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Life of Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Excerpt from Plutarch's Life of Lucius Cornelius Sulla
There is not any more marvellous character in history; certainly none more prominent among the warriors and statesmen of the Roman Republic, than Lucius Cornelius Sulla, nor is there any among Plutarch's lives of Roman worthies that surpasses in importance and interest that of the great Dictator, based, as it undoubtedly is, upon the autobiographical memoirs, which occupied him in his retirement near Puteoli until a few days before his death. Yet, notwithstanding the interest attaching to the subject, it has shared the general neglect in which Plutarch's Biographies have fallen among scholars, nor has an editor been found to bestow any care upon this historical portrait of the foremost figure in a most eventful epoch - the deliverer of Rome and the accomplisher of Italian unity - since the year 1795, when E. H. G. Leopold published the first and only adequately annotated, though uncritical, edition of the Life of Sulla, combining with it those of Marius, Lucullus and Sertorius.
The educational value of the writings of Plutarch has been hitherto, I believe, unduly disregarded.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
There is not any more marvellous character in history; certainly none more prominent among the warriors and statesmen of the Roman Republic, than Lucius Cornelius Sulla, nor is there any among Plutarch's lives of Roman worthies that surpasses in importance and interest that of the great Dictator, based, as it undoubtedly is, upon the autobiographical memoirs, which occupied him in his retirement near Puteoli until a few days before his death. Yet, notwithstanding the interest attaching to the subject, it has shared the general neglect in which Plutarch's Biographies have fallen among scholars, nor has an editor been found to bestow any care upon this historical portrait of the foremost figure in a most eventful epoch - the deliverer of Rome and the accomplisher of Italian unity - since the year 1795, when E. H. G. Leopold published the first and only adequately annotated, though uncritical, edition of the Life of Sulla, combining with it those of Marius, Lucullus and Sertorius.
The educational value of the writings of Plutarch has been hitherto, I believe, unduly disregarded.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
370 pages, Paperback
First published November 24, 2009
About the author
Plutarch
4,345 books987 followersPlutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus; AD 46–AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2018
The Beginning of the End
10 November 2018
Well, I’ve now got to one of the more famous Romans, though when I say famous I should point out that the populous at large have probably never heard of the guy. In fact, the first I heard of Sulla was in one of my Classical Studies lectures when we were getting to the part about Julius Caeser. The thing is that Caeser and Sulla are actually inextricably linked, even though Caeser was only a child when Sulla was enacting his reign of terror across Rome.
Sulla was one of those guys that seemed to be every where at a specific time in Roman History. Firstly we have the Jugurthine War in North Africa where the Romans fought the Numidians, and then we have the war against Mithridates in Asia Minor. In fact the story of Mithridates is rather interesting because it appears that not only had he captured Anatolia, but also had allies in Greece to the point that Athens and nearby cities had rebelled against Rome. The thing that struck me was that I didn’t realise that at this time Rome hadn’t managed to gain control of Anatolia, though I probably shouldn’t be all that surprised since that Judea didn’t come under Roman control until Pompey and Egypt was a protectorate right up until Augustus.
The thing with Sulla is that he was a pretty bloody tyrant, but in the same breath he was also a pretty capable general. Then again, while he managed to win the Jugurthine War, they didn’t necessarily win against Mithridates. Well, they did but they didn’t defeat him, they just pushed him back into modern day Turkey and reclaimed land that he had taken from them. I guess that is one of the major problems with Empire, and that is that the more you expand, more conflict is generated and the more conflict that is generated, the more you are forced to expand when you attempt to pacify those who are going to war against you.
However, while these particular wars are one of the reasons that Sulla became well known, it is more the fact that he became dictator of Rome in order to bring stability. You see, Rome actually wasn’t all that stable, especially since there was conflict between the patricians and the plebians that seemed to be going on for, well, forever. Oh, and if you thought that Rome was some multicultural paradise then you need to think again because there were a number of tribes, such as the Italians and the Latins, who would regularly rise up to demand rights that were denied to them. This was the essence of the social war that Sulla was also involved in.
Yet there is more, because Sulla was also known for his proscriptions. This is basically where people are declared to be enemies of the state and are proceeded to be put to death. Sulla was a patrician through and through, and due to the turmoil that had engulfed Rome, he needed a way to restore order, and to do that he enacted the proscriptions. This was a particularly bloody period of the Republic (though still one of many) because quite a few people ended up on the list. In fact, events like these come down even to this day, particularly when we consider Hitler’s Night of the Long Knives, where a group of people who would become a threat to his power were all put to death.
Look, proscriptions are required to cement your power and to prevent others from overthrowing you. Look at what happened to Caesar. He had declared himself dictator but he also refused to enact proscriptions, because he thought that was wrong. Well, we all know how that ended up, so when his adopted son, Augustus, ascended the throne, he basically did what Caeser refused to do, and that is put his enemies to death. To be honest, when I was reading this a part of me felt that it could still happen today, in an advanced, 21st Century democracy. Sure, we might fool ourselves by saying otherwise, but the reality is actually not all that unbelievable.
For instance, here in Australia, the government has actually been using the Federal Police to raid the offices of the opposition on rather flimsy reasons, as well as setting up Royal Commissions (or inquiries) into the actions of the opposition. In fact, one of the first things that they did when they were elected was to parade all of the retired members of parliamant, at least those who were members of the opposition, through the courts, looking for anything that could be used to not only discredit them, but even possibly to lock them up. Not surprisingly nothing was found.
Remember, this happened in Australia, so let that sink in for a minute.
10 November 2018
Well, I’ve now got to one of the more famous Romans, though when I say famous I should point out that the populous at large have probably never heard of the guy. In fact, the first I heard of Sulla was in one of my Classical Studies lectures when we were getting to the part about Julius Caeser. The thing is that Caeser and Sulla are actually inextricably linked, even though Caeser was only a child when Sulla was enacting his reign of terror across Rome.
Sulla was one of those guys that seemed to be every where at a specific time in Roman History. Firstly we have the Jugurthine War in North Africa where the Romans fought the Numidians, and then we have the war against Mithridates in Asia Minor. In fact the story of Mithridates is rather interesting because it appears that not only had he captured Anatolia, but also had allies in Greece to the point that Athens and nearby cities had rebelled against Rome. The thing that struck me was that I didn’t realise that at this time Rome hadn’t managed to gain control of Anatolia, though I probably shouldn’t be all that surprised since that Judea didn’t come under Roman control until Pompey and Egypt was a protectorate right up until Augustus.
The thing with Sulla is that he was a pretty bloody tyrant, but in the same breath he was also a pretty capable general. Then again, while he managed to win the Jugurthine War, they didn’t necessarily win against Mithridates. Well, they did but they didn’t defeat him, they just pushed him back into modern day Turkey and reclaimed land that he had taken from them. I guess that is one of the major problems with Empire, and that is that the more you expand, more conflict is generated and the more conflict that is generated, the more you are forced to expand when you attempt to pacify those who are going to war against you.
However, while these particular wars are one of the reasons that Sulla became well known, it is more the fact that he became dictator of Rome in order to bring stability. You see, Rome actually wasn’t all that stable, especially since there was conflict between the patricians and the plebians that seemed to be going on for, well, forever. Oh, and if you thought that Rome was some multicultural paradise then you need to think again because there were a number of tribes, such as the Italians and the Latins, who would regularly rise up to demand rights that were denied to them. This was the essence of the social war that Sulla was also involved in.
Yet there is more, because Sulla was also known for his proscriptions. This is basically where people are declared to be enemies of the state and are proceeded to be put to death. Sulla was a patrician through and through, and due to the turmoil that had engulfed Rome, he needed a way to restore order, and to do that he enacted the proscriptions. This was a particularly bloody period of the Republic (though still one of many) because quite a few people ended up on the list. In fact, events like these come down even to this day, particularly when we consider Hitler’s Night of the Long Knives, where a group of people who would become a threat to his power were all put to death.
Look, proscriptions are required to cement your power and to prevent others from overthrowing you. Look at what happened to Caesar. He had declared himself dictator but he also refused to enact proscriptions, because he thought that was wrong. Well, we all know how that ended up, so when his adopted son, Augustus, ascended the throne, he basically did what Caeser refused to do, and that is put his enemies to death. To be honest, when I was reading this a part of me felt that it could still happen today, in an advanced, 21st Century democracy. Sure, we might fool ourselves by saying otherwise, but the reality is actually not all that unbelievable.
For instance, here in Australia, the government has actually been using the Federal Police to raid the offices of the opposition on rather flimsy reasons, as well as setting up Royal Commissions (or inquiries) into the actions of the opposition. In fact, one of the first things that they did when they were elected was to parade all of the retired members of parliamant, at least those who were members of the opposition, through the courts, looking for anything that could be used to not only discredit them, but even possibly to lock them up. Not surprisingly nothing was found.
Remember, this happened in Australia, so let that sink in for a minute.
November 13, 2019
Teško, mučno i naročito neprecizno. Mislim da mi je do sada Sulina najteže pala od svih ostalih Plutarhovih biografija. 😕
March 1, 2023
Short & lively biography. Lacks details on Sulla's constitutional reforms.
April 28, 2026
How different Rome would have been had it not been for this wretch.
November 20, 2022
First tyrant of the Republic—used army to restore order.
Sulla used dictatorial means in an attempt to strengthen the republic and protect against future revolution and tyranny.
“Before the destruction of Carthage, the Senate and the people managed the affairs of the Republic with mutual moderation and forbearance; there were no contests among the citizens for honor or ascendency; but the dread of an enemy kept the state in order. When that fear, however, was removed from their minds, licentiousness and pride, evils which prosperity loves to foster, immediately began to prevail; and thus peace, which they had so eagerly desired in adversity, proved, when they had obtained it, more grievous and fatal than adversity itself. The patricians carried their authority and the people their liberty to excess; every man took, snatched, and seized what he could. There was a complete division into two factions, and the Republic was torn into pieces between them. Yet the nobility still maintained an ascendency by conspiring together; for the strength of the people, being disunited and dispersed among a multitude, was less able to exert itself. Things were accordingly directed, both at home and in the field, by the will of a small number of men, at whose disposal were the treasuries, the provinces, offices, honors, and triumphs; while the people were oppressed with military service and with poverty, and the generals divided the spoils of war with a few of their friends.”
Sulla used dictatorial means in an attempt to strengthen the republic and protect against future revolution and tyranny.
“Before the destruction of Carthage, the Senate and the people managed the affairs of the Republic with mutual moderation and forbearance; there were no contests among the citizens for honor or ascendency; but the dread of an enemy kept the state in order. When that fear, however, was removed from their minds, licentiousness and pride, evils which prosperity loves to foster, immediately began to prevail; and thus peace, which they had so eagerly desired in adversity, proved, when they had obtained it, more grievous and fatal than adversity itself. The patricians carried their authority and the people their liberty to excess; every man took, snatched, and seized what he could. There was a complete division into two factions, and the Republic was torn into pieces between them. Yet the nobility still maintained an ascendency by conspiring together; for the strength of the people, being disunited and dispersed among a multitude, was less able to exert itself. Things were accordingly directed, both at home and in the field, by the will of a small number of men, at whose disposal were the treasuries, the provinces, offices, honors, and triumphs; while the people were oppressed with military service and with poverty, and the generals divided the spoils of war with a few of their friends.”
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews