almost sane throughout the process.
Without them nothing would be quite the same.
Kathryn Welch and Tom Hillard
Sydney, May 2005
viii
1
RES PuBLiCA IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
T.W. Hillard
I
The intersecting essays in this volume illuminate aspects of the Roman
Republic in theory and practice. From some, generalizations might be drawn;
others are offered in the belief that insight is to be gained from specificity.
The history of the world’s first Republic did not always unfold along predict-
able lines. In any complex political milieu, history will be made by those
who know how to use the rules and those who know how to break or bend
them. And, though custom was revered, Rome did not have a rulebook. (The
closest thing we have to the constitution of the Roman Republic, it has been
remarked, will be found in Theodor Mommsen’s Römisches Staatsrecht, on
which more will be said below.)1 The Republic, then, is to be explained by
observation of its practice. That is not to say that theoretical meditation was
wanting; the disjunctions of the ideal and the experienced were sometimes
noted in sadness.
In the res publica, Romans sought unity.2 In fact, division ruled.3 Here
was an intersection, one intersection, of theory and practice. The paradox
had not gone unnoted; but the Romans, as is often intoned, were practical
people, a fact which gives their theoretical contemplation an edge – and
endurance.4 Even in theoretical explorations, it was recognized, indeed it
was celebrated, that the Republic was not a product of the mind. It was an
historical accumulation, the product of political processes. The Republic was,
according to Roman tradition, born in crisis, and developed in responses to
crises and challenges. It was always, then, a work in progress: an experiment
that worked – for a time.5 The road was rarely a smooth one; public life at
Rome was one of billows and storms (Cicero De Re Publica 1.2). In Cicero
more than most (because of the evidence he has left behind) we see the
conjunction of thought and practice – a highly successful practitioner who
turned with some ease to metaphor to express the phenomenon that was res
publica. Kathryn Welch explores one such metaphor in her contribution.6 The
metaphors were not glib and Cicero was not alone.7 He saw himself as heir
to a tradition. The untutored modern reader will probably be struck by the
1