The great citizens of Rome, the famous and the infamous, those whose names have traversed the passage of time, only to cast lengthier shadows, were bound up in a central contradiction, as were all Roman citizens. Foremost in the mind of such men was an unalloyed pursuit of greatness - a twist on the Greek's resplendent arete, suited for a more domineering and proud society. Yet, this pursuit could not but be hamstrung by the traditions and imperatives of the Republic. With its bygone history of kings, and situated within a Mediterranean world of tyrants, monarchs and self-styled gods-incarnate, Rome's people were ever aware of the awful potential for one to rise from their midst who would cast aside the shackle of custom, and, through force and force of personality, take away that most cherished treasure that a Roman citizen could call his own: his equality before the people, and his freedom in a world of subjects. Rise high and be proud, seemed to be the credo for Rome's great men; but not too high, and not too proud. It was the duty of the Senate and Forum to ensure the harness of this contrary concept did not lose its meaning, nor its mental, and indeed, spiritual, hold over the people.
Tom Holland writes of the final years of the Roman Republic, when such governing contradictions could no longer restrain the will of great men. As the power of Rome spread ever outward, with greater riches and glory to be won, with greater spoils to be distributed to the legions, the intoxicating power of the most desired proconsulships could not longer be contained. A generation before Caesar crossed the Rubicon, Sulla and Marius contested for the title of Rome's first citizen. Indeed, it was Sulla who first brought his legions to the streets of Rome, to assert his right to lead the Eastern campaigns. Seemingly, Holland tells us, it was only Sulla's fealty to the founding principles of the Republic that kept him from practically anointing himself emperor.
A generation later Julius Caesar would harbor no such compunction. Returning after a decade in the wilderness of Gaul as Rome's greatest hero, Caesar was unwilling to relinquish command of his legions. Denied another stint as consul, Caesar did one better, abolishing the position and setting himself up as dictator for an unprecedented ten year stint. He was to survive a scant few months.
As the Republic grew and spread its tendrils ever further it seems fated at this remove that the militaristic spirit of its leaders would overtake the republican ideals of its government. Holland reminds us that, to most people of the day, the fall of the Republic could hardly have been imagined. While Rome slept, the freedoms of its people were lost, never to be regained.
