Augustus

And what of the man himself? His public persona, the imperturbably calm young man of the statues, is unrevealing—to borrow Tennyson’s phrase, “faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null.” But luckily some of the ancient literary sources—above all, Suetonius—reveal the princeps in undress. Here is someone who loved his sister and spent fifty years happily married to his childless wife. In his personal life, he was not greatly interested in appearances, was a good friend, and had a self-deprecating sense of humor and sound judgment. It is impossible not to warm to the old man who adored his “little donkey” Gaius, and to sense the depth of his tragedy when, in their various ways, his closest relatives turned their backs on him—all except Livia.

The contrast between the splendor of state ceremonial and Rome’s restored monumental center, on the one hand, and Augustus’ austere lifestyle on the other, was, of course, a conscious policy, which magnified Rome while seeking to counter individual decadence. It would appear, though, that his simple habits had a basis in modest personal tastes.

Of course, there were two sides to Augustus’ personality, which looked Janus-like in opposing directions: the affectionate family man was also the ancient lecher; the plain-living Roman built a secret holiday palazzo; loyal to his intimates, he was blind to their excesses and sometimes criminal failings; the loving parent with high expectations sometimes behaved like a demanding bully who insisted on having his own way; the cultivated patron of the arts could be a heartless killer when crossed in politics.

One senses, above all, that the suppression of ordinary human emotions which his public duties demanded of the princeps pulled against deep and powerful currents of feeling for those closest to him. This internal struggle may have fueled the fury with which he reacted to betrayals of trust.

But for all his flaws, the balance sheet ends in credit. For the most part, the private man lived decently according to the standards of the time, and the public man did terrible things, but usually for the public good.

It is argued that Augustus was merely the last in a line of unruly, Republic-busting dynasts who came and went throughout the first century B.C. Like a surfer, he rode a wave of change that was already rolling.

There is something in this. If the Actium campaign had had a different outcome, the trend toward autocracy might well have continued unabated. But would the careless and unfocused Antony have been able to build such an enduring edifice? One doubts it.

Augustus once wrote in an edict: “May I achieve the reward to which I aspire…of carrying with me, when I die, the hope that these foundations I have established for the state will abide secure.” His hope was fulfilled. Of all Rome’s emperors, he reigned the longest; and his work lasted, with modifications, for many generations. His successors all called themselves Augustus and cited his example (however differently they in fact behaved). State institutions continued to evolve in ways he did not predict, but in the main along the lines he set down.

Augustus devoted his long reign to perfecting and implementing two core policies—constitutional reform, and imperial expansion under one-man rule. But no less important was his management of the provinces. Working with his friend and partner, Agrippa, he spent many years touring the empire. He disciplined, if he did not entirely eliminate, the rapacity of imperial proconsuls; he encouraged urbanization and the Roman way of life; and he extended Roman citizenship to many thousands of provincials throughout the empire.

This had a hugely important consequence. It generated loyalty and gratitude to Rome. It made people feel that they were not victims of the empire, but its stakeholders. They were members of an imperial commonwealth. It was this shared consciousness that helped to bind Europe and the lands of the Mediterranean basin together for half a millennium and more.

How many statesmen in human history can lay claim to such a record of enduring achievement?

NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS

Full publication data for modern works appears in the Sources section.

Aesch Prom

Aeschylus, Prometheus Unbound

App

Appian, Civil Wars

Res Gest

Augustus, Res Gestae

Barrett

Anthony A. Barrett, Livia

Aul Gell

Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae

Caes Gall

Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War

Carcopino

Jérôme Carcopino, Daily Life in Ancient Rome

Carter

J. M. Carter, The Battle of Actium

CAH

Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 10

Old CAH

Cambridge Ancient History (1923–1939), vol. 10

Castle

E. B. Castle, Ancient Education and Today

Dio

Cassius Dio, Roman History

Celsus

Celsus, De Medicina

Cic Att