The Assassination of Julius Caesar
The book “The Assassination of Julius Caesar” by Michael Parenti is an intriguing and compelling piece centered on the 18th century. The book is most notable for the use of the terminology ‘Gentlemen’s History’ a compelling feature interrelated in the habits of the men within the book. It is, however, juxtaposed to that which Parenti refers to as ‘People’s history’. Through telling his story in Julius Caesar’s career and lifetime he brings out a variety of what possibly underwent in the lives of individuals during Caesar’s period. It maintains an evoking mirage to events that happened that grants its mark as a well-written book.
There are strong plausible attributes that the ‘Gentlemen’s History’ has evoked within modern-day society to mimic as character traits of any gentleman. Julius Caesar had a knack of aligning himself with the wealthiest of allies who had strong connections within the upper-class society. One of his allies the famed Marcus Licinius Crassus was wealthy. Crassus, as he was famously referred to as, was a consul to Rome. Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, a childhood friend of Caesar, was a popular man among the people and had been regarded as successful in his work as a general in the East (Parenti). In his essence, he was a powerful man in the political circles with his high regard for things and easy maneuvers among the upper-class society. Practically he was a powerful ally to have in handy. Caesar took advantage of the two friends’ connections and utilized their friendship to meet his desires. The two friends helped him become a consul to Rome. Adversely, Caesar helped the two in passing regulations that favored their workings. Visibly, the relationships fostered within the wealthy in the society was maintained there. His political career was sustained through having powerful connections in the friendships with the gentlemen of the era. Caesar in a bid to maintain the allies married off his daughter to his friend Pompey (Parenti). The marriage was meant as a means to an end, to ensure the friendship enacted and political support continued.
In light of maintaining friendship within the upper class of society, Caesar finds himself a foe within Pompey after his daughter’s death. It results in a war that the two sides, of Caesar and Pompey battle for supremacy and ends in Pompey’s death. Therefore depicting a picture that shows to have gone up against Caesar one had to have massive backing from the society and enough wealth to sustain the war. The choices narrowed down to individuals considered as the gentlemen of the era, those running society’s circles with enough money to spend. Cicero, an ally to Caesar comes from a lineage of wealth municipal family (Parenti). Raised in wealth his mannerisms depict the affluent living. His notable attribute, however, was the orator skills that he used to gather massive crowds. Being versed in more than one language, including Latin, he was relatable to the people and proved sufficient in the political career of Caesar. His success was further enhanced through his capability as a capable lawyer. He always had ideas on schemes that could enable him to earn more money, even though some of them hardened the lives of low-income earners. He is termed to own many slums whereby families scraped through to earn the rental incomes demanded. Most of his work was done by servants, as some of them he deemed too low to be done by a man of wealth precedence. Cicero mandates a search for Catiline, trying to deem himself worthy through his vast connections regardless of the fact the search was not warranted (Parenti).
The ideology that is exuded through gentlemen’s history in the book by Michael Parenti has created a society that concerns itself with wealth. A gentleman has been regarded to be that who has vast wealth, can seemingly indulge with the wealthiest in society with societal connections to back the individual. It leaves those with no wealth but strong virtues in the cold as the status cannot be given unto them minus wealth to back them. It is about Cisero who has vast wealth but a paucity of virtues. The elite of society regard themselves as the perfect gentlemen creating a marginal difference in treatment accorded to them and that accorded to others. Throughout society, the wealthiest have always been mentioned in undertakings they did or events they graced, unlike those who lacked in attending monumental events. Running for political office has been left to the wealthy with social support to run for office. Caesar aligns himself with allies who have both political backgrounds and the rich to enhance his bid for the rule (Parenti). The same is being done currently with politicians seeking backing from influential businessmen or politically oriented individuals to support them. The margin created prevents the low-income earners from being avid partakers in running for office as they lack the influence and the capital needed to spend.
With the pristine backgrounds, most of these individuals use the gentleman perception to endear themselves to society. The gentleman’s act is a façade they create to seem more relatable to people. Cicero for a fact with his orator skills talks his way to be regarded as a righteous man. In one account he requests a friend, a historian, to acknowledge him as a hard worker and to detail the much he had done for Rome (Parenti). They use the influence they had to cover up for their misdemeanors. Cicero, the owner of a variety of slums, is unbothered when a faction of the area gets destroyed, having little regard for the life of the common people. Most of the elite currently use their powerful positions in society to bribe their way out of circumstances. Especially those convicted of cases against the law end up derailing the time spent in court hearings and soon the cases get dismissed. They are strongly connected in that some never get to face their charges while others commit their crimes in the open with no fear of repartition. The status gained through wealth and power camouflages them as being law and ardent citizens. The society is thus left with no keen sense of approval of the virtues elicited from the low-income earners. Those aspiring to gain political attention must first prove themselves through participating in the circles of wealthy individuals. Some of the few who attain to gain and adjustable level with both factions of society (the wealthy and the poor), end up disadvantaged by those seeking wealth. Caesar is assassinated by such individuals who felt threatened by his rule trying to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. Being virtuous among the elite is thus depicted to create unsteady relationships as the hunger to succeed often overshadows goodness.
The book ‘The Assassination of Julius Caesar’ has intricately shown the misgivings and power of rule that underwent in the Roman era. Michael Parenti depicts the character held by those close to Caesar bringing a closer look to the world in which Caesar ruled over. There are concise details that indulge readers that history generated the class biasness that are still rampant within the current society. Having a mirage to events that occurred within the past creates a better understanding of establishing the genealogy of behaviors that current generations explicit.