The Roman Elite and the End of the Republic: The Boni, the Nobles and Cicero PDF
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THE ROMAN ELITE AND THE END OF THE REPUBLIC The boni – the wealthy, but largely non-political, section of the Roman elite – have hitherto escaped scholarly attention. This book draws a detailed and rounded picture of the boni, their identity, values and interests, also tracing their – often tense – relationship to the political class, whose inner circle of noble families eventually losttheirtrustandsupport.Concernsaboutpropertyplayedacentral part in this process, and the book explores key Roman concepts associatedwithproperty,includingfrugality,luxury,patrimony,debt and the all-important otium that ensured the peaceful enjoyment of private possessions. Through close readings of Cicero and other republican writers, a new narrative of the ‘fall of the republic’ emerges.Theshiftingallegiancesofthewidereliteofboniviriplayed an important part in the events that brought an end to the republic and ushered in a new political system better attuned to their material interests. is Professor of Roman History at King’s College London. He has published widely on aspects of Roman history, from local and republican politics to slavery, manumission and epigraphy. His books include Elections, Magistrates and Municipal Elite (), Italian Unification (), Plebs and Politics intheLateRomanRepublic(Cambridge,),TheFreedmaninthe Roman World (Cambridge,)and Politics intheRoman Republic (Cambridge,). blih d li b C bid i i blih d li b C bid i i THE ROMAN ELITE AND THE END OF THE REPUBLIC The Boni, the Nobles and Cicero HENRIK MOURITSEN King’sCollegeLondon blih d li b C bid i i ShaftesburyRoad,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom OneLibertyPlaza,thFloor,NewYork,,USA WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,,Australia –,rdFloor,Plot,SplendorForum,JasolaDistrictCentre,NewDelhi–,India PenangRoad,#–/,VisioncrestCommercial,Singapore CambridgeUniversityPressispartofCambridgeUniversityPress&Assessment, adepartmentoftheUniversityofCambridge. WesharetheUniversity’smissiontocontributetosocietythroughthepursuitof education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/ :./ ©HenrikMouritsen Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisions ofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace withoutthewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress&Assessment. Firstpublished AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData :Mouritsen,Henrik,author. :TheRomaneliteandtheendoftheRepublic:theboni,thenoblesandCicero/Henrik Mouritsen,King’sCollegeLondon. :Cambridge;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,.|Includes bibliographicalreferencesandindex. :(print)|(ebook)| (hardback)|(paperback)|(epub) ::Elite(Socialsciences)–Rome.|Nobility–Politicalactivity–Rome.|Rome–Politics andgovernment–Republic,-B.C.|Rome–History–Republic,-B.C.|BISAC: HISTORY/Ancient/General :..(print)|.(ebook)|./– dc/eng/ LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/ LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/ ----Hardback CambridgeUniversityPress&Assessmenthasnoresponsibilityforthepersistence oraccuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhis publicationanddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwill remain,accurateorappropriate. blih d li b C bid i i Contents Acknowledgements page vii Introduction Lost in Translation: Modern Interpretations of the Boni Boni et Locupletes Who Were the Boni? Boni and Equites in the Late Republic The Boni in Roman Politics and Public Life Wealth and Morality Revisited Boni: The ‘Gentlemen’ of Republican Rome Boni and Improbi: The Moral Construction of Roman Politics Otium and Tranquillitas: The Politics of the Boni Vita et Bona: Property and Security The Road to Perdition: Egestas and Aes Alienum ‘Egentes Sumptuosi Nobiles’: Politics and Debt v blih d li b C bid i i vi Contents Boni and Nobiles The Power of the Nobiles ‘Boni Non Sequentur’: The Boni and the End of the Republic Cicero and the Formation of an Alternative Epilogue: The Boni and Augustus Appendices Appendix The Boni in the Corpus Ciceronianum Appendix Social Labels in Cicero Appendix The Boni in the Forum: Cicero’s Second Speech against Rullus Bibliography Index blih d li b C bid i i Acknowledgements This book forms the final instalment of what has turned into a trilogy of studies into the politics of the Roman republic, following in the footsteps of Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge University Press, ) and Politics in the Roman Republic (Cambridge University Press, ). While building on these studies, it also seeks to expand the scope and delve deeper into the complex relationship between social structure and political change. In doing so, it also carries with it many of the debts already acknowledged in previous volumes, to all the friends, colleagues and students who have provided valuable inspiration – and critical feedback – over the many years of its gestation. I would like to reiteratemywarmthanksfortheirhelpandencouragement.Severalofmy doctoral students, past as well as current, read and commented on this volume, for which I am very grateful. I am especially indebted to Maggie Robb for sharing her expertise on Roman politics. Papers related to the project were delivered at the University of Dresden and the Institute of Classical Studies, London, and I would like to thank both organisers and audiences for the stimulating responses. In the final stages Lewis Baston kindly read and corrected the manuscript. As always, my greatest thanks are to my friends and family for their unfailing support and interest in my work. vii blih d li b C bid i i blih d li b C bid i i Introduction Boni Searching for the In March of , Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus with an update on the situation in Rome after Caesar had taken control of the capital. He described howlifewas gettingback to normaland peoplesettled inunder the new regime. Personally, Cicero considered his options and asked, ‘What shall I do? Rush madly for Brundisium, appeal to the loyalty of the municipalities?’. The main obstacle he faced was, as he said, that the boni would not follow and neither would anyone else. His reference to a groupofpeoplecalledboni,whowereapparentlyreluctanttocometothe rescueoftheoldpoliticalorder,isintriguing:whowerethey,andwhatlay behind their stance at this critical juncture in the life of the republic? The hesitance of the boni, which Cicero shortly afterwards described as their‘imbecillitas’–feebleness–Att...(SB),shouldhavecomeas no surprise; just a few years earlier he had warned the senate that their support might not be forthcoming in the future. In a list of ominous threats facing the res publica, Cicero had predicted that ‘soon the support oftheboniwillnolongerbereadilyavailablewhenevercalleduponbyour order (sc. the senate)’. The passage is interesting; for not only does it suggest that the loyalties of the boni were fraying well before the final showdown between Pompey and Caesar; it also indicates that they con- stituted a discrete segment of society, separate from the senate and the political class, and endowed with interests, identity and allegiances that were entirely their own. The present study thus explores a section of Roman society that has largelyescapedscholarlyattention.Despitetheirincreasedvisibilityduring Att. .. (SB ): ‘Coner illuc ire ut insanus, implorare fidem municipiorum? Boni non sequentur’. Translations are, unless otherwise stated, based on the Loeb editions, generally with somemodifications. Har.:‘bonorumanimusadnutumnostriordinisexpeditusiamnonerit’. h d i 0 0 9 8 009 8066 00 blih d li b C bid i i
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