Defence, Pride and Prejudice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Defence, Pride and Prejudice - Essay Example As for objectivity, there is no way we can verify the claims made by Augustus in Res Gestae. But common sense tells us that some facts could have been suppressed or exaggerated. In the trial of Socrates, we believe it was motivated by spite and prejudice (of those to whom Socrates’ teachings caused embarrassment) and, therefore, our sympathies are with the great philosopher. Still, the fact remains that Apology is in first person narrative which means it is one-sided and so there is an equal possibility for lack of objectivity, though the degree may differ. However, there is little scope for suppression of facts or exaggeration in Socrates’ statement because it is primarily based on reasoning unlike Res Gestae which is a self-satisfied account of ‘facts’ or things done.Res Gestae states that Augustus, after the civil wars, transferred the republic ‘from his power to the power of the senate and the people’. It sounds great to hear about a ruler who let the spirit of democracy flourish thousands of years ago. But history tells us that, contrary to modern day republics, the senate and the people, as such, were never allowed to be binding on the king and his decisions. Res Gestae does not tell us that tribunes could veto laws passed by the senate and Augustus was ‘tribune-for-life’. It was therefore a masqueraded republic. The hypocrisy of the so-called ‘principate’ is evident in Augustus, in 27 B.C., being voted a large military command for a period of ten years and in the institution of ‘impeium maius’.