Censors and mos maiorum in the construction of the republican ethos
Lemennais, Noémie
Censors and mos maiorum in the construction of the republican ethos - 2023.
11
In the De Legibus, Cicero presents his vision of the republican censors and their duties. In particular, he specifies that they should regulate the morals of the people and not allow any scandal in the Senate, evoking here the control of behavioral norms within the ciuitas. The traditional representation of the censors presents them as the incarnation and protectors of the ethos of the ideal Roman within the ciuitas, insisting on a strict observation of the mos maiorum. This image is mainly based on sources dating from the imperial period, since few sources from the republican period, evoking the censors and their activities, have come down to us. The aim of this paper is therefore to try to explain the nature of the link between the censors and the construction of a republican ethos, notably through the respect of the mos maiorum. We will first study the key moments of this construction. The censorship of 184 appears to be a crucial step in this process, making the censor the guardian and the incarnation of the republican ethos. However, the censorship of Cato does, paradoxically, break with the mos maiorum, abandoning certain standards of behavior and traditional social representations of its time. This process is also found in the Augustan policy of (re)moralization of Roman society, which puts forward a new ideal of senatorial ethos. We will then discuss two problems raised by these two moments: the question of the real capacity of action of the censors in this process of construction of this image, and the reception of their actions; and the particularity of the sources, mostly imperial, in this late social and political construction, which manage to hide the fact that the construction of this ethos sometimes occurs by breaking with the mos maiorum that is supposed to be at its heart.
Censors and mos maiorum in the construction of the republican ethos - 2023.
11
In the De Legibus, Cicero presents his vision of the republican censors and their duties. In particular, he specifies that they should regulate the morals of the people and not allow any scandal in the Senate, evoking here the control of behavioral norms within the ciuitas. The traditional representation of the censors presents them as the incarnation and protectors of the ethos of the ideal Roman within the ciuitas, insisting on a strict observation of the mos maiorum. This image is mainly based on sources dating from the imperial period, since few sources from the republican period, evoking the censors and their activities, have come down to us. The aim of this paper is therefore to try to explain the nature of the link between the censors and the construction of a republican ethos, notably through the respect of the mos maiorum. We will first study the key moments of this construction. The censorship of 184 appears to be a crucial step in this process, making the censor the guardian and the incarnation of the republican ethos. However, the censorship of Cato does, paradoxically, break with the mos maiorum, abandoning certain standards of behavior and traditional social representations of its time. This process is also found in the Augustan policy of (re)moralization of Roman society, which puts forward a new ideal of senatorial ethos. We will then discuss two problems raised by these two moments: the question of the real capacity of action of the censors in this process of construction of this image, and the reception of their actions; and the particularity of the sources, mostly imperial, in this late social and political construction, which manage to hide the fact that the construction of this ethos sometimes occurs by breaking with the mos maiorum that is supposed to be at its heart.
Réseaux sociaux