M. Porcius Cato

That sounds about right. If you assume that Booth was familiar with the Latin motto of Virginia, he could be forgiven for thinking that the Roman source was one Brutus or the other. It also fits in with the strange affinity that the Confederates had for ancient Rome, probably the most successful slave-holding republic on which they might have patterned themselves. Ironically, though, the actual author of the line, Wythe, was opposed to slavery and issued a legal opinion--viz., that all those of African descent were to be considered free unless proven otherwise--that would have practically delivered a death-blow to the peculiar (and abominable) institution.

This is all off-topic, but since the original poster hasn't returned, I don't feel guilty straying. According to the entry on citizenship in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, "Roman citizenship came to possess two features which distinguished it from polis citizenship and which later surprised Greek observers: the automatic incorporation of freed slaves into the Roman citizen body; and the ease with which whole communities of outsiders could be admitted as citizens. By the time Rome faced the invasion of Hannibal in 218 BC, she had a long history of giving citizenship to Italian communities, either with the vote (optimo iure) or without the vote (sine suffragio). ... All citizens, after the abolition of the ban on conubium between patricians and plebeians, had conubium; they were also liable to tributum and military service. If they had the vote, they were also eligible to stand for magistracies. (Individuals were occasionally deprived of the vote as a punishment, becoming aerarii.)" The entry doesn't specify whether the time frame being discussed includes the pre-Augustan era, but I can think of two ancient sources off the top of my head (maybe a bad omen!) that strongly suggests that the same policy existed prior to Augustus. The first is the source describing Scipio Aemilianus' speech, in which he castigated the crowd saying (iirc), "Silence! I brought you all here as slaves". The second is a letter from Phillip, in which he recommended the Roman policy of incorporating freedmen into the citizen body. Neither Scipio nor Phillip's comments make any sense unless freedmen were regularly (if not universally) admitted into citizenship.

Seems to me that the titles of news items (e.g., Names for Roman Dogs) should also be links to the articles in question. Visually, it would also help to set off the titles from the text. Minor issue though. I also agree with Moonlapse that the overall organization of the site has become quite difficult to navigate. The new home page seems to be a move in the right direction, but it's still not apparent how to click to bottom-level articles.

Thanks, Faustus. I always loved that painting for celebrating the severe patriotism of the old heroes of the republic. Here's the excerpt from Livy (2.3ff): There were among the Roman youth some young men

Please don't quote me out of context. I wrote, "Legally, all of these peoples could be admitted as citizens, it is true. However, the only gateway to citizenship was slavery." The "these people" referred to Greeks, Phrygians, Mysians, Cappadocians, Asiatic Greeks, Syrians, Jews, Punica, Egyptians, Gauls, and Spaniards. Cicero is not a counter-example at all. All Italians south of the Po enjoyed dual-citizenship (see Cicero himself on this point) and were thus Romans.

Like Nephele, I can't find an older reference than the motto adorning the flag of Virginia. The author here would be George Wythe, Virginia's best classical scholar, the first law professor in the U.S., and the teacher of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson wrote of Wythe, "No man ever left behind him a character more venerated than George Wythe. His virtue was of the purest tint; his integrity inflexible, and his justice exact; of warm patriotism, and, devoted as he was to liberty, and the natural and equal rights of man, he might truly be called the Cato of his country."

Why do you think that Coriolanus lacked general support among the Roman army? Seems to me that Coriolanus' political failure came from his opposition to the plebs, who formed the majority in Rome.

If you're interested in the layout of Rome, you might consult this compendium of maps.

Although the Romans didn't subscribe to 20th century racial categories ("Caucasian", "Negroid", etc), the Romans nevertheless traded in some truly crude stereotypes of non-Romans. Looking eastward, the invective became progressively more caustic. "The words of Greeks issue from their lips; those of Romans from their heart" (Plut. Cat. Mai., 12.5). Phrygians, Cicero tells us, are best improved by whipping; 'worst of the Mysians' was the ultimate insult; Carians were so worthless as to be fit only for human experiments; Cappadocians were paragons of stupidity, tastelessness, and beastliness (Cic. Flac. 65; Cic., Red. Sen., 14). Finally, Asiatic Greeks, Syrians, and Jews were born for servitude (Cic. Flac. 67, Livy 35.49.8, 36.17.4-5). Looking southward, the Punica were considered paragons of treachery, with Sardinians being so rotten that they were abandoned even by the Punica (Cic., Scaur. 42). Egyptians, of course, were animal-worshipping degenerates (Cic. Tusc. 5.78, Nat. D. 1.16.43). Looking westward, the Romans saw nothing but barbarism: Gauls and Spaniards were hairy, cruel, ferocious monsters (Cic. Font 31, 33, 41, 43-4; Cic Q Fr 1.1.27), and Spaniards brushed their teeth in piss (Catull. 37.20, 39.17-21). Legally, all of these peoples could be admitted as citizens, it is true. However, the only gateway to citizenship was slavery. Moreover, the passage from foreign slave to free Roman--with all the rights attendant thereto--was often purchased by the slave himself, who then lived in perpetual obligation to his former master. It was a good system for Rome (until Augustus put the brakes on it), and even the Greeks admired it: Phillip V himself commended it in a letter to the Larissans (Syll. 3, 543: 29 - 34). I think the bottom-line is that the Romans, though inclusive politically, still never doubted their superiority of other peoples, whom they showered with slurs, stereotypes, and slavery. Not exactly friendly behavior, if you ask me.

Happy Birthday! Hope it's better than the last birthday of Cassius.

According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, perduellio "was the crime of activity hostile to the state. It covered a much wider field of offenses than consorting with the enemy against the state (proditio), but it was probably not clearly defined. In the early republic it came under the jurisdiction of duumviri perduellionis, who seem to have had the discretion to condemn without further reference but became subject to provocatio. By the 3rd cent. BC prosecutions were mounted by tribunes in an assembly.... In the late republic such prosecutions became obsolete when crimes of the kind were actionable in the quaestio de maiestate."

Of course they had somewhere to go. It's not as though soldiers were not richly rewarded with booty or paid for their services.

That's news to me. Source?

I'm guessing by his lack of beard that he's a Roman and came after Scipio Africanus. Is that a correct assumption?

Excellent!

Appian tells of Punic cruelty: Accordingly Sempronius and the two prisoners who accompanied him returned to Hannibal. The latter in his anger sold some of his prisoners, put others to death, and made a bridge of their bodies with which he passed over a stream. The senators and other distinguished prisoners in his hands he compelled to fight with each other, as a spectacle for the Africans, fathers against sons, and brothers against brothers. He omitted no act of disdainful cruelty.

A nice account is given in Livy here.

Wow.

Please tell me we're not looking at Octavian and not realizing it.

PP--Cannae, not Carrhae.

ugh--didn't see newest hint.

a wild guess--sextus pompey?

No worries, Asclepiades. This has been fun, and Ingsoc is up.

Right, but what Vorenus was emphasizing was that while he LOOKED Gallic, he WAS Roman. So I don't see the inconsistency--at least within the context of the show.

I tried to take advantage of it, but the advertised price of 20% off didn't register in the checkout screen, so I bailed.