Friends Romans Countrymen

The Breed's Hill Gazette July 2009

Friends, Romans, Countrymen

By Dan Shippey & Michael Burns

The man stood before the crowd with his Roman Senate robes draped around him. Each face was turned, breath held, waiting upon his words. He spoke, not of Rome as she was, but Rome as she had been:

“It was this noble attachment to a free constitution, which raised ancient Rome from the smallest beginnings, to that bright summit of happiness and glory to which she arrived; and it was the loss of this which plunged her from that summit, into the black gulf of infamy and slavery. It was this attachment which inspired her senators with wisdom; it was this which glowed in the breasts of her heroes; it was this which guarded her liberties, and extended her dominions, gave peace at home, and commanded respect abroad; and when this degenerated into tyrants and oppressors; her senators forgetful of their dignity, and seduced by base corruption, betrayed their country; her soldiers, regardless of their relation to the community, and urged only by hopes of plunder and rapine, unfeelingly committed the most flagrant enormities; and hired to the trade of death, with relentless fury they perpetrated the most cruel murders, whereby the streets of imperial Rome were drenched with her noblest blood. Thus this empress of the world lost her dominions abroad, and her inhabitants, dissolute in their manners, at length became contented slaves; and she stands to this day, the scorn and derision of nations, and a monument of this eternal truth, that PUBLIC HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON A VIRTUOUS AND UNSHAKEN ATTACHMENT TO A FREE CONSTITUTION.”

Oddly enough, this speech was not given on the floor of the Roman Senate or by a Roman Senator. It was given in Boston, 1772, by a medical doctor named Joseph Warren. So why the Roman clothing and why the Roman history lesson? For the same reason that our American institutions are full of Roman terms like Senator and Republic.

The answer lies in what the 18^th century called a Classical Education, an education rooted in the study of Greek and Roman history, philosophy and literature. Classical education gave the Founders a context in which to view their world. It provided a vocabulary to communicate ideas and a yardstick to measure their world against. Our country’s founders were educated in, enlightened and inspired by the Roman Republic. The lessons of patriotism, statesmanship, critical thinking, the instability of pure democracy and the enduring strength of a republic originate from the works of classical Greek and Roman writers.

Like many of the Founders at the onset of the Revolution, Washington, Adams and Jefferson had never been to England. In fact, one could make the argument that they felt as connected to Ancient Rome as to their “mother country.” Both England and Rome were known to them primarily by what they had read. But they were very well read.

· Washington’s favorite play (one of Ben Franklin’s as well) was Addison’s Cato, the story of a Roman Senator who will not surrender to the tyranny of Julius Caesar.

· When Patrick Henry said

“Give me Liberty or give me death!” He was paraphrasing Act 2, Scene 4 of Cato:

“It is not now a time to talk of aught
but chains or conquest, liberty or death”

· When John Adams was still a student in 1759 he said that

“Old Roman lawyers and Dutch commentators are my constant companions.”

· In 1771, Thomas Jefferson made a list of books he felt were important for a man to have in his private library. That list included the Roman histories Livy, Sallust by Gordon, Tacitus by Gordon, Caesar by Bladen, Josephus, Vertot’s Revolutions of Rome and Plutarch’s Lives.

romanesque wash

The words, ideas and virtues that these Founders learned from the Romans developed in them a love of liberty and law that was challenged by the British Government. It helped them to recognize that the small illegal acts of government had a large and lasting impact on their future. When the government of Rome stopped following its own laws and began to trample on the peoples’ rights, it spelled the end of the Republic and the beginning of the tyrannical Empire.

supreme court

The very Roman inspired Supreme Court Building, Washington DC

The study of Rome also gave the Founders something special that we seem to lack today--a sense of history. They learned that ours is part of a larger story, and that we can learn lessons from the past that apply to us today. They also learned that we have a place in history and a duty to keep it moving in the right direction. From the time before the Revolution to the days of the early American Republic, we see the patriots view themselves in the light of history and especially Roman history.

“If ever an Infant Country deserved to be cherished it is America, if ever a People merited Honor and Happiness, they are her Inhabitants. They have the high sentiments of Romans in the most prosperous and virtuous Times of that Commonwealth.” John Adams letter to newspaper under the name Clarendon 1767

“But if we should be defeated I think we shall not be conquered. A people fired like the Romans with Love of their Country and of Liberty, a zeal for the publick Good, and a Noble Emulation of Glory, will not be disheartened or dispirited by a Succession of unfortunate Events. But like them may we learn by Defeat the power of becoming invincible.” Abigail Adams July, 1776

“This I hope will be the age of experiments in government, and that their basis will be founded in principles of honesty, not of mere force. We have seen no instance of this since the days of the Roman Republic, nor do we read of any before that.” Thomas Jefferson 1796

At the end of the Revolutionary War, many in Europe expected George Washington to make himself king of America. Historically, men who are at the head of a revolutionary army kill the king and place the crown on their own heads. But Washington had a Roman model for his service, the duty and virtue of Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus was a hero of early Rome who left his farm to lead the army. After securing victory, Cincinnatus could have held absolute power. Instead, he gave it up and returned to his farm. Following this example Washington resigned his commission in 1783 and returned to Mount Vernon. Six years later, Washington was elected to serve as President, but after two terms again retired to his farm. This will forever stand in contrast to General Napoleon Bonaparte, who only two years after Washington’s retirement let his ambition for power lead him to declare himself emperor of France.

Classical education fell out of vogue in the 19^th century and by the end of the 20^th was thought of largely as novel, cute and completely obsolete. Today the history of the 18^th Century and our nation’s founding is suffering a similar fate. Taught in abbreviated form to 5^th graders and briefly touched on in high school government class, it is no longer required to be studied in major Universities. However, for those who will listen, the words of Thomas Jefferson are still calling to us from 1781.

History by apprising [citizens] of the past will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views.

* The title photographs at the top and on the front page are the Roman inspired statue of George Washington at the Capitol building.