Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 The Roman Republic

AtticuswouldalsonotgowithQuintusCiceroasproconsulofAsia(in
),when offered the rank of a legate: since he could have been a praetor
himself,Nepossays,hewouldnotbeahanger-onofapraetor:hethuspre-
served both his dignityand his peace avoiding suspicions of wrongdoing.
His attention was all the morevalued, because people saw that it must be
attributedtohissenseofdutyratherthantofearortohope(,–).
Withtheofficeoflegateweagainsee,ofcourse,theoriginsofakeyele-
mentintheAugustansystem.Alegate,asisclearinthiscontext,mightstill,
inthelateRepublic,beanequestrian,ratherthan,aswasnormal(andaswas
tobeafirmruleundertheEmpire),asenator.^12 Moresignificantforthelate
Republic is,once again,what Atticus is described as avoiding. He is refus-
ing,thatis,toblurthedomainsofprivatedutyandpublicrank,andpublic
profit.The normal rule, as is clearly implied, was that everybody did just
that.Publicfunctions,privatesocialrelationsandobligations,andpersonal
profiteeringwerecloselyinterrelated.
Thecivilwarbrokeoutin,whenAtticuswasabout.WhenPompey
left Italy, Atticus stayed in Rome, profiting from the exemption conferred
byage;buthecausednooffencebydoingso,oratanyratenottohisper-
sonalfriendPompey.Bycontrast,thosewhohadearlieracceptedwealthor
officesfromPompeynowhadthechoiceof joininghimreluctantlyinhis
camporofmortallyoffendinghimbystayingathome(,–).Atticus’in-
activityindeedsopleasedCaesarthat,whenheobligedothers,byletter,to
makecontributionsofmoney,heexemptedAtticus.Thus,asNepossays,by
keepingtohisoldruleofconductheescapedthesenewdangers(,).
Then,aftertheIdesofMarch,somepersonsconceivedtheideaofsetting
upafundintowhichtheRomanequestrianswouldmakecontributionsto
assisttheassassinsofCaesar.AfriendofBrutus(himselfafriendofAtticus)
calleduponAtticustotakethelead,ortobeincharge—‘‘uteiusreiprinceps
esse’’(,).Again,whatfollowsisworthquoting:

But,he[Atticus],onthegroundsthathewassomeonewhothought

thatservices[officia]shouldbeofferedtofriendswithouttakingsides,

andwhohadalwayskepthimselfclearofsuchschemes,repliedasfol-

lows.IfBrutuswishedtomakeanyuseofhisresources,heshoulddo

acter,seeesp.C.Nicolet,‘‘Augustus,GovernmentandthePropertiedClasses,’’inF.Millar
andE.Segal,eds.,Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects(Oxford,),.
. ThispassageisnottakenintoaccountinP-W,s.v.‘‘Legatus,’’xii(),cols.–.
NotehoweverB.Schleussner,Die Legaten der römischen Republik(Munich,),,noting
theparallelprovidedbyDiodorus,...