The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

by Mike Duncan

Thieves of private property pass their lives in chains; thieves of public property in riches and luxury. CATO THE ELDER1

Sallust said, “It is this spirit which has commonly ruined great nations, when one party desires to triumph over another by any and every means and to avenge itself on the vanquished with excessive cruelty.” Accepting defeat was no longer an option.

Cicero also later said that though he does not recommend vulgar metaphors, it would have been accurate to call Glaucia “the shit of the Senate.”

Saturninus, on the other hand, was the first to show the demagogues of the future generations just how far cynically manipulated mob violence could push a man’s career forward.

Like any self-respecting Hellenic king, his father was assassinated by poison

But it has also been suggested that as a close friend and ally of Marius, Aquillius was deliberately provoking Mithridates so Marius could lead the eastern command he coveted. Of course, it’s also possible Aquillius was just being stupid.

what he did not realize is that the senatorial domination he had grown up with was a recent development. In fact, that domination was a leading cause of the problem, not a solution.