Notes on Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor by Anthony Everitt
“Have I played my part in the farce of life well enough?”
—Caesar Augustus
To say that Augustus was successful would be an understatement. He increased the boundaries of the Roman Empire more than anybody else, turned the ugly city of Rome into an architectural masterpiece, became the first full-fledged autocrat after 500 years of democracy, and ruled longer than any other Roman emperor. And he achieved all this despite his poor health and mediocre military skills. But how?
Anthony Everitt’s eponymous book offers an extensive answer to this question. In a nutshell, Augustus owed his triumphs to a combination of luck, patience, determination, and above all, supreme ability to use those around him. He didn’t mind slaughtering people by the thousands when this served him some purpose or other. He aspired to succeed where his great-uncle Julius Caesar had failed and become the undisputed sole ruler of Rome. By any means necessary.
Augustus was posthumously adopted by Julius Caesar and received a vast amount of money into the bargain. He teamed up with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to avenge his assassinated adoptive father. That done, he got rid of his former allies with the help of his lifelong friend Agrippa. Slowly but surely, Augustus acquired more and more power until he took charge of everything.
The title of emperor, however, is anachronistic, for he insisted on being addressed as princeps (first citizen). This was in line with his hypocritical claim that he supported democracy and the Republic. He even kept the Senate, but all major decisions were his.
After most of his opposition had been either wiped out or persuaded to join him, Augustus focused his attention on improving the daily life of the remaining Roman citizens. Inspired by what he had seen in Alexandria, Egypt, he set out to make Rome the most magnificent city in the world. A myriad of grandiose construction projects ensued, and some of the resulting structures still stand 2,000 years later. His own house, however, was relatively modest.
Augustus frequently toured his empire in an attempt to ensure peace. He gave Roman citizenship to local rulers, thereby fostering loyalty to Rome. When this didn’t work, he had the rebels killed. Also, he deported hosts of men of military age to avoid future trouble.
One of Augustus’s problems was preparing the ground for a peaceful succession. He had no legitimate male children of his own, and his nephews, grandchildren, and adopted children either predeceased him or were unfit to rule. In the end, he appointed his stepson Tiberius as his heir. On August 19, 14 CE, the princeps died at the age of 76 knowing that his legacy would endure. His mission was complete.
So, did Augustus play his “part in the farce of life well enough?” Opinions vary. Anthony Everitt suggests that, “for all his flaws, the balance sheet ends in credit. For the most part, the private man lived decently according to the standards of the time, and the public man did terrible things, but usually for the public good.” I don’t subscribe to this point of view.
Augustus did good things only when bad ones wouldn’t be more beneficial. Whether he believed that his actions served the Roman people is beside the point. He did what he did. Willingly. And that many of his contemporaries would have been just as cruel in his place, or even more so, doesn’t make him a good person either.
In conclusion, Augustus is a well-written and important book. It provides yet another example of atrocities begotten by imperial ambition. It offers a glimpse of the empire that shaped Europe, if not the entire world. And it proves that George Orwell was right: “[t]he object of power is power.”
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