Ancient & modern
David Cameron, once a PR man for a TV company, has brought all his skills to bear on becoming the epitome of everything New Tory stands for, like, er, yes, of course, families (wow!) and the NHS (no!). Is this why he comes over as little more than a pretty windsock, without an idea in his head, but keenly pointing in whatever direction the zephyr blows? Very probably. Such a contrast with so many ancient Greeks and Romans.
Take, for example, Pompey. On one occasion he could not make up his mind whether to describe himself as consul tertium on a stage he had had erected in 55 BC or consul tertio (a subtle grammatical point is at stake). He consulted widely among the most learned men of the day, who could not reach agreement. He therefore phoned up Cicero. Not keen to back one grammarian against another, Cicero suggested writing tert.
Even to a man like Pompey — not the sharpest knife in the drawer — this sort of issue was important, and it is no surprise he went to Cicero for the final judgment. Here was another leading politician with a superbly honed mind. It was Cicero who effectively invented Roman philosophy, taking what the Greeks had done and giving it a Latin vocabulary and a Roman direction.
Julius Caesar was no slouch either. His Gallic Wars is a magnificent piece of work, stylistically and as propaganda. He was a great orator and a connoisseur of statuary, painting and jewels; a terrific rider and brilliant soldier, always leading from the front. While crossing the Alps he wrote a treatise arguing for the standardisation of spelling and grammar; he may even have proposed the introduction of a present participle of the verb ‘to be’, ens (entis), which did not exist in Latin but would have been very useful. The slobbering emperor Claudius, a serious historian and avid fan of Livy, wrote Etruscan and Carthaginian histories. But could any of them match the emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose philosophical Meditations (in Greek) have consoled and energised mankind down the millennia? And we have not even mentioned the Greeks ....
Politicians and soldiers, men of culture, intellect and wide interests these are enviably multidimensional figures. The contrast with PR men for TV companies, propped up in rows like empty sacks, could hardly be more striking, or depressing.
Peter Jones
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