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

 The Augustan Revolution

De architecturaisanothermatter,foritseemscertainthatitwaswrittenafter
January,andnotlaterthan..^105 ThetoneofhisaddresstoAugustusin
hisprefaceisthereforeofprimaryimportanceforassessingtheconceptions
whichobtainedinRomeinthes:

Whenyourdivinemindandpower,ImperatorCaesar,putthewhole

worldunderitscommand,yourcitizensgloriedinyourtriumphand

victory:foralltheirenemieswerecrushedbyyourinvinciblecourage

andallmankindobeyedyourbidding.TheRomanpeopleandSenate,

liberatedfromfear,hasbeenguidedbyyourbountifulthoughtsand

counsels....WhenIobservedthatyoucarednotonlyaboutthecom-

mon life of all men and the constitution of the state, but also about

theprovisionofsuitablepublicbuildings....Since,however,itwas

theheavenlycounseltocommithim[JuliusCaesar]totheregionsof

immortalityandtransferimperialcontroltoyourpower.

Thepassagecontainsnopreciseallusionstothecurrentconstitutionalposi-
tion.ButitsunabashedacceptanceofthepersonaldominanceofAugustusis
unmistakable.Moreover,andthisistheessentialpoint,itsobsequiousflat-
teriescouldcertainlybedisregardedandconsideredasofnohistoricalsig-
nificanceiftheyhadbeenwrittenunderanyconditionsexceptthosesupposed
bymodernscholars,namelyarecentlyproclaimed‘‘restorationoftheRepub-
lic.’’Hadsuchathingbeenproclaimed,Vitruvius’wordswouldhavebeen
grosslyundiplomatic—andwouldnothavebeenwritten.
Thesameconsiderationsapply,withratherlessforce,toanumberofpas-
sagesinHoraceandOvid.Noneisverypreciseorsignificantinitself,and
mostarelesscloseintimeto..thantheprefaceofVitruvius,butallare
incompatiblewiththehypothesisthatAugustushadproclaimedarestoration
oftheRepublic:

Horace,Odes, , –: ‘‘O father and guardian of the human race,
thou son of Saturn, to thee by fate has been entrusted the charge of
mightyCaesar;maystthoubelordofall,withCaesarnextinpower...’’
andlater()‘‘secondtotheealoneshallhewithjusticerulethebroad
earth.’’

. Vitr.,,,referringtoan‘‘templeofAugustus’’(aedesAugusti)atFanum,oughtto
beconclusive,butithassometimesbeensuggestedongeneralhistoricalgroundsthatthe
expressionisimpossibleinItalyatthisdate.Butotherindicationsshowthattheworkwas
completebyor..:Schanz-Hosius,Gesch d. röm. Lit.^4 II(),–;cf.A.Boe-
thius,‘‘VitruviusandtheRomanArchitectureofHisAge,’’ΔΡΑΓΜΑM.P.Nilssondedicatum
(),.