6/30/2023 0 Comments Brutus ides of march![]() ![]() Michelangelo’s bust, depicting Brutus with proud posture and a decisive gaze, clearly expresses the republican resentment of tyranny. But when people rediscovered their striving for liberty, Brutus was elevated from hell. Sunetra Gupta is the equivalent to the Roman proscription against Caesar’s assassins.įor centuries, Brutus was considered a traitor, on the same level as Judas-Dante placed the two in the inner circle of hell in his Divine Comedy. The ostracism of people presenting alternative views like Dr. The need for the feeling of security has certainly caused a great many citizens to abandon the idea of liberty. The question has recently been asked in an article by Ethan Yang for the American Institute of Economic Research: do we still have the will to continue as a free society? The citizens of the Western world have submitted themselves under the yoke of the lockdowns. It does not need a coup d’etat to suppress freedom. The fall of the republic shows that a people can lose its liberty by voluntarily submitting themselves to tyranny. Yet Brutus was condemned based on the senate-backed lex pedia, persecuted, and ultimately committed suicide after losing the Battle of Philippi against Octavian and Antonius. While the others viewed Antonius as a threat, to Brutus only Caesar was the tyrant and only his death was just. It was Brutus, the classic republican, who argued against the assassination of Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), Caesar’s general. Nothing illustrates this better than the fate of the driving force behind the revolt against Caesar: Marcus Iunius Brutus. The quest for liberty may be a horrible struggle where its proponents face defeat and defamation for centuries, not knowing their reputation may be restored only long after their death. For a long time, these men were considered traitors. The revolting senators thought the public to be on their side in the battle against tyranny, but the public turned against them, driving them out of the city. It is well known that the assassination of Caesar succeeded, but the republic fell into a civil war and ultimately became a monarchy. His death was supposed to restore the republic. Caesar, dictator for lifetime, was seen by these senators, many of whom were personally indebted to him, as a tyrant and a threat to Roman liberty. ![]() ![]() On March 15, 44 BC, a group of Roman senators assassinated Gaius Julius Caesar. Today marks the anniversary of a fateful day in the history of the Western world. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |