Quotes About Politics

of both Hirtius and Pansa—had placed Octavian in an extraordinarily powerful position.

and wanted to replace Tiberius with Agrippa, and that Livia acted to defeat him.

Then his colleague Pedius won approval for a bill that made Caesar's killing a crime

As many as three hundred senators were butchered—among them Cicero

government by three men did not promise stability.

KILLING FIELDS 43–42 B.C.

he would enjoy the power of a tribune without actually having to hold the post.

Perhaps the most instructive aspect of Augustus' approach to politics was his twin recognition that in the long run power was unsustainable without consent, and that consent could best be won by associating radical constitutional change with a traditional and moralizing ideology.

Caesar's heir was now ready to pounce. Both consulships were vacant

and he captured and eventually executed the official incoming governor, Mark Antony's brother Gaius.

37 B.C.; it was in his interest to ensure that the west was quiet before he set off against Parthia

Mark Antony took the same line.

Many senators, even though they had been appointed by the dictator, were inclined to accept his removal as a fait accompli.

Senators will also have been pleased to witness the declining importance of the people—

ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE features of the Augustan regime was that speech remained free.

Pompey, jealous of Caesar's military achievements in Gaul, became increasingly friendly with the optimates.

Caesar intended to return to Rome, a conquering hero, and stand for consul for 48 B.C.

Octavian's most urgent task was to make his position official.

From Antony's point of view, the arrival of Caesar's heir was an annoying distraction.

One of the consuls in 41 B.C. was Lucius Antonius, Mark Antony's brother

who decided to launch a military challenge against Octavian.

AS far as it could, the Senate allowed events to take their course, intervening only when absolutely necessary.

However, the senatorial extremists, increasingly sure of Pompey's support, refused to compromise.

This development has been presented as leaving Livia and her sons, Tiberius and Drusus, out in the cold.