The fall of the Republic

Tags

Gracchi, political system, politics, Roman Empire, Roman Republic, Star Wars, values, virtues

Augustus of Prima Porta, statue of the emperor Augustus in Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican, Rome. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a history subject with a contemporary significance, because every one of us is living under a political system.

We can read in history books about official stages in Roman civilization: Monarchy, republic and empire. From these three stages, republic usually is seen as the best; a wonderful moment in world history. Even George Lucas, famous creator of Star Wars series, to set his story, was inspired in fall of Roman Republic and the rise of Empire. If you have ever seen the films, knows that republic is linked to light and goodness, while Empire is linked to dark and evil.

If we agree with this version, Emperor Augustus would have to be seen as an evil and dark emperor, and with help of some “Darth Vader” would have hunted republicans (Jedi?) of his time and established a reign of terror.  Under this perspective, contributions like Pax Romana (Roman peace), world citizenship or development of arts and literature in Roman world, must be considered evil.

Was Republic a government of light?

In fact was really far from it. Roman republic was not a democracy, was an aristocracy. Only a selected class was allowed to govern, which fiercely protect their privileges and attacked without mercy any kind of reformer, like Gracchi brothers, Gaius Marius or Julius Caesar. Roman Republic had a legal and political system which makes sense in a small state-city but not in a worldwide empire. What kind of privileges they protected? Usury, extortion and embezzlement were few. They were glad to be appointed governors to have the possibility to use Roman army to increase their own fortune.

So-called “Marius”. Marble, Roman artwork of the 1st century BC, restored by Alexander Trippel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Republic fell because was already dead. Spirit was gone and corpse was only useful to feed grubs and worms. Any political system is good by itself, always depends on moral quality of those who belong it. Whether it monarchy, republic or empire; the system only works if king, president, prime minister or emperor, as well as entire political class have a high moral quality.

Only education based on values and experience of virtues as a long-term project could ensure successful governments.

Is this possible?

Advertisements

Chopin and raindrop

Tags

Chopin, frederick chopin, George Sand, Julian Fontana, Music, Piano, Raindrop, Raindrop prelude

Painting I commissioned and of which I own the only copy based on the circa 1837 preliminary sketch of Eugene Delacroix’s joint portrait of Frédéric Chopin and George Sand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During winter of 1838, Aurore Dupin, Baroness Dudevant to French nobility, but better known as George Sand, with her children and Frederick Chopin, arrived on the isle of Mallorca looking for a better climate for Chopin’s fragile health.

In a letter to Julian Fontana, Chopin wrote:

“Here, the sun shines all day long and people wear summer clothes; the temperature is hot, and during night, I can hear guitars and singing voices for hours. Here I am in Palma, between palm trees, cedars, cacti, olives, aloe, lemon trees, orange trees, fig trees…  Large balconies and trellises… Arab architecture… next to these beauties I feel better…”

Valldemosa (Photo credit: anieto2k)

But everything changed. Sun and heat was very soon replaced by rain and moisture, and they had to move to a rented antique monastery, Cartuja de Valldemosa. At a very rainy day, Chopin had to stay, very sick, while Aurore had to go looking for food being outside all day long. Alone and delirious, he felt every single raindrop hitting roof slates. Although started as a painful experience, in one moment, in the middle of dreams, he starts to compose.

When Aurore came back, she found Chopin at piano, in the middle of delusions. She recalls:

“When he recovered and saw our looking, he felt bad about dangers we have passed. Immediately he confessed that when we were out, he had calmed and like in dreams, he was playing the piano, convinced he was dead. He saw himself floating in a lake; raindrops, heavier and moist, were falling slowly on his chest…”

From this terrible experience, Chopin gave birth to a beautiful masterpiece, Raindrop Prelude, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_6APTb3RNQ, allowing us to feel a painful and continuous hit by raindrop.

If we take this page from Chopin’s biography, we can only think how, a person who is suffering can turn his pain in something beautiful.

When we are depressed or our heart is broken, what do we do with our pain?

Don’t you think would be wonderful if rather than being a problem, we could turn our suffering to something beautiful to offer?

How could be the world if people learn how to take bad thoughts, destructive emotions, jealousy, envy, bigotry and turn all this in beautiful feelings?, something to be proud to left for future generations.

Can you imagine?

Hadrian’s Wall or what keep us from being barbarians

Tags

barbarians, Britain, civilization, History, Rome

In this first post, I want to talk about the meaning of the main picture in this website: Hadrian’s Wall.

Around 122 A.C Hadrian, Emperor of Rome, ordered the construction of a wall in northern Britain. Its purpose was to defend Roman territory against barbarians from the north. It was the last frontier in the west end of empire. The dividing line between civilization and barbarism.

Why northern inhabitants from Britain were considered barbarians?

It cannot be for lack of culture. Scottish and Irish had a very deep culture. When Julius Caesar arrived to Britain, he found an ancient religion, common to all Celtic tribes and similarities with Greco-Roman religion.

Neither can be their attacks on southern Britain. Romans themselves were extremely warlike, as we can see in “The Gallic Wars” by Julius Caesar. At that time much of the culture was about war and warriors.

Perhaps was lack of technology. But if we admit that, we would be saying that who has better and more advanced weapons is civilized. Then atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as bacteriological war would be civilized actions.

In this case, we still have the choice to find the answer in the very word “civilization”.

The word “civilization” comes from Latin word “civitas”. Cicero tells us that “civitas” is the body of total set of citizens, with their rights and obligations. If we look at life of great romans as Scipio, Marius or Julius Caesar, they gave high importance to this idea of civitas whereas in many cases risked their lives to defend it.  From an abstract point of view, civitas is the link that integrates a man (citizen) with an ideal (Rome), which is bigger than person itself, which transcends time.

Therefore, barbarians had this title because they didn’t have a unifying ideal that transcend themselves and give them a sense of life beyond everyday, to provide the opportunity to make their mark in history.

So, perhaps we must ask ourselves: Do we have an ideal that transcends us and gives meaning to our life?

Are we barbarians or civilized people?