5/5/2023 0 Comments Gaius julius caesar quotes![]() The mark of Caesar’s genius in his writings is that though they were written for propaganda they are nevertheless of outstanding literary merit. For the next 150 years, Cato the martyr continued to be a nuisance, sometimes a menace, to Caesar’s successors. ![]() Caesar was right, from his point of view, to try to put salt on Cato’s tail. He realized that Cato, in giving his life for his cause (46 bce), had made himself posthumously into a much more potent political force than he had ever been in his lifetime. As for the lost Anticato, a reply to Cicero’s eulogy of Caesar’s dead opponent Marcus Porcius Cato, it is a testimony to Caesar’s political insight that he made the time to write it, in spite of the overwhelming military, administrative, and legislative demands on him. The accounts are written in the form of terse, dry, factual reports that look impersonal and objective, yet every recorded fact has been carefully selected and presented. His accounts of his wars are subtly contrived to make the unsuspecting reader see Caesar’s acts in the light that Caesar chooses. He turned his funeral orations for his wife and for his aunt to account, for political propaganda. Caesar ranked as a masterly public speaker in an age in which he was in competition first with Hortensius and then with Cicero.Īll Caesar’s speeches and writings, lost and extant, apparently served political purposes. Only his accounts (both incomplete and supplemented by other hands) of the Gallic War and the civil war survive. Of these, his speeches, letters, and pamphlets are lost. ![]() (The merciless Sulla abdicated and died in his bed.)Īnother field in which Caesar’s genius went far beyond the requirements of his political ambition was his writings. He showed a human spiritual greatness in his generosity to defeated opponents, which was partly responsible for his assassination. But if he had not also been something more than this he would not have been the supremely great man that he undoubtedly was.Ĭaesar was great beyond-and even in conflict with-the requirements of his political ambition. In all these, Caesar was a supreme virtuoso. His political achievement required ability, in effect amounting to genius, in several different fields, including administration and generalship besides the minor arts of wire pulling and propaganda. Yet, though not lovable, Caesar was and is attractive, indeed fascinating. He won his soldiers’ devotion by the victories that his intellectual ability, applied to warfare, brought them. His generosity to defeated opponents, magnanimous though it was, did not win their affection. ![]() SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!Ĭaesar was not and is not lovable.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. ![]()
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