Plutarchs Crassus And Caesar Essays - Ancient Rome, Roman Republic

Plutarch's Crassus And Caesar Plutarch presented history through biographical stories of the people that were important and influential during the time period he wished to address. However, after having read some of his work, one realizes that Plutarch inserts his own personal opinion and views of the people at hand into the factual documentation of their lives. For example, in The Life of Crassus, Plutarch expresses a general dislike and negative view of the man, but in The Life of Caesar he portrays the life through a lens of praise. It also seems that he uses his opinions of the people that he writes about to subtly extend moral lessons to the reader. What follows is a further isolation of Plutarchs opinions and lessons from within The Lives of Crassus and Caesar. Certainly the Romans say that in the case of Crassus many virtues were obscured by one vice, namely avarice; and it did seem that he had only one vice, since it was such a predominant one that other evil propensities which he may have had were scarcely noticeable. Beginning the Life of Crassus with this statement, Plutarch starts the reader off with a negative feeling of who Crassus was. This statement is very strong because it not only points out Crassuss largest shortcoming, but also implies that it was so prevalent that it outweighed all his virtues as well as his other faults. One can read between the lines and in order to see that Plutarch did not favor Crassus. If Plutarch had wanted to, he could have conveyed the same information about Crassuss faults in a much gentler manner. He wants the reader to see how horrible greed is and that it has the ability to destroy people no matter how wonderful their other characteristics may be. Plutarch did make an effort to show the reader Crassuss virtues as well. As well as greedy, he also portrayed Crassus as a kind man who was a talented speaker, good politician, and willing to help the people of Rome: It must be admitted, however, that Crassus was eager to show kindness and hospitality. . He became one of the best speakers in Rome, and by care and application, was able to surpass those who were more highly gifted by nature. . often when Pompey and Cicero and Caesar were reluctant to speak, he undertook the whole management of the case himself, thereby gaining an advantage over them in popularity, since people thought of him as a man willing to take trouble to help others. In fact, this readiness to help others in their time of need was his one saving grace was instrumental in his retention of power in Rome. He often threw lavish parities, lent people money willingly, and was always eager to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed his assistance in court. Crassus also always treated everyone in a warm and courteous manner no matter his or her wealth, power, or station in society. For these reasons, the people truly liked him. In Rome, such popularity was the handmaiden of power. Plutarch does not leave Crassuss virtues untainted. He makes sure to point out that greed often overcame and interfered with the good things that Crassus did, to further support his belief that greed is such a terrible thing that it overpowers everything else: and he used to lend money to his friends without interest; but when the time came for repayment, he was quite relentless about demanding it back from the borrower, so that his readiness to lend often proved more burdensome than the payment of heavy interest would have been. One of the things that made Crassus popular was his kindness and willingness to help others. However, even this he could not do whole-heartedly because of his underlying greediness, which kept him from being a truly giving person. Plutarch gives the reader a sense that the things that made Crassus popular were simply illusions that were created, for the public, to benefit his own aspirations. Along this line of thought, Plutarch shows the reader that even though Crassus was very popular, he was not consistently in the good graces of the people as he was often feared by