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Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (519 BC) was an ancient Roman political figure, serving as consul in 460 BC and Roman dictator in 458 BC and 439 BC. [1]
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[edit] Life
The name given to Lucius Quinctius was Cincinnatus for his curly hair.
Cincinnatus was regarded by the Romans as one of the heroes of early Rome and as a model of Roman virtue and simplicity. As a persistent proponent of the plebeians, he resisted the proposal of Terentilius to draw up a code of written laws applicable equally to patricians and plebeians. He lived in humble circumstances, working on his own small farm, after having been driven into exile among the Etrurians for supporting his son Caeso Quinctius.[1]
[edit] Dictatorship
Cincinnatus's first term as dictator began when the Aequi tribe from the east and the Volscians from the southeast began to menace Rome. The Roman Senate pleaded with Cincinnatus to assume the mantle of dictator to save the city.
According to Roman analysts, Cincinnatus had settled into a life of farming and knew that his departure might mean starvation for his family if the crops went unsown in his absence. He assented to the request anyway and within sixteen days had defeated the Aequi and the Volscians. His immediate resignation of his absolute authority with the end of the crisis has often been cited as an example of good leadership, service to the public good, civic virtue, and modesty. He came out of retirement again during his second term as dictator (439 BC) to put down a revolt by the plebeians. After the war Cincinnatus left the job and picked back up where he left off, working at a farm.
[edit] Legacy
- Named in his honor are the town of Cincinnato, Italy, the town of Cincinnatus, New York, and the Society of the Cincinnati (for which the city of Cincinnati, Ohio was named).
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Livy, Book 3, sect 14, Project Gutenberg.
[edit] References
[edit] Primary sources
- Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, iii. 26-29
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- "…it was determined that a dictator should be appointed to retrieve their shattered fortunes, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was appointed by universal consent.
- It is worthwhile for those persons who despise all things human in comparison with riches, and who suppose that there is no room either for exalted honour, or for virtue, except where riches abound in great profusion, to listen to the following…"
- Project Gutenberg version of Ab Urbe Condita
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- Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquities, x. 23-25
- Florus, Epitome de T. Livio Beliorism omnium annorum DCC Libri duo, i. 11
[edit] Secondary material
- W. Ihne, History of Rome, i.
- Dante, Paradiso, canto 15, line 127
- E. Pais, Storia di Roma, i. ch. 4 (1898)
- Schwegler, Römische Geschichte, bk. xxviii. 12
- Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Credibility of early Roman History, ch. xii. 40
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
