Last time we saw that the currently fashionable buzz-word ‘change’ was anathema to the Romans, because they looked for stability and permanence, and change implied failure. Romans reinforced this perspective by using the past to act as a guide to the present. The technical term for any particular instance was exemplum.
Romans had always seen the old Roman family as the great exemplum, reliable, solid, held together by bonds of affection, the foundation of the stable society; and the key to that bonding was pietas, the respect for man and god that created those bonds and the duty that nourished them. That is why Aeneas, mythical ‘father’ of the Roman people, hero of Virgil’s nationalistic epic the Aeneid (and part ‘model’ for the first emperor Augustus) is constantly described as pius.
Augustus himself, determined to shake off the stigma of autocrat, went out of his way to present himself as the regular, pius family man, living in a palace positively humble by Roman standards.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in