THE UNKNOWN KARL MARX

documentr concerning Karl Marx

edited with an introduction by
Robert Payne

New York University Press New York 1971

Coppight

Q 1971 by Robert Payne Library of Congress Catdogue Card Number: 78-178886 ISBN: 8147-8SSp.8 Manufadi n the United States of America

Should the Be Numbered Among the Happier Ages of the Roman Reprrblic?

Latin Composition: Principate of Augustus Rightly

When one questions t k nature of the Augustan age, many things occur to your mind on which a judgment may be based: k t of d l by comparison with other ages of Roman history, for if you can show that the Augustan age resembled other ages which were called happy, but unlike those wbich accofding to the judgment of contemporaries and more recent commentators were marked by reverses and by a change of d a l customs for tbe worse, the state being divided into factions and the wari being waged unsuccessfully, then you can draw your own conclusions about the Augustan age by means of this comparison, and by other means. A second question to be asked is what the older generations said about this age, and what did foreign nations think about the empire. Did they fear or despise it? And M l y , what was tbe art aud literatwe of that age? Not to write at greater length than necessary, I shall cwlpare the age o f Augustus with the h e s t o f the ages which existed before him, made happy by the simplicity of people's habits, the pursuit of valor, and the integrity of tbe government

Three Essays
and the people. In that age, too, the \veaker areas of Italy were being subjugated. I shall also compare the Augustan age with that of Nero, than which nothing could be more miserable. At no time were the Romans more remote from the pursuit of the liberal arts than during the period kfore the Punic Wars, when learning was held in the least esteem and the more important people devoted theh energy and enthusiasm to agriculture, when eloquence was absolutely of nn account, when men talked briefly about what had to be done and did not seek elegance of speech, but rather the force of opinion. Indeed history did not go in search of eloquence; it went in search oE reported facts, and consisted only of the arrangement of Annals. The whole age was f l e d with the struggle bettveen patricians and plebeians, and from the time of the expulsion of the kings right up to the First Punic War both groups strove continually to assert their rights, and a great part of the history has to do with the laws which the tribunes or consuls passed during their constant strife. I have already toId what was praiseworthy in that era, Not many words are needed if we should seek to describe the age of Nero. The flower of the citizenry w a s killed, wicked decisions held sway, laws were broken and the city was burned. Who will ask what kind of an age this was when the leaders, because they feared that good deeds would arouse suspicion and notbing influenced them to great achievement, sought glory in peace rather than in war? No one doubts that the age of Augustus is quite unlike this. His reign was distinguished by its clemency, for the Romans, even when all their freedom and all semblance of freedom had disappeared, still thought they were governing themselves in spite of the fact that the Emperor had the power to alter customs and laws, and all the offices formerly held by the tribunes of the people were now in the hands of one man. They failed to see that the Emperor, under another name, was enjoying the honors formerly granted only to the tribunes, and their freedom had heen stolen from them. This is indeed a great proof of clemency, when the citizens cannot discern who is the ruler, or whether they themselves rule or are ruled.

Never were the Romans more successful i n war, far the Parthiam were subjected, the Cantabrians conquered, and the lihaetians and Vindelici overthrown. The Germans, the chief enemies of Rome,whom Caesar had fought in vain and who had conquered the Romans in single combat in their forests by means of treachery, ambush and courage, were shattered and lost innumerable lives during the reign of Augustus. Augustus was a M e to achieve this result by granting citizenship to individuaI Germans, by armed force wielded by exprimed generais, and by stirring up hostility among the Germans themse1ves. And so it is that neither in domestic affairs nor in military achievement cap the Augustan age be compared with that of Nero o r even worse emperors. Moreover the factians and feuds, which we have found i n the ages before the Punic War, had come to an end, for we h d that Augustus had won all parties, all ranh and all power to himself. Therefore it is not possible for the supreme power to be diverted from him, because if this supreme power is diminished, it brings the greatest danger to the state as a whole, especially with regard to foreign peoples; and public &airs are managed more for the sake of private ambition than for the safety of the
state.

In this matter the age of Augustus should not be brought to our attention, unless we realize that it was wanting in many respects, for when character, freedom and manhood are diminished or wholly demolished, while greed, riotous living and excesses are the rule, the age itself cannot be called an auspidws one. Nevertheless the genius of Augustus and the institutions and laws fashioned by the men of his choosing admirably succeeded in improving the state, which was in a bad way. As a result the confusion which arose out of the civil wars was completely swept

away. By way of example we may obseme that Augustus purged the Senate, which v 9 cormpt men had entered, of the last vestiges of crime, and he -wed from the Senate many men
w h characters were most hateful in his eyes, at the same time appointing men who were outstanding in integrity and wisdom.

Three Essays
In the reign of Augustus men of outstanding reputation for character and wisdom flourished i11 the government. Who can name among contemporaries me11 greater than Maecenas or Agrippa? In this we see the very geldus of the emperor, although it is never displayed by any cloak of pretence nor, as we have said, by any abuse of power. On the contrary he appears to conceal his invisible power under a very mild appearance, and if the state had been just as it was before the Punic Wars, then this attitude would have been most wonderfully adapted to that age, because it aroused minds to great achievements and rendered men objects of dread to their enemies. It also aroused fair competition among patricians and plebeians, who to I x sure were not lacking in envy, The state, as Augt~stuscreated it, seems to me to have been at the very least admirably adapted to the times, for although the people's spirits were weakened ( animfs eflemimtis) and they had lost the simplicity of their customs, and although the power of the state was vastly increased, nevertheless the emperor rather than a free republic was able to give

liberty to the people. Now we approach the question: what was the verdict of the ancient generations on Augustus? They called him divine and considered him not a man but a god. This muld not be said if Horace was the only witness, but
Tacitus, a most reliable historian, always spoke of Augustus with the greatest reverence, fullest admiration, and even with dlection. Indeed there was never a greater ffowering of literature and art than in his age: a very large number of writers were living, and f r o m these fountains nearly everyone drank, Since the republic appears to have been well established, with the emperor eager to bring happiness to the people, and by his judgment enabling the best men to hold office, the age of Augustus may be described as not inferior to the best ages of Roman history. Indeed, unlike the bad times, it saw the cessation o f factions and feuds and the flowering o f art and literature, and therefore the Principate of Augustus must be counted among the better ages, and the emperor himself must be given great

credit, for in spite of the fact that he was all powerful, nevertheless after achieving supreme power, he endeavoured to hring safety to the state. Mam.

Beside the mistakes noted in the proper places and purticuhriy toward the end, you h u e written on the uihole in a praisewrtlag manner e s p c d l y in your treatment of the subject ~natter, your knowledge of history and tlarir grasp of Latin, But what hortd ble handwriting!!! Wyttenbach. Loers.
many others