The Noblest Romans of America
Military affairs writer Thomas Ricks discusses how
Greco-Roman classical thought underpinned the political philosophy of our first
four presidents. College educated Adams,
Jefferson and Madison understood Latin and Greek and to them the voices of
Cato, Cicero and Cincinnatus were not ancient history, but current in their
thoughts. Though not college educated, Washington absorbed the culture by
osmosis and perhaps he was the noblest Roman of them all. For it was he, just
like Cincinnatus who fought the war and then returned to his farm.
For all of them the models for a republic came from
Greece and Rome. To be sure both were republics of the elite and both rested on
the work of slaves, which is pretty much how we ended up in 1789. Nevertheless,
the watchword for both was “virtue,” meaning civic virtue by placing the public
good over private interest. This is a far cry from Donald Trump’s Washington,
and it was, in fact, Trump’s election that prompted Ricks to write this book.
The ideas of the ancient world were tempered by the
writings of Montesquieu (“Spirit of Laws” 1748) and the Scottish enlightenment
writings of David Hume and Adam Smith. It was Madison’s genius to harness
private interests in the service of classical virtue in writing the
constitution.
Ricks has suggestions as to our world of today can
utilize the thoughts of the classics. He notes that the Founders would be
shocked as to the role money plays in our politics thereby creating an all-powerful
oligarchy. That is true, but I would I argue that the Founders would also be
shocked by the size and scope of the federal government. With the stakes so
high, it is only natural that money has flooded into our politics.
Ricks has given us another view into the thoughts of
our founder. Although a bit long-winded in spots his book is well worth the
read.
For the full Amazon URL see: The Noblest Romans of America (amazon.com)
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