Primary Source Quotations Flashcards
(15 cards)
Unit 2: Early Rome (c. 1000–509 BCE) – Roman Religion: Livy. “What chiefly makes the study of history wholesome and profitable is this, that you behold the lessons of every kind of experience set forth as on a conspicuous monument; from these you may choose for yourself and for your own state what to imitate, from these mark for avoidance what is shameful in the conception and shameful in the result. For the rest, either love of the task I have set myself deceives me, or no state was ever greater, none more righteous or richer in good examples, none ever was where avarice and luxury came into the social order so late, or where humble means and thrift were so highly esteemed and so long held in honour.”
Author & Work: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita (History of Rome), Preface to Book 1 (written c. 27–9 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: Livy, writing directly to his Roman readership—especially elite citizens and moral reformers of the Augustan era.
Explanation & Significance:
Livy begins his monumental history with a clear didactic purpose: history is a tool for moral education. His view reflects a Roman belief that the past holds exemplary models (exempla)—both positive and negative—that guide present conduct. Livy idealizes early Rome as morally superior, a time when simplicity, discipline, and frugality were dominant virtues. He criticizes the later infiltration of avaritia (greed) and luxuria (luxury), suggesting that these corruptions coincided with Rome’s material success. This quote is not merely reflective; it is a moral commentary aimed at contemporary Rome, aligning with Augustan efforts to promote traditional Roman virtues through cultural renewal.
Course Connection:
This passage connects to themes of Roman religion and moral ideology in early Rome. Livy’s narrative preserves ancestral mos maiorum (customs of the ancestors) and reflects how Roman historians acted as both chroniclers and moralists. His reverence for humble origins and civic virtue also supports the course theme of how early Roman identity was shaped in opposition to luxury and decadence, ideals later embedded in Roman religion and statecraft.
Unit 3: Roman Society and Its Organization: 1. Martial, “I must surmount the track up the hill from the Subura and the dirty pavement with its steps never dry, and I can scarce break through the long droves of mules and the blocks of marble you see hauled by many a cable.”
Author & Work: Martial, Epigrams (late 1st century CE)
Speaker & Addressee: The speaker is Martial himself, addressing a general Roman audience, often imagined as a literary persona.
Explanation & Significance:
This epigram offers a vivid snapshot of daily life in Imperial Rome, especially the chaotic and crowded conditions of urban living. The Subura was a densely populated, lower-class neighborhood in Rome, and Martial’s frustration with climbing through its muddy, congested streets reflects the daily challenges faced by ordinary residents—noise, crowds, animals, and constant construction. His mention of “blocks of marble” being hauled uphill highlights Rome’s constant state of development, driven by elite building projects that disregarded the everyday burdens they placed on the urban poor.
Course Connection:
This quote speaks to social stratification, urban infrastructure, and mobility in Roman society. It illustrates how elites shaped the cityscape while the lower classes lived amid its grime and disarray. Martial’s work often juxtaposes elite pretensions with the reality of working-class life, making this an important text for understanding Roman urban culture and class dynamics.
Unit 3: Roman Society and Its Organization: 2. Propertius, “It shall be read of me on this stone that I [Cornelia] was the wife of one husband. I summon the ashes of my forefathers (Rome holds their memory in awe) . . . to bear witness that I abated not the rigour of the censorial canon, and that I had no stain to blush for.”
Author & Work: Propertius, Elegies Book IV (c. 16 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: The speaker is Cornelia, speaking posthumously in the poem. The poem is framed as an epitaph or ghost-speech; the audience is both the reader and Rome itself.
Explanation & Significance:
Cornelia’s voice here expresses the Roman ideal of the univira, a woman married to only one man. Her pride in adhering to the “censorial canon” reflects Augustan moral legislation, which promoted female chastity, marital fidelity, and elite lineage. She identifies herself with her ancestral heritage and civic virtue, aligning her private conduct with public honor. The phrase “no stain to blush for” underscores how personal behavior was judged through a civic lens, especially for elite women who carried the reputation of their families.
Course Connection:
This quotation is significant for its reflection of gender roles, family values, and Augustan reforms in Roman society. It shows how women, though excluded from formal politics, were still key in maintaining Rome’s moral order. Propertius’s use of a female speaker to express these values also shows how literature functioned in reinforcing state ideology.
Unit 4: The Republic (509 BCE–31 BCE) Livy “[Senator] Spurius Carvilius, after complaining in a long speech, not of the lack of senators, only, but also of the small number of citizens from whom might be chosen into the senate, said that for the sake of recruiting the senate and of linking the Latins more closely with the Roman, people, he strongly urged that citizenship be bestowed upon two senators from each of the Latin states . . . and that from this number men be chosen into the senate in place of the [Roman senators killed at Cannae].”
Author & Work: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 23 (written during the Augustan era, covering events from the Second Punic War, 216 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: Senator Spurius Carvilius, addressing the Roman Senate after the catastrophic Roman defeat at Cannae.
Explanation & Significance:
This passage shows how the devastation at Cannae, where many Roman senators died, led to a major political crisis and a debate about how to replenish the Senate. Carvilius’s proposal to grant citizenship to Latin elites and admit them into the Senate reflects broader tensions about Roman identity, citizenship, and inclusion of allies. His suggestion implies a pragmatic response to military loss, but it also raises questions about how far Rome should extend political integration to non-Roman Italians. The proposal highlights the fragile balance between Roman hegemony and the demands of its Italian allies, foreshadowing the later Social War (91–88 BCE), in which those denied citizenship revolted.
Course Connection:
The quote relates to themes of citizenship, senatorial authority, and Rome’s integration of allies. It shows how military needs could challenge the exclusivity of Roman identity and the evolving relationship between Rome and the Latins—crucial topics in the development of the Roman Republic and its eventual transformation.
Unit 4: The Republic (509 BCE–31 BCE) Julius Caesar, “The provinces, two consular, the rest praetorian, are decreed to private persons. Syria falls to Scipio, Gallia to L.Domitius; Philippus and Cotta are passed over by private arrangement, nor are their lots cast into the urn. To the rest of the provinces praetors are sent. Nor do they wait, as had been the habit in previous years, for a motion to be brought before the people about their imperial command; but, wearing the scarlet military cloak, they leave Rome after offering the usual vows.”
Author & Work: Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War), Book 1 (written 49–48 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: Caesar, narrating events critically for his readers; though ostensibly third-person, this is Caesar’s own voice shaping the narrative.
Explanation & Significance:
This quotation describes how Caesar’s political opponents in the Senate were manipulating provincial assignments during the civil crisis of 49 BCE. Instead of following the traditional, legal method of drawing lots and waiting for popular ratification, governors are selected through backroom deals and leave Rome in military dress—symbolizing war. The passage reveals the breakdown of Republican norms and procedures, with elite factions seizing control of provincial power structures to undermine Caesar. Caesar presents himself as the defender of legality and tradition, even as he himself violated the Republic’s norms by crossing the Rubicon.
Course Connection:
This quote exemplifies the political instability and erosion of Republican institutions in the late Republic. It highlights key issues such as the abuse of provincial commands, the militarization of politics, and the rise of personal rivalries over collective governance. Caesar’s commentary also serves as political propaganda, reinforcing how the Republic’s collapse was framed and justified by its key players.
Unit 5: Roman Architecture and Engineering Martial, “Let not the mass, girt with rays, of the wondrous Colossus that exalts to surpass the labour of Rhodes, detain you. Bend round here where is the roof of wine-drenched Lyaeus, and Cybele’s dome stands with its painted Corybants.”
Author & Work: Martial, Epigrams, Book 1 (late 1st century CE, during the Flavian dynasty)
Speaker & Addressee: Martial, addressing a literary audience, guiding them through notable landmarks of imperial Rome.
Explanation & Significance:
Martial references several iconic Roman monuments: the Colossus of Nero (later reworked by Vespasian), a massive statue meant to rival the Colossus of Rhodes; a temple to Bacchus (Lyaeus); and the Temple of Cybele, with her attendants (Corybants). This passage exemplifies how Roman poets used vivid description to praise imperial architecture and religious monuments while inviting audiences to physically and imaginatively move through the city. The Colossus, a towering emblem of imperial grandeur, symbolized both the ego of Nero and later the redirection of that power under the Flavians.
Course Connection:
This quote reflects the interplay between architecture, religion, and imperial ideology. The monumental scale of Roman buildings was not just aesthetic—it conveyed messages of divine favor, military might, and dynastic legitimacy. Martial’s epigram also reveals how urban space in Rome functioned as a curated experience, where infrastructure and religious devotion merged into a spectacle of power and piety.
Unit 5: Roman Architecture and Engineering Statius, “Thereunder swiftly the traveller turns, leaving Appia to sigh that she is flouted. Swifter forthwith and more eager is the journeying; forthwith even the horses delight in the speed, as when the arms of the rowers tire and the breezes first begin to fan the sails.”
Author & Work: Statius, Silvae (c. 90 CE), likely describing the newly completed Via Domitiana, a road built by Emperor Domitian.
Speaker & Addressee: Statius, writing in praise of imperial infrastructure to a Roman elite audience.
Explanation & Significance:
This poetic passage celebrates a new Roman road (possibly the Via Domitiana) and emphasizes its superiority even over the famed Appian Way. Statius personifies the Appia as sighing with envy—an example of poetic innovation used to glorify engineering achievements. The comparison of a smooth ride to the moment when a sailboat overtakes tired rowers highlights the sensation of technological ease and speed enabled by Roman infrastructure. The quote illustrates Roman pride in road-building and how infrastructure became a form of imperial propaganda, linking practical utility with divine or poetic grandeur.
Course Connection:
This excerpt highlights the importance of roads in unifying the Empire, facilitating military mobility, trade, and administrative control. It also reflects the literary culture of the Flavian period, where poets like Statius elevated engineering feats to mythic status. Roman roads weren’t just practical—they were symbols of Roman order, expansion, and technological dominance.
Unit 6: Latin Literature of the Republic; Roman Philosophy Meditations, “When a man has presented the appearance of having done wrong, say, How then do I know if this is a wrongful act? And even if he has done wrong, how do I know that he has not condemned himself? and so this is like tearing his own face. Consider that he, who would not have the bad man do wrong, is like the man who would not have the fig-tree to bear juice in the figs and infants to cry and the horse to neigh, and whatever else must of necessity be. For what must a man do who has such a character? If then thou art irritable, cure this man’s disposition”
Author & Work: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 10 (written c. 170s CE in Greek, though often studied as part of Roman philosophy)
Speaker & Addressee: Marcus Aurelius, writing privately to himself—this is a personal philosophical reflection, not addressed to a specific audience.
Explanation & Significance:
This passage reflects Stoic philosophy’s emphasis on reason, self-restraint, and acceptance of nature. Marcus questions his judgment of others, reminding himself that wrongdoing may be a matter of perception or necessity. The metaphor of tearing one’s own face underscores the Stoic belief that anger harms the self more than the object of the anger. The comparison to fig-trees and infants points to Stoic determinism: just as natural things behave according to their nature, so do flawed people. The appropriate response is not irritation, but understanding and rational correction of one’s own response. The final line urges mastery over one’s emotions—a central Stoic goal.
Course Connection:
This quotation exemplifies how Roman philosophy, particularly Stoicism, shaped elite moral behavior in the later Roman world. While Meditations postdates the Republic, it draws on traditions rooted in Republican-era Stoics like Cicero and Seneca. It connects to themes of self-governance, duty, and emotional discipline—virtues that were also central to Roman civic identity. The text demonstrates the continuity of philosophical traditions from the Republic through the Empire and the role of introspection in Roman ethical thought.
Unit 7: Return to One-Man Rule: The Julio-Claudians (27 BCE–68 CE)
Vergil, The Golden Age: “Only favour the child who’s born, pure Lucina, under whom the first race of iron shall end, and a golden race rise up throughout the world: now your Apollo reigns.”
Author & Work: Vergil, Eclogue 4 (c. 40 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: The speaker is the poet-narrator, appealing to Lucina (Roman goddess of childbirth), speaking to a general Roman audience, possibly in celebration of a child associated with Augustus’s regime.
Explanation & Significance:
This prophetic and highly symbolic passage comes from Eclogue 4, where Vergil imagines the end of a corrupt “iron” age and the arrival of a new “golden” age under a divinely sanctioned child. Scholars have debated the identity of this child—perhaps a reference to a child in the imperial family (e.g., a son of Octavia or Antony) or a poetic allegory for Augustus himself. The golden age rhetoric reflects Augustan propaganda that framed his rule as the restoration of cosmic and moral order after years of civil war. Apollo, closely associated with Augustus, symbolizes divine sanction and cultural renewal.
Course Connection:
This quote reflects how Latin literature of the early Empire was used to legitimize one-man rule. Vergil’s work bridges Republican literary traditions and Imperial ideology, casting Augustus not as a tyrant, but as a divine restorer of peace and prosperity. The golden age imagery became central to Augustan self-representation and imperial ideology, linking political power to myth and religion.
Unit 7: Return to One-Man Rule: The Julio-Claudians (27 BCE–68 CE) Tacitus: “[Nero] threw up a number of extemporized shelters to accommodate the helpless multitude . . . Yet his measures, popular as their character might be, failed of their effect; for the report had spread that, at the very moment when Rome was aflame, he had mounted his private stage, and . . . had sung the destruction of Troy.”
Author & Work: Tacitus, Annals, Book 15 (written early 2nd century CE)
Speaker & Addressee: Tacitus, addressing his elite Roman readership, offering a retrospective analysis of Nero’s reign.
Explanation & Significance:
Tacitus here narrates one of the most infamous episodes of Nero’s reign: the Great Fire of Rome (64 CE). While noting Nero’s relief efforts, he emphasizes that public perception was dominated by a scandalous rumor—that Nero performed theatrically while the city burned. The comparison to Troy evokes a mythic destruction that Nero is said to have romanticized. Tacitus is skeptical of Nero’s motives, using literary drama to highlight the emperor’s moral and political failures. This passage exemplifies Tacitus’s method of showing how image and perception often outweighed action in the imperial court.
Course Connection:
This quote connects directly to the theme of Julio-Claudian leadership and the historiographical portrayal of “bad emperors.” Tacitus reflects senatorial distrust of autocracy and presents Nero as the embodiment of imperial excess, detachment, and theatrical narcissism. It reveals how Roman historians shaped memory and reputation, drawing on moral and cultural expectations of leadership to judge emperors after the fact.
Unit 8: Golden and Silver Age Latin Literature Propertius: “You go ahead and try to surpass your uncle’s power, restore ancient rights our allies have let slide. You never had time for love even in your youth; and armed nation was always your concern.”
Author & Work: Propertius, Elegies, Book 4 (c. 16 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: Propertius, addressing Augustus (implicitly or directly), in a tone that is both admiring and detached.
Explanation & Significance:
This quote reflects the tension between love poetry and political ideology in Augustan Rome. Propertius, a poet of the so-called “Silver Age,” distances himself from the martial and civic values of the regime, choosing instead the world of erotic and literary pursuit. Here, he acknowledges Augustus’s military ambition and imperial mission—his goal to restore Roman power and rights lost during the Republic’s collapse—but also contrasts it with a life unconcerned with love. The line implies both admiration and ironic critique: Augustus has chosen glory and governance over human passion, possibly suggesting the cost of such singular focus.
Course Connection:
This quote illuminates how Golden and Silver Age literature both engaged with and resisted imperial ideology. Propertius participates in the cultural project of the Augustan regime while retaining the poet’s independence. The line highlights themes of love vs. duty, poetry vs. politics, and how elite authors positioned themselves in relation to the growing power of the principate.
Unit 8: Golden and Silver Age Latin Literature
Vergil, Aeneid: “It chanced th’ Arcadian King had come that day to honor Hercules, Amphitryon’s son, and to the powers divine pay worship due in groves outside the wall. Beside him stood Pallas his son, his noblest men-at-arms, and frugal senators, who at the shrines burnt incense, while warm blood of victims flowed. But when they saw the tall ships in the shade of that dark forest plying noiseless oars, the sudden sight alarmed, and all the throng sprang to its feet and left the feast divine.”
Author & Work: Vergil, Aeneid, Book 8 (written 29–19 BCE)
Speaker & Addressee: The narrator (Vergil), describing events in the epic; the passage is directed to the reader but steeped in Roman values and Augustan ideology.
Explanation & Significance:
This scene captures a moment of religious observance and sudden military tension. King Evander, his son Pallas, and his people are engaged in ritual worship of Hercules, a divine hero associated with civilizing power and military might. The peaceful rites are interrupted by the sight of Aeneas’s ships, drawing a sharp contrast between piety and war. The “frugal senators” invoke an idealized, austere early Rome, linking these Arcadians to the Roman mos maiorum. Pallas and Evander function as precursors to Roman civic and military virtues.
Course Connection:
The Aeneid is foundational to Golden Age literature and Roman national identity. This passage illustrates the epic’s fusion of myth, religion, and Roman values. It underscores themes such as pietas (devotion), the civilizing mission of Rome, and the inseparable link between religion and warfare. It also reflects the Augustan ideal of restoring traditional Roman values while expanding imperial power.
Unit 9: The Year of the Four Emperors, The Flavian Emperors, and the Roman Army Pliny the Younger: [The cloud] rose to a great height like a trunk separated into branches, I think because of the recent nature of its springing forth, then it dimmed towards the sides, weakening with age or under its own weight. Sometimes it was white, sometimes dirty, depending on whether it carried dirt or ashes. Being a man of great learning, my uncle knew he should get closer. He asked for a boat to be prepared and said that I could come if I liked.
Author & Work: Pliny the Younger, Letters, Book 6, Letter 16 (written c. 100 CE, describing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE)
Speaker & Addressee: Pliny the Younger, writing to the historian Tacitus about the death of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, during the eruption of Vesuvius.
Explanation & Significance:
This passage is part of Pliny the Younger’s eyewitness account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and one of the earliest surviving descriptions of a volcanic event. His vivid, almost scientific observations about the shape, color, and behavior of the cloud demonstrate Roman curiosity and intellectual rigor. The tree-trunk metaphor and attention to natural detail reflect Pliny’s rhetorical education and his uncle’s identity as a Roman scholar and naturalist (author of the Natural History). The description also reveals Roman values: Pliny the Elder’s decision to approach the disaster shows courage, duty, and a pursuit of knowledge even in the face of danger.
Course Connection:
This letter offers insight into the Roman intellectual elite during the Flavian period, as well as how individuals recorded and responded to natural disasters. Though not directly about the army or emperors, it is tied to the broader themes of Flavian rule—such as imperial patronage of knowledge and science, and the importance of legacy. Pliny’s dignified narrative also reflects how Roman authors constructed personal and civic identity through prose. Tacitus, the recipient, later became a key historian of Flavian and Julio-Claudian rule, deepening the letter’s value for the historical record.
Unit 10: The Zenith of the Empire to the Severans (96–235 CE) “Life of Antonius Pius”: His procurators were ordered to levy only a reasonable tribute, and those who exceeded a proper limit were commanded to render an account of their acts, nor was he ever pleased with any revenues that were onerous to the provinces. Moreover, he was always willing to hear complaints against his procurators.
Author & Work: Historia Augusta, Life of Antonius Pius (written in the late 4th century CE, though purporting to describe the reign of Antoninus Pius, 138–161 CE)
Speaker & Addressee: The anonymous author of the Historia Augusta, addressing the reader in a historical-biographical format.
Explanation & Significance:
This passage portrays Antoninus Pius as a just and benevolent emperor, particularly in his treatment of the provinces. He is described as limiting the power of his procurators—imperial financial administrators—by ensuring they did not exploit provincials through excessive taxation. His willingness to hear complaints reflects a philosophy of accessible and responsive rule. This image of the emperor aligns with the ideal of the bonus princeps (good emperor), one who governs in the interest of all subjects, not just the Roman elite. Though the Historia Augusta has questionable historical reliability, it reflects contemporary expectations of good governance.
Course Connection:
This excerpt connects to themes of imperial administration, the relationship between center and periphery, and the image of the emperor as protector of the people. During the so-called “Zenith of the Empire,” emperors like Antoninus Pius were idealized for maintaining peace (Pax Romana), stability, and justice. The quote also demonstrates how imperial reputation was shaped through narrative and biography, and how emperors were judged not just by military conquests, but by their fairness and attention to provincial welfare.
Unit 12: Constantine and the Late Empire Eusebius: “My own desire is, for the common good of the world and the advantage of all mankind, that thy people should enjoy a life of peace and undisturbed concord. Let those, therefore, who still delight in error, be made welcome to the same degree of peace and tranquillity which they have who believe. For it may be that this restoration of equal privileges to all will prevail to lead them into the straight path. Let no one molest another, but let every one do as his soul desires.”
Author & Work: Eusebius, Life of Constantine (Vita Constantini), Book 2 (written c. 337 CE)
Speaker & Addressee: Constantine (as quoted by Eusebius), addressing the general population or possibly a provincial governor, as presented by Eusebius; this is part of Constantine’s broader policy statement.
Explanation & Significance:
This passage encapsulates Constantine’s public stance on religious tolerance after his conversion to Christianity. While Eusebius, a Christian bishop and court historian, is likely shaping the emperor’s words to fit a Christian worldview, the quote still reflects an important political position: Constantine promoted concordia (harmony) and non-persecution among religious groups in the empire. By allowing “those who still delight in error”—pagans or non-Christians—to live in peace, Constantine appears to be advocating religious pluralism, possibly as a strategy for stabilizing the empire after a century of crisis and persecution. The emphasis on choice (“let every one do as his soul desires”) aligns with the Edict of Milan (313 CE), which granted religious freedom across the empire.
Course Connection:
This quote reflects key developments in the Late Empire: the Christianization of imperial power, the shift toward a more centralized and ideologically unified state, and the role of emperors as moral and spiritual leaders. Eusebius’s account also exemplifies how Christian authors recast imperial authority in theological terms, portraying Constantine as a divinely guided ruler. The passage is central to understanding how Constantine merged traditional Roman ideals of peace and order with a new Christian identity.
