De dissimilitudine Augusti et Neronis
The Wisdom of Correction
Augustus demonstrates humility by accepting a soldier's rebuke and abandoning his frivolous behavior.
While Augustus was playing the tambourine at a dinner, one of his soldiers remarked with scorn: "Do you see how this degenerate rules the world with a finger?" Stung by the bitterness of that remark, he gave up such frivolity for good—in his speech, his actions, and his mind—and he was always grateful to the man who had rebuked him.
The Folly of Self-Obsession
Nero embodies the ultimate vanity, sacrificing the dignity of his office and the welfare of his people for the sake of his own artistic ego.
But Nero was far different—the most foul not just of emperors, but of all men. It’s written that he was so captivated by the beauty of his own voice that he didn’t just abstain from harmful fruits and foods; to preserve his voice, he would frequently purge himself with enemas and vomiting, and on the advice of his physicians, he would often lie on his back for long periods with a lead plate on his stomach. He was so delighted by singing that not even an earthquake shaking the theater could make him stop. Once he had begun, he wouldn't leave until he had finished what he started. And it wasn't permitted for anyone to leave while he was singing. Because of this, many people, weary of listening, were carried out as if they were dead. He wouldn't even speak to his soldiers unless someone else was speaking for him, nor would he do anything, whether serious or in jest, without his vocal coach standing by to encourage him with exercises for his throat. He was also obsessed with musical instruments, to the point that he envied others their skill, and he was so proud of it that he delighted in being called the prince of lyre-players by public testimony. Hence the saying: 'Born of a lyre-playing prince, a nobleman: what will this be in the end but a game?' In the great weight of the empire, he loathed all seriousness. He treated philosophy as an enemy to the majesty of the empire, and fearing nobler minds, he submitted himself to the counsel of actors, whose own baseness he was not ashamed to practice. Hence the saying: 'What the nobles do not give, the actor will give.' Although he was the most greedy of all men—to the point that he wouldn't assign any office to anyone without adding, 'You know what I need,' or 'He who is over everyone, needs everyone'—he was not reluctant to spend infinite sums of money on actors and mimes; he would decorate individuals with the names of the highest dignities as it pleased him, calling some patricians and others senators, and honoring them with the titles of 'illustrious' or 'spectable'.
Read the original Latin
Augusto tympanizante in cena a quodam militum probrose dictum est: Videsne ut cinedus orbem digito temperet? Cuius ille uerbi percussus amaritudine os, manus, et animum in euum ab huiusmodi leuitate suspendit, habuitque semper gratiam exprobranti. Sed longe secus Nero, non imperatoram sed hominum fedissimus, qui adeo seribitur captus amenitate uocis, ut non modo pomis cibisque nocentibus abstineret, sed eius gratia conseraandae frequenti clisterio uomituque purgaretur, plumbeamque carthellam supino uentre mandato physicoram saepius et diutius sustineret. Adeo uero delectabatur in cantu, ut nec theatro terrae motu concusso. cum semel coeperat, egrederetur, antequam inchoata finiret. Nec quemquam egredi eo cantante licitum erat. Vnde plerique affecti tedio audiendi simulato funere elati sunt. Milites quoque, nisi alio uerba pronuntiante, non appellabat; nec agebat quicquam serio iocoue, quin phonascus astaret, qui eum suis arteriis paix re hortaretur.
Instramentoram quoque curiosissimus erat, ut eoram peritiam aliis inuideret, adeo ut publico testimonio se citharedum principem gauderet appellari. Vnde illud: Citharedo principe natus nobilis: haec ultra quid erit nisi ludusl In tanta quoque mole imperii omnem perosus est grauid tatem. Philosophiam persequens quasi maiestatis imperii inimicam, et nobiliora ingenia ueritus se consiliis subdidit histrionum, quorum ipse non erabuit turpitudinem exercere. Hinc iUud: Quod non dant proceres, dabit histrio. Cum uero esset omnium auarissimus, adeo ut nulli quodcumque officium delegaret, quin prosequeretur: Nosti quid michi opus sit; aut illud subiceret: Qui omnibus praeest, onmibus indiget: tamen histrionibus et mimis pecunias infinitas erogare non grauabatur; singulos, prout quisque placuerat, amplissimae dignitatis nomine subomabat, alios patricios, alios senatores dicens, hos iUustrium spectabiKumue nominibus illustrabat.
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
Pair the outline with the Chosen Portion app, which serves short daily portions from the same royal devotional tradition — free on iOS.
John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
- 8 weeks, one book per week, with the 3-4 key chapters flagged in each
- Discussion questions usable for a reading group from week one
- A daily 5-minute companion portion in the app alongside your weekly study