Category Archives: Sallust

A Burning Passion for Domination

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Matthew Phillips

“There is a clear difference between the desire for glory before men and the desire for domination. There is, to be sure, a slippery slope from the excessive delight in the praise of men to the burning passion for domination; … Continue reading →

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Fortune Grows Cruel

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“Fortune began to grow cruel and confuse everything.  Men who had easily endured hard work, dangers, uncertainty and adversity found that leisure and wealth, things desirable at other times, were a burden and the cause of misery.  And so, at … Continue reading →

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Playing the Tyrant

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Matthew Phillips

“The nobles had played the tyrant often enough in the past; but now the proletariat was on top and showed itself as arrogant as they had been.” Sallust, Chap. 5 in The Jugurthine War, trans. S. A. Handford (London: Penguin, 1963), … Continue reading →

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A Glorious and Everlasting Possession

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Matthew Phillips

“Every man who wishes to rise superior to the lower animals should strive his hardest to avoid living all his days in silent obscurity, like the beasts of the field, creatures which go with their faces to the ground and … Continue reading →

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History Kindles the Desire for Honor

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Matthew Phillips

“I have often heard that Quintus Maximus, Publius Scipio, and other illustrious citizens of our state, used to say that the sight of their ancestors’ portrait-masks fired their hearts with an ardent desire to merit honour.  Obviously they did not … Continue reading →

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Sallust on the Danger of Using Force

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Matthew Phillips

“Of these various paths to fame, it seems to me that the holding of civil and military posts, and indeed all political activities, are in these days the least desirable.  For the deserving do not obtain the honours of office; … Continue reading →

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History as the Soul’s Path to Glory

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Matthew Phillips

“What guides and controls human life is man’s soul.  If it pursues glory by the path of virtue, it has all the resources and abilities it needs for winning fame, and is independent of fortune, which can neither give any … Continue reading →

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The Miseries of the Republic

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Matthew Phillips

“Sallust has given a brief sketch of the miseries of the republic in that long period, in all the years down to the Second Punic War, troubled by incessant wars abroad, and at home by continued civil strife and disharmony. … Continue reading →

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