Talisker Tutorial's Great Books II Assignment 10 Study Questions

Great Books II Study Questions for Assignment 10

PLUTARCH, CAESAR

1. pg. 199: Why did Sylla hate Caesar?

2. pg. 200: What does the pirates episode suggest about Caesar's future career?

3. pg. 201: Note Plutarch's comment that Caesar's power "now openly tended to the altering of the whole constitution." What was Caesar's ambition all his life? Who first noted the danger in Caesar? Why did Cato and Cicero fear and hate him?

4. pg. 202 and many other places: How did Caesar win the affection of the general populace at Rome?

5. Compare pgs 207 and 218: Why did Caesar desire to establish the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus? (note the comment about Cato at bottom of pg. 207)

6. pg. 208: How did Caesar get a firmer hold on Pompey by marriage? (Compare pg. 113 and bottom of 215: what happened to this marriage?)

7. pg. 209: What is Plutarch's assessment of Caesar's military career?

8. pg. 210: How did Caesar conduct himself before his men, and what was the effect on them?

9. pg. 218 bottom, and 219 top: How did Rome's moral condition lead to the civil wars between Caesar and Pompey?

10. pg. 231: What caused the burning of the great library of Alexandria? (more information on the famous Library, for those who are interested)

11. pg. 232: What was the context of Caesar's famous saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered"? Note Plutarch's comment on the euphony of the Latin phrasing.

12. pgs. 224, 232, and 235: Note the progression of Caesar's dictatorial powers. How does this relate to pg. 237, "that which brought upon him the most apparent and mortal hatred"?

13. pg. 236: What projects did Caesar plan and never carry out?

14. pg. 237: What project of his was brought to completion and proved of very great use?

15. What omens presaged danger on the day of Caesar's assassination?

16. pg. 244: The comet of 44 B.C.

17. Why is Caesar significant for the history of western civilization? (his story, his name, his death, his descendants)

18. Since Plutarch's stated aim is to write lives, not histories, to "discover virtue and vice in men," what might we learn from Caesar to imitate? To avoid? More broadly than this, what might we learn from this account about human nature? About societies at certain stages of their moral trajectory?

Some links about Julius Caesar:

1. A brief biography
2. Coins with head of Caesar
3. Picture of beach where Caesar landed in his invasions of Britain (and descriptions of his invasions, with maps)
4. A map of the Roman Empire
5. Reproductions of Roman swords / daggers of the 1st century B.C.
6. The Forum of Julius Caesar