In return, Caesar rewarded Sallust with the title of proconsular governor of all of the province of Numidia and Africa. Others with a much stronger background were expecting this position, but it may have just been that Sallust showed a greater skill at organization. Sallust, however, takes advantage of this situation and when returning to Rome was cited for extortion. [footnoteRef:16] Caesar quickly acquitted Sallust, but that was the end of his political career. It appears that Caesar may have made a deal with Sallust that if he quietly disappears, he would not be tried. [16: Ibid.]
At this point in Sallust's life, he says he made the decision to give up his political career. Or, as noted, he may have been requested to do so by Caesar. Regardless, Sallust did not leave in bad straits. Caesar apparently fulfilled his end of the bargain. "Sallust became very wealthy" and was "the owner of the magnificent estate that was later the property of such notables as Nero, Vespasian, Nerva and Aurelian.[footnoteRef:17] Sallust says that his political ambition had come to an end and it was time to pursue his interest of writing. [17: Ibid.]
This, in itself was unusual, since others retired to hunt or extend their farm, but this was not to be Sallust's lot. "It was for slaves to devote themselves utterly to such things," he said in disdain.[footnoteRef:18] His pursuit of spending most of his time writing was seen as unusual, at best. Even a historiography was not to consume an entire gentleman's time. "It was not fit for a public man completely to withdraw from public life to devote himself to the writing of history at an age when office was still attainable" [footnoteRef:19] In his defense, Sallust responded to the critics that his histories were his way of doing public service. His writing of history would be his way of providing service to the state and stated that the state will gain more advantage from his otium than from the negotium of contemporary politicians. [footnoteRef:20] [18: Earl.,Moral and Political Tradition, 23] [19: Ibid.] [20: Dorey. Latin Historians, 91]
SALLUST'S HISTORICAL WORKS
Although it is known that Sallust wrote a number of different historical works, Bellum Catilinae and the Bellum Jugurthinum are the only two remaining intact. In addition are four speeches, a few letters and 500 parts of his Historiae to be published in five books. Laistner speaks for other historians when he praises Sallust for his historical writings. Despite the fact that Sallust's moral tone now turns readers off, his overall ability as a historical artist should not be denied. Sallust's value is due his interpretation of Roman history during the late Republic, which frequently differs from other interpretations and opposed to the optimate viewpoint.[footnoteRef:21] [21: M.L.W. Laistner, The Greater Roman Historians. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963), 64]
Syme questions Sallust's ultimate purpose in writing these histories. On the one hand, it is as if Salust is writing biographical works on the achievements of Caesar. He cannot refrain from bringing in his political opinion. He also uses Cato as his double-edged sword: Cato, is a man of integrity, "scourged the nobles of his day for vice, inertia, incompetence. Sallust exploits him for style, but also as a precedent and a weapon…" [footnoteRef:22]G.M. Paul (in Dorey[footnoteRef:23]) adds that "For Sallust, the pursuit of gloria was a fact of human experience, natural, self-evident and unquestioned…" When his career came to an end, he was most likely disappointed "though at the same time, his desire for distinction spurred him to pursue it in another field, namely historiography." Sallust's writings are also autobiographical. He may be writing about the history around him, but he is also the protagonist in the story. In. Bellum Catilinae 3.3 Sallust apologizes that his prior occurrence with public life was not fortunate. He continues that once he set his mind to leave politics behind for good, he set the goal to dedicate himself to the writing of impartial and accurate historical monographs. [22: Syme, Sallust 125] [23: Dorey. Latin Historians, 85]
Yet, are they impartial? It to see these comments by Sallust as hypocritical moralizing, because Sallust was anything but a poor, or even "middle-class" author. He retired in luxury founded on unethical gains received from involved...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now