Libertas And Res Publica In The Roman Republic

Libertas and Res Publica examines two key concepts of Western political thinking: freedom and republic. Contributors address important new questions on the principles of, and essential connection between res publica and libertas in Roman thought and Republican history.

This is a comprehensive analysis of the idea of libertas and its conflicting uses in the political struggles of the late Roman Republic. By reconstructing Roman political thinking about liberty against the background of Classical and Hellenistic thought, it excavates two distinct intellectual traditions on the means allowing for the preservation and the loss of libertas. Considering the interplay of these traditions in the political debates of the first century BC, Dr Arena offers a significant reinterpretation of the political struggles of the time as well as a radical reappraisal of the role played by the idea of liberty in the practice of politics. She argues that, as a result of its uses in rhetorical debates, libertas underwent a form of conceptual change at the end of the Republic and came to legitimise a new course of politics, which led progressively to the transformation of the whole political system.

"It is refreshing to read an essay on political ideas distinguished both by precision of thought and clarity of expression." Philosophical Review

Res Publica and the Roman Republic explores the political crisis at the end of the Roman Republic through the changing perceptions of the political sphere itself, the res publica. Partisan clashes over the political sphere, thus conceived, formed an important part of this crisis, though have received relatively little attention to date, partly because of the difficulty of precisely defining the concept. Nevertheless, from Scipio Nasica's efforts to keep it safe in 133 to Sulla's restored res publica in 82-81 and Caesar's sarcasm about its very existence (Suet. Jul. 77), the perceived condition and needs of the res publica were a source of concern, controversy, and self-justification throughout this period. This volume seeks to show how the rhetoric surrounding res publica mirrors the changes in the Roman political landscape towards the end of the Republic. It begins by advancing a definition before proceeding to outline its relationships with various constitutional elements, in particular the Republican magistrates, as well as how these various elements benefited from this relationship, how competing elements challenged it, and how the conviction that the res publica was in danger spurred divisive action. These themes coalesce in an examination of how Cicero exploited his consular relationship to the res publica throughout 63, both before and during the Catilinarian crisis, and how he was then obliged to renegotiate how he related to it after his exile. Finally, private action on behalf of the res publica is considered in detail, a euphemism for illegal behaviour later trumpeted by Augustus in the Res Gestae, before the conclusion outlines how Augustus adopted the position of a patron to the dependent res publica, but was seen by contemporaries as embodying it, it being by now little more than a playground for the Princeps.

This study describes the meaning of libertas as a political idea at Rome during the two hundred years or so between the Gracchi and Trajan, a period in which the Republican constitution gradually gave way and was finally superceded by the Principate which, in its own turn, considerably changed during the first century AD. Libertas, while identified with the republican constitution during the Republican period, continued to be a popular slogan and a constitutional principle under the Principate, and C H Wirszubski questions whether the political content of Roman libertas changed as the Roman constitution was transformed. He explores the general characteristics of libertas before engaging with both the background and the major points that were at issue, concluding his analysis with consideration of libertas in the context of the Principate. Originally published in the 1950s, Wirszubski's classic study has been digitally reprinted for a new generation of scholars.

A very readable introduction exploring much-contested issues and debates, and providing an original synthesis of this important topic.

Based on the author's doctoral dissertation, Durham University, 2013.