… and back we go to First Man in Rome.
Jugurtha, (c. 160–104 BC) was king of Numidia. He was the grandson of Massinissa, whom we encountered when reading Pride of Carthage. Jugurtha was a constant thorn in the side of Rome until he was defeated and captured by Marius and Sulla, and, after being paraded in Marius' triumph, executed.
The best online biography, as so often, is at livius.org.
Sallust, in his Jugurthine War [& the Conspiracy of Catilina], (online at Gutenberg), takes an extensive look at Jugurtha (Latin version).
However, he is more moralizing than accurate. His introduction begins thus:
“Mankind unreasonably complain of their nature, that, being weak and short-lived, it is governed by chance rather than intellectual power; for, on the contrary, you will find, upon reflection, that there is nothing more noble or excellent, and that to nature is wanting rather human industry than ability or time.
The
ruler and director of the life of man is the mind, which, when it pursues glory
in the path of true merit, is sufficiently powerful, efficient, and worthy of
honor, and needs no assistance from fortune, who can neither bestow integrity,
industry, or other good qualities, nor can take them away. But if the mind, ensnared by corrupt
passions, abandons itself to indolence and sensuality, when it has indulged for
a season in pernicious gratifications, and when bodily strength, time, and
mental vigor, have been wasted in sloth, the infirmity of nature is accused,
and those who are themselves in fault impute their delinquency to
circumstances.
If man, however, had as much regard for worthy objects, as he has spirit in the pursuit of what is useless, unprofitable, and even perilous, he would not be governed by circumstances more than he would govern them, and would attain to a point of greatness, at which, instead of being mortal, the would be immortalized by glory.”
H.H. Scullard in From the Gracchi to Nero, calls “The Jugurthine War” a political pamphlet related to the politics of his own day – a subject for another blog.
Theodor Mommsen covers Jugurtha in History of Rome,
the Revolution, beginning with Page 54. However, I'm
not sure what sources he has been using. Enlightening comments are appreciated!
More in JSTOR, for those who have access.
Sallust and Dissimulatio A. R. Hands, The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 49, Parts 1 and 2. (1959), pp. 56-60.
Sallust's Jugurtha: An 'Historical Fragment', D. S. Levene, The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 82 (1992), pp. 53-70
The Chronology of Sallust's Jugurtha, H. V. Canter, Classical Journal Vol. 6, No. 7 (Apr., 1911), pp. 290-295
Sallust's 'Jugurtha': Concord, Discord, and the Digressions, Thomas Wiedemann, Greece & Rome 2nd Ser., Vol. 40, No. 1 (Apr., 1993), pp. 48-57
Sallust and the Attitude of Roman Nobility at the Times of the Wars against Jugurtha (112-105 B.C.), Kurt von Fritz, Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association Vol. 74 (1943), pp. 134-168
The Source of Jugurtha's Influence in the Roman Senate, Walter Allen, Jr., Classical Philology, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan., 1938), pp. 90-92
The Jugurthine War: Was Marius or Metellus the Real Victor?, M. Holroyd, The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 18 (1928), pp. 1-20
