Uncommon Wrath

September 26, 2022
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.