To preface, I have been planning to write this blog for some time now, and with the recent insurrection at the United States Capitol, it feels even more relevant than ever. The story of this blog is the death of one Publius Clodius Pulcher, a demagogue of the highest order during the waning days of the Roman Republic. He was famous for whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his populism, but his life and works are worth a whole different blog in itself. Suffice it to say that Clodius had agitated his way through life in a way that made him a hero to some and a devil to others. This lifestyle culminated in his murder while traveling on the Appian Way by gladiators acting as hired thugs for his political opponent Titus Annius Milo.
With this murder is where this story begins. In life, Clodius had stirred something in the hearts of many of the people of Rome, of both upper and lower classes, and his death whipped the people into a frenzied riot. This violence would spread through Rome, culminating in the Curia Hostilia, one of the senate houses of Rome, being burned to the ground. In attempts to quell the mob, the politicians of Rome ultimately dealt another crippling blow to the Republic. Eager to calm the mob, the pro-Clodius Roman authorities stationed people outside of the trial proceedings of Milo to heckle Cicero who was presenting in Milo’s defense, and to intimidate the jury. Though Cicero was the best orator in ancient times, under the pressure of an angry mob, Milo was duly convicted and sent into exile. It didn’t matter if Milo was actually guilty of the crime or not. Mob rule dictated the day.
What the Roman world saw with the death and trial of Clodius was the absolute disintegration of free speech that they had cherished. They provide us with a precedent where free speech and right to a fair trial was effectively eliminated in order to keep the peace. However, the eventual price to pay; the eroding of the Republic, was far greater than peace in the short term. Pompey the Great was made the sole consul after this event, and consolidated enough power that would eventually lead to the famous civil war with Julius Caesar. States have systems for a reason, and it best to let these tried and true systems play out rather than attempting to coerce people into believing a certain way, which is the current method of choice for many American citizens and politicians alike, on both sides of the political spectrum. Forced compliance and violence, especially when it is egged on by political leaders, leads to the erosion of such systems of freedom. Rome took one step closer to having an emperor in charge with the murder and trial of Clodius Pulcher. Rome was ultimately a successful civilization under the emperors, but Rome is a historic anomaly in many ways. It is hard to see what America will be if many of its citizens continue down the path of violence and suppression towards those who they disagree with.
Seven Hills History 