Most of my spare reading time nowadays involves anything that I can get my hand on about the Roman Republic at the turn of the first century. Far from being the yawn inducing concoction of togas and legionnaires suitable only to feed Hollywood blockbusters of the sixties, the very fabric of Roman society at the time of Cicero, Crassus and scandalous Claudii presents an anthropological tour de force that still has many lessons and (astonishingly, given the 2000 year gap) similarities for today’s world to ponder upon. Run through a modern news programme and you will find the same themes as would have been popular two millenia ago.
Patricians and plebeians fighting out on the political chessboard have been replaced by the haves and the have nots – the affluent and the affluenza infected. The poor and disenfranchised struggle for their rights always finding a champion for their causes (whether sincere or simply a marriage of convenience remains alas anyone’s guess). Scandal was an integral part of the political game as men wove their political moves in the fora (or in backrooms plotting the latest backstab) while their wives and mistresses aided and abetted such plotting from the most intimate of courtrooms.
Above all Roman life was based on unabashed ambition. From birth, the citizen was honed to improve the state of his family affairs and was expected to aspire for more. You may have been born into a well-placed family but you were expected to confirm their position by climbing up the social ladder yourself – again. The Romans had a word for what we would call the greasy pole – they would call it cursus. Literally it meant the race – the chariot races held at the Circus Maximus. “In the Republic sport was political and politics was sport. Just as the skilled charioteer had to round the metae, the turning posts, lap after lap knowing that a single error (..) might send his vehicle careering out of control, so the ambitious nobleman had to risk his reputation in election after election.” (Tom Holland, Rubicon)
Commenting in the Philippics, Cicero states that “the track which leads to fame is open to many”. A sort of American Dream therefore but a weird one at that, one that brazenly accepted the competitive element and prized ambition to succeed to the point of rewarding what we would nowadays call the scrupulously Macchiavellian. There would be many paths indeed to succeed – the rules of the Republic being such that they allowed you to reach positions of influence whether you kicked off as the son of a powerful family or whether you could benefit from the tribunal pathway as champion of the plebeians. Take things to far, irritate too many people on the other side and your descent from power might be steep (and painful).
Non piú avrai questi bei penacchini
Standing among the buildings of the Capitoline hill was the Villa Publica – a complex of government buildings full of splendid statues and paintings that witnessed the opulent success of the Republic. The Villa Publica had an important function since every five years citizens were required to register there. This was full disclosure in a time when Data Protection was about as useful as a facebook page with no security. A man would declare the name of his wife, children, his property and all his possession. By all his possessions I mean all – from the bangles on his wife’s neck and arms to the ready cash he had available. This was less Athenian democracy and more Orwellian big brother.
The state had the right to know everything. Even, as Plutarch puts it in Cato the Elder, “personal tastes and appetites should be subject to surveillance and review”. Underestimate the importance of these values and you were a lost man in the resplendent Roman republic. Intrusive knowledge was the very building stone of Roman society. The essential ranks in the cursus were highly influenced by the census at Villa Publica. All the information collected by the scribes would be scrutinised by two magistrates known as censors – senior and reputable citizens entrusted with deciding the social fate of each censored citizen. They had the power to reclass citizens or promote them in accordance to their worth.
Forget facebook. A man in Roman society intending to have a social life or put some stadia (Roman measurement – roughly 185m) between him and his competitors in the cursus would make sure to live as public a life as possible. He would live a purposely ostentatious life without verging on the extravagantly opulent (too much, and you were out). His villa would be open to the public all day – a sort of big brother on the go – and all acts were designed to be as much in the public eye as possible in the hope that the proper favour has been curried with the right electors who would gather in the Field of Mars to throw their votes.
Let us not be too surprised therefore that our ambitious society has resettled on this time-old tradition of interfering knowledge. In Rome, to be a magistrate with the function of censor at the Villa Publica was considered to be almost as prestigious as achieving the crown of consul (although the word crown is probably the least apt to describe the highest position in the monarch unfriendly Republic). We may have new definitions for the words censorship and censorability but in a way the values of a society not too different from our own might help us understand the workings of our own.
If you have any doubts about the similarities of the two societies you need look no further than Cicero’s In defence of Plancius:
Those of us who are storm-tossed on the waves of popular opinion must devote ourselves to the will of the people, massage it, nurture it, try to keep it happy when it seems to turn against us. If we don’t care for the honours which the people have at their disposal, then obviously there is no need to put ourselves at the service of their interest – but if political rewards are indeed our goal, then we should never tire of courting the voters.
Cicero’s own wheelings and dealings led the greatest lawyer in Rome to defend many a corrupt returning governor from prosecution. Horsetrading was an inbuilt part of the system – as was an immense amount of litigation in the very public courts. Curiously, a prosecutor of a public person could also win certain rights equivalent to the rank of the accused should his prosecution be successful. Above all, the electorate mattered greatly. Cicero had this to say about them: “(in the Republic) there was nothing more fickle than the masses, nothing more impenetrable than the people’s wishes, nothing more likely to baffle expectation than the entire system of voting” (Defence of Murena – yep, the guy did many a defending).Plus ca change.
Molto onor, poco contante.
If I have managed to tickle an interest in the affairs of the Republic then I strongly recommend the highly readable Rubicon by Tom Holland – to whom I am greatly indebted for most of the quotes in this article. If you are hungry for more similar titles drop a comment on J’accuse and I will duly oblige. Meanwhile, last Monday saw the kick off of the Thinkabout It third blogging competition that I had announced earlier. At the launch conference in Brussels I met bloggers from around the world – from Madagascar to Malaysia to Malta – and got an idea of the subject matter we have been entrusted to blog about for the next few months.
The main theme that will be explored are the UN Millenium Development Goals and one subtheme is the problem of poverty in the world. Poverty is no longer the image of kid in Africa with a bloated stomach and surrounded by flies. Different societies are experiencing different levels of poverty. Whether there is or can be a global standard for poverty is a moot point. At the end of the day not being able to make ends meet and bring food to the table daily could be the obvious, but not necessarily practical, starting point for calculation. What is definite is that while some might fixate about “manners” and whether bringing the mouth to the food is less proper than bringing the food to the mouth we might be better off examining whether it is difficult to bring the food to the table in the first place.
Even if we ignore the prissy discussion instigated by the gossip vending Marie Antoinette’s of this world we would do well to ponder whether the plight of our poor is being immorally misappropriated by those with ulterior motives. What I mean is that rash statements and bandwagon riding ideas about what constitutes poverty can only damage informed programs and educated analysis in the long term. Harsh as it may sound, the issue of whether utility bills are too expensive is not the be all and end all of what poverty is about. One more thing to consider is the notion of a society afflicted with affluenza.
Affluenza – a portmanteau of the word affluent and influenza – has been defined as ” a painful,contagious socially transmitted condition of overload,debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more” (John De Graaf et). We must not confuse the negative psychological and material effects of trying to keep up with the Joneses with and create a skewered idea of poverty. The debate is open – thanks to Labour’s fixation with the utility bills – let us not be carried off our feet with populist assertions.
Ed in vece del fandango, una marcia per il fango
Note to the Malta International Airport operators. The restrooms at the luggage collection area are in a filthy state. What is all the refurbishment worth if the restrooms are in a third world condition? Health and safety conditions at work are no joke. They are not just there to provide a good shop window for the tourist industry but also to ensure that everyone who respects his job performs it in optimal conditions. There have been too many accidents this week on the island. I am often accused of living a detached life since I blog and write from abroad. Apart from this accusation being a ridiculous fallacy that only befits those who have no better argument, the viewpoint from yonder allows you to see trends that other people do not necessarily notice. That we have had too many accidents to feel comfortable about them is one of them. It is useless moaning to “the authorities” if we do not take some responsible action ourselves.
Che le palle in tutti i tuoni, all’orecchio fan fischiar.
So it seems that Piano’s Piani have obtained the go-ahead. Political instrumentalisation will probably head to another topic soon enough while we will wait to see the final polished product. I still cannot and don’t feel the need to “take sides” on this issue and can only hope that the final product returns a semblance of busy gentlemanliness to the city built for gentlemen. All the pooh-poohing of the Parliament at Main Gate was a bit over the top for me. The Romans had quiffs of their own – particularly over the rebuilding of such sites as the senate and the Temple of Jupiter. When Sulla had a new senate built to accomodate the bloated numbers of the body (thanks to his violent reforms) the senators complained about the loss of decorum. Sic transit gloria populi.
I am not being defeatist or snidely supercilious here and I do hope that the calls for a proper home for theatre, opera, and for a contemporary art collection are answered (separatelyif necessary). What matters right now is that Valletta will have a new face. That matter has to be quite separate from the issue of the use of the old opera house and I for one am quite happy with the progress made.
Narcisetto, Adoncino d’amor. Cherubino, alla vittoria!
It’ll be a busy eight days on the island for J’accuse. There’s the new book by Mark Camilleri (Prima Facie) to buy, good food to consume (Mgarr Farmers Co-op here I come) and many many people to catch up with. I will also be taking some time to investigate the notion of poverty in Malta – anyone who has a story to tell or pointers to give could be kind enough to drop a comment or two on the website (www.akkuza.com). Next week I hope to tell you more about a renascent Maltese blogosphere. Die dulci freure (have a nice day).
www.akkuza.com will also have posts on development.thinkaboutit.eu throughout the next few months. Is poverty all in the mind? Have your say on J’accuse. Headings for today’s article are taken from the aria “Non piú andrai” from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro
