Table Of ContentTHE ROMAN ELITE AND THE END OF THE
REPUBLIC
The boni – the wealthy, but largely non-political, section of the
Roman elite – have hitherto escaped scholarly attention. This book
draws a detailed and rounded picture of the boni, their identity,
values and interests, also tracing their – often tense – relationship
to the political class, whose inner circle of noble families eventually
losttheirtrustandsupport.Concernsaboutpropertyplayedacentral
part in this process, and the book explores key Roman concepts
associatedwithproperty,includingfrugality,luxury,patrimony,debt
and the all-important otium that ensured the peaceful enjoyment of
private possessions. Through close readings of Cicero and other
republican writers, a new narrative of the ‘fall of the republic’
emerges.Theshiftingallegiancesofthewidereliteofboniviriplayed
an important part in the events that brought an end to the republic
and ushered in a new political system better attuned to their
material interests.
is Professor of Roman History at King’s
College London. He has published widely on aspects of Roman
history, from local and republican politics to slavery, manumission
and epigraphy. His books include Elections, Magistrates and
Municipal Elite (), Italian Unification (), Plebs and Politics
intheLateRomanRepublic(Cambridge,),TheFreedmaninthe
Roman World (Cambridge,)and Politics intheRoman Republic
(Cambridge,).
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THE ROMAN ELITE AND THE
END OF THE REPUBLIC
The Boni, the Nobles and Cicero
HENRIK MOURITSEN
King’sCollegeLondon
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Contents
Acknowledgements page vii
Introduction
Lost in Translation: Modern Interpretations of the Boni
Boni et Locupletes
Who Were the Boni?
Boni and Equites in the Late Republic
The Boni in Roman Politics and Public Life
Wealth and Morality Revisited
Boni: The ‘Gentlemen’ of Republican Rome
Boni and Improbi: The Moral Construction
of Roman Politics
Otium and Tranquillitas: The Politics of the Boni
Vita et Bona: Property and Security
The Road to Perdition: Egestas and Aes Alienum
‘Egentes Sumptuosi Nobiles’: Politics and Debt
v
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vi Contents
Boni and Nobiles
The Power of the Nobiles
‘Boni Non Sequentur’: The Boni and the End
of the Republic
Cicero and the Formation of an Alternative
Epilogue: The Boni and Augustus
Appendices
Appendix The Boni in the Corpus Ciceronianum
Appendix Social Labels in Cicero
Appendix The Boni in the Forum: Cicero’s Second Speech
against Rullus
Bibliography
Index
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Acknowledgements
This book forms the final instalment of what has turned into a trilogy of
studies into the politics of the Roman republic, following in the footsteps
of Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge University
Press, ) and Politics in the Roman Republic (Cambridge University
Press, ). While building on these studies, it also seeks to expand the
scope and delve deeper into the complex relationship between social
structure and political change. In doing so, it also carries with it many of
the debts already acknowledged in previous volumes, to all the friends,
colleagues and students who have provided valuable inspiration – and
critical feedback – over the many years of its gestation. I would like to
reiteratemywarmthanksfortheirhelpandencouragement.Severalofmy
doctoral students, past as well as current, read and commented on this
volume, for which I am very grateful. I am especially indebted to Maggie
Robb for sharing her expertise on Roman politics. Papers related to the
project were delivered at the University of Dresden and the Institute of
Classical Studies, London, and I would like to thank both organisers and
audiences for the stimulating responses. In the final stages Lewis Baston
kindly read and corrected the manuscript. As always, my greatest thanks
are to my friends and family for their unfailing support and interest in
my work.
vii
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Introduction
Boni
Searching for the
In March of , Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus with an update on the
situation in Rome after Caesar had taken control of the capital. He
described howlifewas gettingback to normaland peoplesettled inunder
the new regime. Personally, Cicero considered his options and asked,
‘What shall I do? Rush madly for Brundisium, appeal to the loyalty of
the municipalities?’. The main obstacle he faced was, as he said, that the
boni would not follow and neither would anyone else. His reference to a
groupofpeoplecalledboni,whowereapparentlyreluctanttocometothe
rescueoftheoldpoliticalorder,isintriguing:whowerethey,andwhatlay
behind their stance at this critical juncture in the life of the republic?
The hesitance of the boni, which Cicero shortly afterwards described as
their‘imbecillitas’–feebleness–Att...(SB),shouldhavecomeas
no surprise; just a few years earlier he had warned the senate that their
support might not be forthcoming in the future. In a list of ominous
threats facing the res publica, Cicero had predicted that ‘soon the support
oftheboniwillnolongerbereadilyavailablewhenevercalleduponbyour
order (sc. the senate)’. The passage is interesting; for not only does it
suggest that the loyalties of the boni were fraying well before the final
showdown between Pompey and Caesar; it also indicates that they con-
stituted a discrete segment of society, separate from the senate and the
political class, and endowed with interests, identity and allegiances that
were entirely their own.
The present study thus explores a section of Roman society that has
largelyescapedscholarlyattention.Despitetheirincreasedvisibilityduring
Att. .. (SB ): ‘Coner illuc ire ut insanus, implorare fidem municipiorum? Boni non
sequentur’. Translations are, unless otherwise stated, based on the Loeb editions, generally with
somemodifications.
Har.:‘bonorumanimusadnutumnostriordinisexpeditusiamnonerit’.
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