Julius Caesar

by Jacob Abbott

Overview

There were three great European nations in ancient days, each of which furnished history with a hero: the Greeks, the Carthaginians, and the Romans.The Roman hero was Caesar. He was born just one hundred years before the Christian era. His renown does not depend, like that of Alexander, on foreign conquests, nor, like that of Hannibal, on the terrible energy of his aggressions upon foreign foes, but upon his protracted and dreadful contests with, and ultimate triumphs over, his rivals and competitors at home. When he appeared upon the stage, the Roman empire already included nearly all of the world that was worth possessing. There were no more conquests to be made. Caesar did, indeed, enlarge, in some degree, the boundaries of the empire; but the main question in his day was, who should possess the power which preceding conquerors had acquired.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9786050406306
Publisher:	Simone Vannini
Publication date:	08/18/2015
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

Read an Excerpt

! life to power. Government of Bone Chapter III. Advancement To The Consulship. FROM this time, which was about sixty- seven years before the birth of Christ, Caesar remained for nine years generally at Rome, en gaged there in a constant struggle for power. He was successful in these efforts, rising all the time from one position of influence and honor to another, until he became altogether the most prominent and powerful man in the city. A great many incidents are recorded, as attending these contests, which illustrate in a very striking manner the strange mixture of rude violence and legal formality by vhich Rome was in those days governed. Many of the most important offices of the state depended upon the votes of the people; and as the people had very little opportunity to become acquainted with the real merits of the case in respect to questions of government, they gave their votes very much according to the personal popularity of the candidate. Public men had very little moral principle in those Bribery ftnd corruption. Public uniuemefcta. days, and they would accordingly resort to any means whatever to procure this personal popularity. They who wanted office were accustomed to bribe influential men among the people to support them, sometimes by promising them subordinate offices, and sometimes by the direct donation of sums of money ; and they would try to please the mass of the people, who were too numerous to be paid with offices or with gold, by shows and spectacles, and entertainments of every kind which they would provide for theii amusement. This practice seems to us very absurd; and we wonder that the Roman people should tolerate it, since it is evident that the meansfor defraying these expenses must come, ultimately, in some way or other, from them...