Uncommon Wrath
How Caesar and Cato's Deadly Rivalry Destroyed the Roman Republic
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
A dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger that offers a dire warning: republics collapse when partisanship overrides the common good.
In Uncommon Wrath, historian Josiah Osgood tells the story of how the political rivalry between Julius Caesar and Marcus Cato precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. As the champions of two dominant but distinct visions for Rome, Caesar and Cato each represented qualities that had made the Republic strong, but their ideological differences entrenched into enmity and mutual fear. The intensity of their collective factions became a tribal divide, hampering their ability to make good decisions and undermining democratic government. The men’s toxic polarity meant that despite their shared devotion to the Republic, they pushed it into civil war.
Deeply researched and compellingly told, Uncommon Wrath is a groundbreaking biography of two men whose hatred for each other destroyed the world they loved.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Classics scholar Osgood (Rome and the Making of a World State) delivers an incisive and accessible dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger focused on their shared responsibility for the Roman Republic's downfall. Drawing from Roman politician and historian Sallust's The War Against Catiline, Osgood portrays Caesar as generous yet glory-seeking and Cato as a man of "unbending" austerity and integrity, and traces the roots of their rivalry to the Catilinarian conspiracy in 63 BCE: Cato advocated for executing the plotters; Caesar thought they should be imprisoned for life and their property confiscated. Documenting how Caesar's and Cato's "competing visions for the Republic" led to disagreements over political corruption, citizens' rights, the invasion of Gaul, and other matters, Osgood argues that their "mutual enmity" played as much of a role in precipitating the 49–45 BCE civil war that brought an end to republican rule in Rome as "underlying weaknesses in the state." Along the way, Osgood issues incisive warnings about the dangers of polarization that resonate with today's political landscape and vividly describes the era's religious rituals, military battles, and Senate debates. Though Osgood underplays some other contributing factors to the conflict—including Caesar's rivalry with Pompey—he builds a persuasive and entertaining case. Roman history buffs will be intrigued. Photos.
