Cornelius Nepos, ‘‘Atticus,’’ and the Roman Revolution exceptiontotheallegedrulethatonlythosefightingundertheirownaus-
picescouldgainthesespolia.ItisbynomeansclearthatLivyinfactbelieved
thetestimonyofAugustus,whichhefeltobligedtorecord,inanexcursus,
with very marked reservations—and without altering his introduction of
Cossusasamilitarytribune(,,).Augustuswaslaterofcoursetoinclude
thisancienttempleofIuppiterFeretriusinthelistofrestoredtempleswhich
hedulyrecordedforposterityinhisRes Gestae().Hedidnot,however,
feelobligedtorecallthatthisrestorationhadnot,inthefirstinstance,been
hisownidea,butsomeoneelse’s.Thispassage,asnotedearlier(textton.),
thusrepresentsasignificantconjunctionbetweenlate-Republicanscholar-
shipandconcernaboutreligionasadistinctarea,ontheonehand,andthe
growingdependenceofpoliticsongreatindividuals,ontheother.
ThiscorrespondencebetweenAtticusandOctavian,alongwiththemar-
riageofPomponiatoAgrippa,andthebetrothaloftheone-year-oldVipsa-
niatoTiberius,mightwellmakeonethinkthatAtticus,towardstheendof
hislonglife,willhavebeenrepresentedbyNeposasacommittedsupporter
ofOctavian.For,evenifhehadnotinfactbeen,onemighthaveexpected
thatNeposwouldhavemadethemostofanyconnectionswhichhehadhad
withOctavian,andanycommitmentwhichhehadfelttohim.Itisallthe
moresurprising,therefore,toseethatNeposinfactdoesjusttheopposite,
thathemanifestsnoenthusiasmfortheriseofOctaviantosolepower,and,
ifanything,emphasizes(onceagain)Atticus’neutrality.
Inthesectionofthebiographywhichhadbeenwrittenandmadepub-
lic (‘‘edita,’’ , ) before Atticus’ death in March ..,Octavianappears
simply as ‘‘the young Caesar’’ (adulescens Caesar) to whose friendship and
power Agrippa had owed the fact that he could have married anyone he
chose;however,Neposspecificallynotes—‘‘itisnottobeconcealed’’—that
themediator(conciliator)ofthemarriagehadinfactbeenM.Antonius(,
–).
Inthefinalsection,writtenafterAtticus’death,Octavianhasbecome‘‘Im-
peratorDivifilius’’;hisfullofficialname,fromabout..onwards,had
of course been ‘‘Imperator Caesar Divi filius.’’^24 It seems clear that Nepos
wrotethisconcludingsectionbeforethename‘‘Augustus’’wasconferredin
January.ButwashewritingbeforeorafterthebattleofActiumin,or
thedeathofAntoniusinthefollowingyear?Thisseemswhollyuncertain.
Whatisclearis,firstly,thatNepossaysthatAtticusowedhisfriendshipwith
Octaviantothesameelegantstyleoflife(elegantia vitae)whichhadattracted
. R. Syme, ‘‘Imperator Caesar: A Study in Nomenclature,’’Historia():
Roman PapersI(Oxford,),.