Chapter VII
Roman Social Thought
Roman social thought is an outgrowth of Hellenic philosophic movements. It is represented in part by the codification of important phases of societary control—the product of the legalistic genius of the Romans. Stoicism, moreover, greatly affected and conditioned the meager social thinking of the Roman scholars.
Lucretius (99–55 B. C.) was the chief Roman exponent of Epicureanism. In his story of social evolution he began with the various phases of the biological struggle for existence, and proceeded to depict in a remarkably significant fashion the origins of social practices and customs.[VII-1] Although his data are of questionable value, his descriptions of social origins often run strangely parallel to modern findings.
The ideal commonwealth of Cicero (106–43 B. C.) is founded on the belief that Rome has the possibility of becoming an ideal state.[VII-2] The best ideas in this connection were selected by Cicero from the Aristotelian, Epicurean, and Stoic philosophies. Cicero was apparently an exponent of honest statesmanship and finally gave his life for civic efficiency. He argued that a child should not be punished by either a parent or a teacher in a fit of anger. Corporal punishment should be considered only when other methods fail to discipline.
The descriptive studies of Julius Caesar (100–44 B. C.) are noteworthy. The Commentaries present social studies of contemporary conditions; they possess modern value. In a large number of instances the accuracy of Caesar’s social notes has been verified.
The teachings of the Roman Stoics may be traced back to the Socratic formula: Virtue is knowledge. Virtue is knowledge which grows out of practical human conduct. Unlike Aristotle, the Stoics believed that sympathy is a disease. It is pathological and hence must be overcome. In helping other people the wise individual does not allow the emotion of pity to appear.
Contrary to the theory of the Epicureans, the Stoics taught that pleasure is a tiresome and sickly goal. Seneca (4 B. C.-65 A. D.), a leading Roman Stoic, declared: “I am seeking to find what is good for a man, not for his belly.”[VII-3] Virtue, according to Stoic philosophy, consists in living a free and undisturbed life. A line was drawn between the virtuous and non-virtuous, between a few virtuous and a multitude of fools. This doctrine tends to engender in the few virtuous a contemptuous regard for the pig-trough philosophy of the many.
This tendency, however, was offset by the Stoic belief that all persons originally possess the same nature and that all are children of the same universal Spirit. Social differences, hence, are external and superficial. Beneath the surface of human nature there is a cosmopolitanism which constitutes a passive brotherhood of man. Brotherly love should rule, according to the Stoics, but it should rule temperately, and not in such a way as to disturb the individual’s self control. Brotherly love should be not a passionate but an intellectual element.
In his treatise on Benefits, Seneca makes benevolence the most social of all virtues; and ingratitude the most venal of all crimes. Marcus Aurelius (121–180 A. D.) gave the social injunction: Love mankind.[VII-4] Living should consist in passing from one social act to another.[VII-5] This is a social world; men exist for the sake of one another.[VII-6]
The Stoic Emperor declared that God is social and that individuals are part of God’s universe. Each individual is a component part of the social system, and hence every act of the individual is an integral phase of social life.[VII-7] Inasmuch as the Intelligence of the universe is social, human society functions as a phase of the cosmic co-ordination. We are all co-laborers and co-operators. Even the persons who find fault and who hinder what happens, are performing useful co-operative functions.[VII-8] That which is harmful to the swarm is likewise harmful to the individual. Man is a citizen of the world.[VII-9] The services of a good citizen are never lost. The good citizen does good chiefly by the example he sets.[VII-10]