Quod sihi perscmae coaptantur, et depretiantur
The Vanity of Shifting Roles
The author introduces the concept that human roles are often interdependent and fragile, illustrated by the historical instability of figures like Cleopatra.
They are disconnected: consider Cleopatra, Augustus, and Scipio, and how the Romans were given over to vanity, and what the end of flattery is. Yet in this mockery of fortune, roles are fitted to one another; if they shift, the entire appearance of the act changes, just as if you were to take away Glicerium or Pamphilus. For once one is removed, the name of the other perishes; and if you take away the suspicious old man from the lovers, Davus is nothing or entirely useless. Hence the saying: Labienus was strong in Caesar's armies, but now, a vile defector, he wanders the lands and seas with a private commander. For if the decree of fortune separates the roles that have become accustomed to each other and make themselves for each other, it often happens that each seems inept at doing its own work, and is depreciated as if excluded from the reason for its office. Cleopatra's allurements were broken from the time she found neither Julius nor Antony. Indeed, she swayed Caesar, the conqueror of the world, with gifts; a harlot's charm and a prostituted face overcame the unconquerable spirit of an invincible man. Therefore, expressing the anxiety of her allurements, the poet added: 'Her face is present for prayers, and her unchaste countenance pleads.' But when Julius had been removed from human affairs, she who had gloried in the marriage of a Roman emperor dared to solicit the servitude of the prince of the Romans.
The Poison of Unchaste Ambition
Cleopatra's failed attempts to manipulate Roman leaders demonstrate the destructive nature of unchecked ambition and moral corruption.
And not without reason, since she had found Antony prepared for anything. For she thought that nothing would be lacking to her glory with Caesar if she could ascend his bed—a man who was the successor to Pompey’s affairs and who, as she pretended, relied more on the recklessness of fortune than on the conscience of virtue. Furthermore, when she approached Augustus with the boldness of feminine shamelessness to solicit him, she found her hopes frustrated; she judged his love of honesty to be an insult, labeled his chastity as pride, and decided that war should be declared against the one she found stronger than Julius Caesar. She tried every harmful trick, and finally, captured and thrown at the feet of Augustus, she still tried to entice the leader with her eyes. But it was in vain, for her beauty was beneath the prince's modesty. When she realized she was being kept for the victor's triumph, she found a less careful guard, escaped, and took refuge in the royal Mausoleum. There, dressed in her finest royal attire and surrounded by perfumes and a throne filled with riches, she placed herself beside her Antony and, by applying asps to her breasts and veins, was released by death as if by sleep. The Psylli, summoned by Augustus's command—who are accustomed to drawing out the malice of poison with their tongues—could not help because they had been called too late. It was fitting, indeed, for such a poisonous harlot to perish in this way, born as she was to corrupt morals and to assault the modesty of noble men. She had certainly ruled over kings before, but later—though she was wretched and hardly worthy of pity—she brought about a tragic end for herself, yet a comic one for the Roman Empire, which she had been plotting to overthrow. Among Augustus's other more illustrious titles, it is considered a glory that he remained undefeated in the face of such a plague.
The Virtue of Restraint
Scipio Africanus serves as a model of self-restraint, contrasting with the pervasive Roman tendency toward flattery and the idolatry of power.
Yet in Scipio Africanus, something no less significant is found, for after his singular victory over Hannibal, he earned a distinguished reputation for singular self-restraint. For Hannibal had slaughtered the Roman army until his enemies were satisfied, and he did not stop until he ordered his soldiers to spare even the sword. At the victor's command, a solid bridge was built from the corpses of the slain in the Vegello torrent. Two bushels of rings were sent to Carthage so that he might honor his Mars, the protector of Libya, with a golden shield for such a notable victory; and without a doubt, Rome would have seen its final day then, if Hannibal had known how to use his victory as well as he knew how to win. To avenge these things, the Senate sent Scipio Africanus, who recovered the lost province from the Pyrenees mountains all the way to the Pillars of Hercules and the Ocean with such success that it's hard to say whether he conquered more quickly or more easily. He even returned captive boys and girls of remarkable beauty to the barbarians, and he wouldn't allow any of them to come into his sight, lest he seem to have enjoyed even a glimpse of their virginity's integrity. Titus Livius, the historian of the Punic War, records how Hannibal yielded to him, and how the laurel on the flagship's prow signaled a clear victory. But in the glory of such a triumph, what could be more modest than that citizen who, in the midst of such success, allowed himself to be hailed as master or victor by no one except Hannibal and a few accomplices—those who had fraudulently broken the peace treaty and cast aside its fair terms? He also dismissed from the army those who, even after being reprimanded, would not obey his orders, treating them as guilty of flattery and enemies of the public welfare; yet the descendants of Aeneas haven't yet shed this softness of ear that makes them delight in flattery. Since they were, in fact, quite serious from the beginning—in which they especially deny the origin of Trojan fickleness—it is a famous testimony of history that they have continuously struggled with this vice. Hence the saying: Every Roman is either corrupted by flattery or corrupts others with it. Certainly, if they can't be conquered by words, they can all be conquered by fraudulent gifts; and those whom small bribes don't bring down are captured by honors. Romulus consecrated the city's auspices to his gods through the sacrilege of parricide and the gore of fraternal blood; later, haunted by spirits, he appeased his murdered brother with the empty honor of a feigned sharing of power. The Roman people also deified their own emperors—whom they had faithfully slaughtered as a matter of course—with even greater fidelity, using this empty consolation to mask their blatant treachery, just as if they were serving broth to the man they had murdered. They lied, claiming these men had passed into the company of the gods, as if the hand of the Almighty weren't sufficient to rule His own heaven and world without the help of these tyrants. They became, therefore, local deities or (as others prefer) heroes, whom the treachery of the Romans deemed unworthy even of a human fate.
The Deception of Flattery
The author examines how flattery and the desire for absolute power erode individual judgment and true liberty within a society.
The name comes from this. They are leaders distinguished by titles of virtue and the light of true faith, yet they dare—or rather, they rejoice—to be called gods, following an old custom that persists even in vice and in opposition to the Catholic faith. But when it comes to words, the Roman now surpasses the treachery of the Greeks, for he has taught the art of flattery so well that it's easily passed on by a compliant people. These are the voices we use to lie to our masters. While we decorate singularity with the honor of the multitude, this nation has invented it and passed it on to its neighbors and descendants by the authority of its own name. If you ever look for that time when Gaius Caesar—whether he was an intruder or a man perfecting the role of dictator—became everything and occupied everything, the image of that time often occurs to me: when all things are arranged at the nod of a powerful man, and people are prepared, however reluctantly, to dictate the sentence of exile or death upon themselves. Hence, indeed, comes a terrible power; hence the stings of a biting and burning conscience shake fearful hearts and claim for themselves the primary authority in all things. It goes so far that priests ignore the precepts of divine law, elders are ignorant of wisdom, the judge is unaware of the law, the prelate is ignorant of authority, the subject despises the discipline of liberty, and finally, the whole people despise peace and quiet. As long as everyone is driven by the will of a single leader, both the group and the individual are stripped of their own judgment. Wasn't this the state of things when the senators sat ready to vote on whether he would attack the kingdom, the temples, or the throats of the senate and the women who would suffer unspeakable things? And the only reason the citizens fared well was that Caesar was too ashamed to demand more than Rome could endure. Hasn't the tyrant's mindset passed on to his successors, as they suspect that he preferred for the laws to be abolished by himself rather than observed by the lowly? In this, a shadow of liberty is preserved if everyone pretends they wanted what they were ordered to do, and they do it—or rather, they seem to make a virtue of necessity—as they join their consent to that necessity and gladly embrace what is forced upon them. Furthermore, there is no room for true or genuine liberty here, where flattery claims everything for itself, vanity claims everything, and nothing is left for truth or virtue. You shouldn't doubt that flattery is inherently deceitful, since it confesses as much in the person of the flatterer Gnatho: 'When I deceive the most, that is when I triumph.' For just as the orator's goal is to persuade through speech, and the doctor's is to heal through medicine, so the flatterer's goal is to deceive through sweet talk. Even a pipe plays a sweet tune while the fowler is trapping a bird, and poisons are served coated in honey so that they may do harm all the more quickly. But it is not always the case that the patient is relieved by the doctor, and the orator does not always achieve his goal, which lies in someone else.
The Wisdom to Discern Truth
Using the example of Christ’s response to the Pharisees, the author illustrates how true virtue and discernment can overcome the traps of deceitful flattery.
A flatterer, of course, doesn't always deceive or triumph over a friend. Still, he doesn't fail to reach his goal if he leaves nothing to chance. Ulysses didn't escape the Sirens' voices because he lacked any taste for their charm, but because he had fortified his soul with the strength of solid virtue against the goads of pleasure and the harlot-like enticements of vanity. And what tricks of fraud did the tempter—that Pharisee and Herodian schemer—not use to catch Him in His speech with a deceitful tongue, in whose mouth no deceit was found? “Master,” they said, “we know that You are truthful, and You teach the way of God in truth, and You have no concern for anyone, for You do not show partiality to men.” What, I ask, could be more flattering? But the question that follows reveals where the deceit is aiming and where the envy is leading. It follows: “Is it lawful to pay the census to Caesar or not?” Behold, a snare is set for the feet of the innocent, and iniquity has spread its traps in vain for His downfall. For if He were to decide that the census must be paid, He would be subjecting the Lord’s own people—that free seed and glorious inheritance of the Lord—to servitude, bound only by tithes, first fruits, and legal ceremonies. If, however, he answers that taxes should be withheld from those who serve for the safety and peace of all, he could justly be arrested by the tax collectors as a promoter of sedition and guilty of treason against the Emperor's majesty. But since it's useless to spread a net in plain sight of birds, the snares of such slander are dissolved when, upon the coin being produced, he judged that the image of the census must be restored to whom it belongs; and so, what belongs to Caesar must be restored to Caesar, so that God is not defrauded of His own right.✦ Indeed, it isn't given to everyone to escape the snares of flattery this way, since one person may not foresee them, while another may be unable to avoid them even after they've been foreseen. One thing, however, is certain: those who are given over to this vice find virtue no more pleasing than those who live in a kitchen smell good.
Read the original Latin
dissociatae: et de Cleopatra, Augusto, et Scipione: et quod Romani uanitati dediti sunt; et quis sit adulatoriae jinis, H Ceterum in hoc fortunae ludibrio personae sibi inuicem coaptantur; et, si altrinsecus diuertant, totius actus facies immutatur, ut si Gliscerium toUas aut Pamphilum. Sublato enim alterutro nomen alterius perit, et si cum amantibus suspiciosum senem toUas, nullus est aut inutilis omnino Dauus. Hinc est illud: Fortis in armis Cesareis Labienus erat, nunc transfuga uilis cum duce priuato terras atque aequora lustrat. Si enim personas, quae sibi assueuerunt sibique faciunt, decretum fortunae dissociet, fit plerumque ut utraque ad omnia agenda sua uideatur inepta, et quasi exclusa ratione officii depreciatur. Fracta sunt lenocinia Cleopatrae ex quo nec lulium inuenit nec Antonium. Equidem orbis uictorem Cesarem donis flexit, et inuicti uiri insuperabilem animum meretricius decor et prostituta facies superauit. Vnde lenocinii eius soUicitudinem poeta exprimens adiecit: Vultus adest precibus, faciesque incesta perorat. Cum uero lulius rebus humanis exemptus esset, quae Romani imperatoris coniugio fuerat gloriata, principis Romanorum ausa est aflectare seruitutem.
Nec frustra, cum ad omnia paratum inuenisset Antonium. Putabat enim ad Cesarem gloriam sibi nichil defore, si lectum eius ascenderet, qui successor rerum Pompeii et (ut simulabat) iuris Cesarei magis de temeritate fortunae quam de uirtutis conscientia confidebat. Porro, cum ad soUicitandum Augustum muliebris impudicitiae audacia accessisset, spe sua frustrata amorem honestatis reputauit iniuriam, castitati nomen dedit superbiae, bellumque credidit indicendum ei quem lulio Cesare experta fuerat fortiorem. Omnes nocendi artes aggressa est, tandemque capta et prouoluta ad pedes Augusti etiam tunc sollicitauit oculos ducis. Sed frustra quidem; nam pulchritudo eius infra pudicitiam principis fuit. Quod ubi desperata se ad triumphum uictoris praenouit reseruari, incautiorem nacta custodiam, egressa se in Mausoleum regum recepit, ibique nobihssimis ex more induta cultibus odoribus conquisitis solioque diuitiis usquequaque referto se iuxta suum collocauit Antonium, et mamillis uenisque suis apponens aspides sic morte quasi sompno resoluta est. Psilli siquidem a Augusti mandato adhibiti, qui malitiam ueneni solent linguis educere, eo quod sero uocati essent, opem ferre non ualuerunt. Digna quidem sic perire meretrix uenenosa, nata mores corrumpere nobiliumque uirorum pudicitiam expugnare.
Profecto antea regibus imperauerat, postmodum misera nec miserabilis sibi forte tragicum, sed Romano imperio, quod subuertere moliebatur, finem comicum fecit. Inter cetera clarioribus Augusti titulis cono numeratur quod in tantae pestis congressu mansit inuictus. Verumtamen in Scipione AfFricano aliquid non inferius inuenitur, qui post singularem de Hannibale uictoriam singularis continentiae insigne praeconium meruit. Hannibal namque Romanorum cecidit exercitum usque ad hostium satietatem, et donec praeciperet militi suo ut uel ferro parceret. De caesorum cadaueribus in torrente Vegello pons solidus factus est uictoris iussu. Duo modii anulorum Cartaginem missi sunt, unde Martem suum Libiae praesidem aureo clipeo ob insignem uictoriam Ho honoraret, essetque proeuldubio tunc Roma diem ultimum habitura, si Hannibal quemadmodum uincere sic et uictoria uti sciret. In uindictam istorum a senatu missus est Scipio Afiricanus, qui a Pireneis montibus ad columpnas Herculis et Occeanum usque tanta felicitate prouinciam recuperauit amissam, ut uix sciatur citius an facilius uicerit. Qui etiam captiuos pueros et puellas egregiae pulchritudinis restituit barbaris, nec in conspectum suum eorum quemc piam uenire passus est, ne quid de uirginitatis integritate saltem oculis praelibasse uideretur.
Qualiter ei Hannibal cesserit, et manifestam uictoriam nota in puppi praetoria laurus polliceretur, scriptor belli Punici Titus Liuius refert. Ceterum in tanti triumphi gloria quid illo ciue modestius, qui se in tanto successu nec dominum neque uictorem ab aliquo, nisi ab Hannibale paucisque complicibus, qui aequas conditiones pacis rupto federe fraudulenter abiecerant, passus est salutari? Eos quoque, qui castigati non obtemperabant prohibentis imperio, quasi adulationis reos et publicae salutis hostes, ab exercitu iussit; cum tamen genus Eneadum hanc mollitiem aurium nondum exuerit, quin adulationibus delectentur. Cum uero ab initio grauissimi fuerint, in quo Troianae leuitatis originem praecipue diffitentur, eos hoc uitio continue laborasse historiarum celebre testimonium est. Inde est illud: Romanus omnis adulatione corrumpitur aut corrumpit. Certe, si non uerbis, possunt omnes fraudulentis muneribus expugnari; et quos munuscula non deiciunt, honoribus capiuntur. Vrbis auspicia sacrilegio parricidii et fraterni sanguinis cruore numinibus suis Romulus consecrauit, deinde lemuribus infestatus honore uano simulata communicatione imperii fratrem a placauit occisum, Suos quoque imperatores, quos de more Romanus populus fideHter iugulabat, deificauit fidelius, inani solatio perfidiam praetexens manifestam, perinde ac si sorbitiunculas ei, quem peremerat, ministraret, eosque mentiebantur in sortem transisse numinum, ac si celo suo mundoque regendo nisi tirannis ascitis Omnipotentis non sufficiat manus. Facti sunt ergo diui indigetes aut (ut aliis placet) heroes, quos nec etiam humana sorte dignos Romanorum perfidia reputauit.
Tractum est hinc nomen. uo principes uirtutum titulis et uerae fidei luce praesignes e diuos audeant nedum gaudeant appellari, ueteri quidera consuetudine etiam in uitio et aduersus fidem catholicam btinente. Si uero ueniatur ad uerba, in eo iam Romanus, Grecorum perfidiam antecedit, qui eo usque adulandi lenob cinium docuit, ut a docili populo facillime transeatur. Voces,quibus mentimur dominis. dum singularitatem honore multitudinis decoramus, natio haec inuenit et ad finitimos posterosque sui nominis auctoritate transmisit. Si quando quaeris, illud tibi tempus occurrat, quo Gaius Cesar, exuena nescio an perficiens dictatorem, omnia factus omnia occupauit, Illius certe temporis michi saepe occurrit imago, cum ad potentioris nutum subiectorum omnia disponantur, et licet animo reluctante in seipsos parati sunt exilii aut mortis dictare sententiam. Hinc quippe potestas terribilis; hinc angentis et urentis conscientiae stimuli meticulosa corda concutiunt et praecipuam in omnibus sibi uendicant auctoritatem. Adeo quidem ut sacerdotes legis diuinae praecepta dissimulent, sapientiam nesciant seniores, iuris sit iudex ignarus, praelatus auctoritatis nescius, disciplinae subiectus, libertatem contempnat ing nuus, totus denique populus quietem et pacem.
Dum enim omnes unius praesidentis uoluntate feruntur, uniuersi et singuli suo priuantur arbitrio. Nonne haec erat facies t mporis quando sedere patres censere parati, si regnum, si templa petat, iugulumque senatus, passurasque infanda nurus; eoque solo bene cum ciuibus actum est, quod Cesar plura iubere erubuit quam Roma pati Nonne tiranni opinio ad tirannidis transiit successores, dum suspicantur, quod leges a se maluit tolli quam ab humilibus obseruari'? in eoque libertatis seruatur umbra, si se quisque quod praecipitur simulat uoluisse, facitque, immo uidetur facere de necessitate uirtutem, dum necessitati iungit consensum, et quod incumbit gratanter amplectitur. Hic porro nullae sunt partes uerae aut ingenuae libertatis, ubi totum sibi adulatio uendicat, uanitas totum, nichilque ueritati relinquitur aut uirtuti. Adulationem uero sine dolo esse non dubites, cum in adulatorum persona de se confiteatur a Gnato quia: Cum maxime decipio, tunc triumpho. Sicut enim finis oratoris est persuasisse dictione, medici curasse medicina, sic adulatoris finis est suauiloquio decepisse. Nam et fistula dulce canit, uolucrem dum decipit auceps; et uenena propinantur melle circumlita, quo citius noceant. Verum non est in medico semper releuetur ut eger, et finem suum, qui in altero est, orator non semper assequitur.
Sic adulator quidem non semper decipit, aut de amico triumphat. Fine tamen suo non destituitur, si ex contingentibus nichil omiserit. Nec enim Vlixes Sirenum uoces euasit, quod ei aliquid suauitatis deesset ad gratiam, t) sed quia stimulis uoluptatis et meretricantibus illecebris uanitatis solidae uirtutis opposuerat robur. Temptator quoque Pharisaeus et Herodianus insidiator quas fraudis suae non adhibuit artes, ut eum caperet in sermone lingua dolosa, in cuius ore non est inuentus dolus? Magister, inquit, scimus quia uerax es, et uiam Dei in ueritate doces, et non est tibi cura de aliquo, neque enim accipis personas hominum. Quid quaeso blandius Sed dolus quo tendat, inuidia quo feratur, subiecta interrogatio patefacit. Sequitur enim: Licet censum dare Cesari an non Ecce laqueus paratur pedibus innocentis, et ad subuersionem eius decipulas suas frustra tetendit iniquitas. Si enim censum dandum esse censuerit, peculiarem populum Domini, semen liberum, praeclaram hereditatem Domini decimis et primitiis et legalibus cerimoniis tantum obnoxiam subiciet seruituti.
Si uero tributa neganda responderit his qui pro salute et quiete omnium militabant, quasi seditionis auctor et reus imperatoriae maiestatis a publicanis iuste poterit comprehendi. Verum quia frustra iacitur rete ante oculos pennatorum, totius calumpniae laquei dissoluuntur, dum prolato nummismate census suam cuique censuit restituendam esse imaginem; et ita quae Cesaris sunt, Cesari restituenda, ut suo iure Deus non defraudetur. Equidem non omnibus datum est, ut blanditiarum laqueos sic euadant, cum eos alius non praeuideat, alius etiam praeuisos nequeat declinare. Vnum tamen certum est, illis qui huic uitio dediti sunt non magis placere uirtutem, quam illos bene olere qui in culina habitant.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.22.21 — They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
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