Triumvirate and Principate Horace,Odes,,–: ‘‘Neithercivilstrifenordeathbyviolencewill
Ifear,whileCaesarholdstheearth.’’
Horace,Odes,,–: ‘‘Sprungfromtheblessedgods,bestguardianof
the race of Romulus, too long alreadyart thou absent’’; cf. , , :
‘‘whileCaesarguardsthestate.’’
Ovid,Fasti, –: ‘‘In the line of Augustus the guardianship of the
fatherlandshallabide:itisdecreedthathishouseshallholdthereins
ofEmpire.’’
Ovid,Fasti,–: ‘‘AllthatexistsbeneaththecanopyofJoveisCaesar’s
own....Thinewasaruleofforce:underCaesaritisthelawsthatreign.
Thoudidstthenameofmasterbear:hebearsthenameofprinceps.’’
Ovid,Tristia,,–: ‘‘Eventhefatherofhiscountry[pater patriae]—
andwhatcanbemorelikethebehaviourofafellowcitizen?—submits
tofrequentmentioninmyverse,norcanhepreventit,forCaesaris
theres publica,andofthecommongoodItoohaveashare.’’
Nothingmuchneedsbeclaimedforthesewell-knownpassages,exceptthat
theyrevealaperfectlyopenrecognitionofthecontroloftheRomanstateby
oneman.WiththeexceptionofoneofthepassagesofOvid(Fasti,–),
nonebetraystheslightestanxietytocloakthisdominationinconstitutional
forms.EvenmoreemphaticisHoraceinEpistulae,,–:
Whileyousustainsomanyandsoheavytasksalone,protectthelifeof
Italywitharms,andadornitwithgoodcustoms,reformitbylaws,I
wouldbecommittingasinagainstthepublicinterestifbyaprolonged
discourseIweretointerruptyoururgentconcerns,Caesar.Augustus himself objected to being acclaimed publicly as ‘‘master’’ (domi-
nus),^106 refusedthedictatorshipin..,^107 andattheendofhislifeclaimed,
somewhatdisingenuouslyaswehaveseen,tohaveexcelledothersonlyin
authority (auctoritas). But he too had no hesitation in recognising the facts
of his position. In a letter to his grandson Gaius hewrote, ‘‘But I pray to
theGodsthatwhatevertimeislefttomeImaypasswithyousafeandwell,
withtheres publicainaflourishingcondition,whileyouareplayingthemen
andpreparingtosucceedtomyposition[statio mea].’’^108 ‘‘Respublica’’here
meansjustwhatitdoesinaletterofAteiusCapito,whodiedin..,re-
ferringtotheloveoflibertywhichpossessedhisgreatrivalAntistiusLabeo.
. Suet.,Div.Aug..
.RG;Vell.Pat.,;Suet.,Div.Aug.;Dio,,–.
. AulusGellius,NA,,E.Malcovati,Imperatoris Caesaris Augusti Operum Frag-
menta^5 (),Ep.XXII(Loebtrans.).