The Education of Julius Caesar: A Biography, a Reconstruction

by Arthur David Kahn

In this meticulously researched and absorbing biography, Arthur Kahn brings Caesar alive and explores the spirit of his age with intensity, illuminating the politics, the technological and scientific developments, military struggles, and the artistic and philosophical ferment.

Genres: Biography, History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Roman History

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

These points.

It will help to have a knowledge of how the Roman republic was set up, that is, its magistrates, key offices, the Senate, Comitia Centuriata, and Comitia Tributa. Little of this is explained to the reader, who is presumed to know this. After which, the reader will benefit in learning how the army operated, legions, cohorts, and the like. Knowing this, well, in you go.

Experiencing the violent turbulence of the last century of the Republic’s existence, Caesar learned much and benefited from it, hence the title. He’s only young for a few chapters. The main story is his biography: where he went, what he did. In the background is the conflict, frequently violent with riots and murders, between the optimates and populares or, if you will, the well-to-do and the less wealthy. Caesar championed the latter. The author describes the wealthy party and its government as an oligarchy and explains what it does in terms of what typical oligarchies do (reckon he doesn’t like ‘em).

Much of how Caesar thought seems to have been influenced by Epicureanism. Quotes from the period greats are found in the text as they may have related to J.C.

Battles are fought and won or lost. There isn’t much about the movements or tactics. There probably isn’t that much information about them available two millennia later.

Everything you may have read or leaned about Cicero and Cataline in your third-year Latin is tossed out the window. The author sums Cicero up as a “trimmer.”

A major point which stuck with me is Caesar’s generosity in victory. He seemed to have a game plan to restructure the Republic and this did not sit well with the hide-bound aristocratic oligarchs who stood to lose big sesterces under this, so that explains the Ides of March. People are either “Caesarphiles” or “Caesarphobes”. The epilogue tells where the author stands.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Education of Julius Caesar – A Biography, A Reconstruction by Arthur David Kahn – seen by this reader from the perspective of the contrast between Caesar and Trump
9 out of 10


Julius Caesar is one of the best known, and controversial leaders in history, frequently present in literature – one example for now would be Julius Caesar https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/11/... by the greatest author of all time, William Shakespeare – his cognomen was adopted as synonym for emperor, which means that in our age, he would be reviled by progressives

Indeed, The BBC has just aired a new documentary – maybe it is a series, we will keep you posted, if you are interested – entitled Julius Caesar – The Making of a Dictator so the new perspective on the emperor is one of disapprobation, to say the least, and we could argue that he is one of the first to become a role model for tyrants
And even now, almost 2050 years since the death of one of the first despots, we live in a world where there are plenty of men (one woman that rules with an iron fist comes to mind, the prime minster of Bangladesh) who want to have unlimited power, for as long as they live Putin, Xi, Kim of North Korea, a long list of replicas

Alas, the modern dictators do not have the mind, qualities of Julius Caesar, who had been one of the most distinguished generals, before grabbing power, Trump and the other minions are just pathetic, incompetent populists, with little to show for their aspirations, except a greed, lust for prominence which is a symptom of a serious condition
Cato was an opponent of Caesar, speaking in the Senate against the delusions of grandeur of the would-be tyrant, the senator had predicted with accuracy that Caesar would want to take all the power, in what has become another phrase that entered the dictionary ‘crossing the Rubicon’ the general decides to defy the Republic

Julius Caesar had won outstanding victories in the Gallic wars, but he was ordered by the Senate to step down from his command and return to Rome, but when he crossed the river marking the border, along with his army, the general defied openly the legal authority and he would fight in the civil war that he will win
The emperor has another huge impact on humanity through the Julian Calendar that he created – or imposed – this is one of the thigs that the West has imposed on the world, according to some historians https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... we are in 2024, because the West says so
July was named in honor of Caesar, in other words we still celebrate the man in summer, and Alea iacta est, the die is cast is still a very much used expression, when the stakes are high, we face a dangerous situation, and the choice is difficult, the die is cast means we go ahead with a perilous decision and hope the consequences are favorable

Aut Caesar aut nihil is another quote, connected with friend Julius, used by those who would not accept anything but absolute power – though ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ – the most perilous would-be despot is Trump, a leit-motif in these notes, because he has too big a chance to rule America from next year
Julius Caesar had abilities, skills to somewhat compensate his hunger for authority, but the Orange Jesus (the name given by Republican congressmen, which shows the despicable attitude they have towards this demon) has proven that all that concerns him his inflated, flawed ego, he is a mad man and a monster

After 2050 years, we still know and use the ‘veni, vidi, vici aka I came, I saw, I conquered’ quote, which is the message supposedly sent by Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate to describe his battle against King Pharnaces II of Pontus near Zela in 47 BC, but what about Orange Jesus, who promised ‘you will win so much, your head will spin’
In reality, we have a caricature, and the contrast between Caeser, leader of the most powerful country in ancient times – actually, for some it was leader of the ‘whole world’ as they thought they knew it then – and Orange Jesus of the USA looks as if humanity has not progressed since 44 before our era, but declined

‘Et tu, Brute aka And you, Brutus’ were the last words of Julius Caesar, but in the Shakespeare play, in reality they were a little different – in fact, William Shakespeare has changed history in Richard III, we find from the book that sits at number one on the Crime Writers Association list of Best 100 Mystery Novels the truth
The Daughter of Time https://realini.blogspot.com/2020/10/... by Josephine Fey has a detective looking at the murder of the two nephews, investigating the reputedly loathsome Richard III and concluding that the king was not the diabolical figure that all hate, but a good monarch

Arguably, the world would be better off with another Brutus, one that could dispatch Putin -one who is clearly worse than pathetic Orange Jesus – a sadistic psychopath that has killed so many, in the case of poor Litvinenko, the assassins have traveled with a mini atomic bomb all the way to London, leaving radioactive traces on the journey
Because he had dared expose corruption, this former KGB agent would be tortured and not allowed to just die, Putin is the epitome of corruption, he could well be the richest human, he has anyway control over the vast reserves of Russia, which means more than Arnaud has, the latter has just passed mad Musk to become the wealthiest, on the official, Forbes list, in practice, the likes of the Butcher in the Kremlin have access to many times what LVMH offers

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Heritage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”

[Nico Bruin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Education of Julius Caesar is a brilliant work of narrative history.
Kahn goes into a great deal of rich detail without boring the reader over the course of 450 dense pages. This should probably not be your first book on Roman history though, without a familiarity with the Roman republic and its political institutions readers might get occasionally dazzled.

But whilst I enjoyed reading this immensely, I did not find myself totally buying everything Kahn was selling.
Kahn gives a version of events based on selective ancient sources, many of which have long been considered unreliable.
Suetonius is notorious for his poetic license, and Kahn often uses Caesar's own writing on the civil wars as the sole source for events, even when other sources are available.
He rarely presents the other side of the conflict in their own words.

This is not an enormous issue for me, because I absolutely agree with Kahn that there are many good reasons for generally believing Caesar's words over that of his optimate opponents, but it is something to keep in mind when reading.

Recommended for everyone who loves Caesar.

[Mark Carley · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some authors who can write good sentences and still not be very good storytellers. Such is the case here. I think the biggest problem is that he takes a very arrogant approach to his readers, assuming that we already know way more about Roman history than the average reader is likely to know. Also, no maps. How is this possible in a biography of a man who conquered most of the known world? Still, the book was loaded with new information for me and much analysis not just of Caesar, but most of his contemporaries. The author seems to very much like Caesar as a man of the people and redistributor of wealth, while ignoring the massive loss of human life attributable to him through his conquests. He also hates the Romans most admired by lovers of liberty - Cato and Cicero. Clearly this guy is a big time lefty, but it is an interesting take on the most important years of Roman history.

[Working Classicists Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to get ahold of but what a read!

A leftist perspective on the fall of the Republic which is as well-researched as anything by any of the big-hitters of Classics.

It is not a short read, nor an easy one, but it might be the best in terms of immersing the reader in the flow of history in the first century BCE. Characters are introduced and back-story and motivations unfolded. Worth the investment of time.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

At several points, the author brings up Odysseus. The parallel is apt. Caesar was indeed a polytropos. Kahn paints a rich portrait!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly long and meandering biography of Caesar's life (and not just his school years). Sometimes the endnotes had nothing to do with the text it supposedly supported. (Yes -- I'm weird enough to read the endnotes.) Many quotes not attributed. There are so many other biographies of Julius Caesar out there. Skip this and read those!



One good thing -- you'll be so happy when this book is done!

[Fourleggedfish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. The author was knowledgable, did his research and presented it in a factual yet compelling manner. I never thought that I was reading a novel, but it was not a dry non-fiction book either. Also presented many sides of issues and left the reader to interpret available facts/evidence rather than telling the reader what to think of Caesar's life. Also included enough background information to put his life properly in context, but did not overwhelm with meaningless historical trivia.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Julius Caesar is a bit like one of Bob Woodward's instant histories in that the author plausibly fleshes out such facts as can be documented. For one unfamiliar with Caesar or the late Republic, this is a readable and interestingly opinionated introduction.