Please read the Introduction to Sallust's War with Jugurtha. Pick out what you consider to be the most important/most interesting line from this selection. If other students have chosen a different line, explain why *your* line is even more important or more interesting.As an alternative, pick out the line from Sallust you consider the worst, or the least interesting. If other students have chosen a different line, explain why your line is even worse or less interesting.
The most important line in my opinion from this selection is this one. In short, the goods of the body and of fortune have an end as well as a beginning, and they all rise and fall, wax and wane; but the mind, incorruptible, eternal, ruler of mankind, animates and controls all things, yet is itself not controlled. 4 Therefore we can marvel the more at the perversity of those who pass their life in riotous living and idleness, given over to the pleasures of the body, but allow the mind, which is better and greater than anything else in man's nature, to grow dull from neglect and inaction; especially when there are so many and so varied intellectual pursuits by which the highest distinction may be won.
ReplyDeleteI like how he explains how one can use their body during the time they have it. He describes how bodies have their time in the peak of people's lives but also how our bodies eventually crumble and fall. But then he goes onto explain how the mind is always their and always the same and never really changing unless we as the person who has the mind wants to change it. The mind is eternal and the body however is not. Man can neglect both the body and the mind but the mind according to the passage is better and greater than anything else. We should not let our mind grow inactive and neglect it because the world has varied intellectual pursuits to make us even wiser.
I think the most important line in the introduction is: “Therefore notable beauty and great riches, as well as bodily strength and all other gifts of that kind, soon pass away, but the splendid achievements of the intellect, like the soul, are everlasting.”
ReplyDeleteThis quote ties together with the following quote mentioning how the mind is incorruptible and that the body and fortune have an end and beginning. I think the quote I mentioned is the most important because it summarizes Sallust’s view of the soul very simply; that it is everlasting. Basically he says that anything related to the physical world does not hold much importance in the long run, but the soul and achievements an individual makes never end. People can remember someone for who they were long after they have passed away, and I think that Sallust is trying to explain that history has deep ties to other people’s legacies and achievements. We may not have every physical item that belonged to Julius Caesar or any other emperor for that fact, but we do know all about their impact on Rome and their life. In history we examine information, and sometimes artifacts, but every time we are always trying to find a story rather than just discover physical items.
I feel like both mine and yours Logan are very similar. The body passes away just like what mine had said but the mind is forever. The mind is tied with the intellect and our intellect is truly everlasting indeed. Our intellect is passed down to other generations and used by others. I wouldn't say one or the other is more important because they both touch base on the same aspects of life which are very important.
DeleteThe line that I selected was “I propose to write of the war which the people of Rome waged with Jugurtha, king of the Numidians: first because it was long, sanguinary and of varying fortune; and secondly, because then for the first time resistance was offered to the insolence of the nobles”
ReplyDeleteThis line is important because the Roman Empire seemed to always want to expand and grow. The Romans believed that the more land that they could acquire, the better off they would be. The War of Jugurtha was no different. The Romans had set their eyes on this Northern portion of Africa and wanted to win the war to continue to grow their Empire and start to acquire more land in Northern Africa, land that wasn’t previously owned by the Romans, or was an area that the Romans were lacking as far as the growth of their Empire. The war as mentioned was long, but more than that, the war between the Romans and Jurgurtha was actually tremendously detrimental to the Roman Empire and started the fall of the Roman Republic. Early on, Rome was considered a Republic, and with results like the one here, that Republic slowly started to drift away, and that made dramatic changes to Rome as a whole. On top of that, as mentioned in the line above, resistance was prevalent for the first time in Roman battles of history as well. Not saying that all battles were easy for the Romans, but battles like the one against the Jurguthians were more difficult than anticipated. This showed the vulnerability of the Roman Empire and showed that the Roman Empire in the grand scheme of things was able to be beaten at one point or another, and that’s why it has significance. With this in mind, it drastically changed the way that the Romans viewed other portions of the world and vice versa. It showed that Rome was going to continue and try to expand their Empire, but knew that it was a matter of time before other countries would start and find some type of success against the Romans.
- This comment was made by Nile Hesson
DeleteI like the quote: "Therefore notable beauty and great riches, as well as bodily strength and all other gifts of that kind, soon pass away, but the splendid achievements of the intellect, like the soul, are everlasting."
ReplyDeleteThis type of ideal has been seen all throughout history--it's even in the Bible. It makes sense, too. Your personal belongings and physical riches only last so long--they will either disappear or rust eventually. BUT the "splendid achievements of the intellect" will not turn to rust or eventually disappear. Your soul, mind, and spirit will stick with you for as long as you are alive--and probably after, too. I think this is important because it is a great reminder to not dwell too much on materialistic items--they come and go. Instead, focus on the things that truly matter--like strengthening your mind and soul.
-Lauren Bland
I like that this quote brings up the fact that it isn't beauty that sticks around forever. That is a good lesson even for people today.
DeleteThe quote that I believe to be the most important is "the leader and ruler of man's life is the mind, and when this advances to glory by the path of virtue, it has power and potency in abundance, as well as fame; and it needs not fortune, since fortune can neither give to any man honesty, diligence, and other good qualities, nor can she take them away. "
ReplyDeleteThis quote highlights one of the main ideas of many Roman people. Many of them would think back to the times of their fathers or grandfathers and see them as a "golden age" in which people were guided by a quest for virtue, honor, and dignity rather than material goods or money. The point behind this quote, or at least how I interpreted it, is that a fortune gotten by ill means cannot make a person wise, capable, or honorable. However, the mind and spirit are different. By focusing on these, a person can gain wisdom, honor, and capability in the eyes of their community.
-Haylee Bohnet
I think the most important line is" "Since Jugurtha after the loss of Thala was convinced that nothing could resist Metellus, he journeyed through vast deserts with a few followers until he came to the Gaetulians, a wild and uncivilized race of men, who at that time had never heard the name of Rome. 2 He mustered their population in one place and gradually trained them to keep ranks, follow the standards, obey orders, and perform the other duties of soldiers."
ReplyDeleteThis is because it goes to show that even uncivilized men are capable of knowing what order is and how to obey a chain of command. It is also very interesting because it is literally telling about a man who went into a city and managed to form them into an army essentially.
"Jugurtha was taken to Rome, where, after being led with his two sons before Marius's chariot in the triumphal procession, he was starved to death, or, according to some, strangled, in the Tullianum". This is the most important line in the selection; it is Jugurthas conclusion and the end of trouble from him. They have his sons present to see what will happen to him, to ensure that they will not become like him. It is the part of the story that everyone wants to know, "what happens in the end?" Most people want to know the conclusion of someone's life or the conclusion of a war, who wins and who dies. This is why the line I chose is most important.
ReplyDelete“Moreover, to struggle in vain and after wearisome exertion to gain nothing but hatred, is the height of folly, unless happily one is possessed by a dishonorable and pernicious passion for sacrificing one's personal honor and liberty to the power of a few men.”
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with my classmates that all of their lines are indeed really good, I think that my line is the most important/interesting line because to me it seems like a warning against fighting losing battles solely out of stubbornness and getting no real reward other than anger, frustration, and hatred which are all things that poison the body and mind. To dwell in things that are rooted in these bad desires/feelings is to willingly infect our bodies and minds. I think that this is the most important passage because it not only applies as a good warning back in the time of Sallust but also today in so many areas (e.g. politics).