Cincinnatus

"With one hand he returns the fasces, a symbol of power as appointed dictator of Rome. His other hand holds the plow, as he resumes the life of a citizen and farmer." — A statue of Cincinnatus in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (519 BC – 430 BC?) was an ancient Roman aristocrat and political figure, serving as consul in 460 BC and Roman dictator in 458 BC and 439 BC.^[1]

Cincinnatus was regarded by the Romans, especially the aristocratic patrician class, as one of the heroes of early Rome and as a model of Roman virtue and simplicity. A persistent opponent of the plebeians, when his son was convicted in absentia and condemned to death, Cincinnatus was forced to live in humble circumstances, working on his own small farm, until he was called to serve Rome as dictator, an office which he immediately resigned after completing his task of defeating the rivaling tribes of the Aequians, Sabinians and Volscians.

His immediate resignation of his absolute authority with the end of the crisis has often been cited as an example of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, and modesty.

Life

Early career

Politically, Cincinnatus was a persistent opponent of attempts to improve the legal situation of the plebeians. His son Caeso Quinctius often drove the tribunes of the plebeians from the forum, preventing them from reaching a formal decision. In 461 BC, these actions finally resulted in a capital charge against Caeso. After Caeso was released on bail and escaped to the Etrurians, he was condemned to death in absentia and his father had to pay an immense fine, forcing him to sell most of his lands and retire to a small farm, where he and his family were able to subsist on the work of his hands.^[2]

Consul

The following year, Cincinnatus was elected suffect consul. During his consulship, Cincinnatus' main adversary was the Plebeian Tribune Gaius Terentilius Harsa. During this time period, the Roman senate was preoccupied with a war against the Volsci, a neighbouring Italic people. Terentilius attempted to use this distraction to push a series of laws through the Senate which favoured the plebeians, especially the proposal to draw up a code of written laws applicable equally to patricians and plebeians. Cincinnatus was able to stop Terentilius from enacting his laws.

Dictator

Cincinnatus leaves the plow for the Roman dictatorship, Juan Antonio Ribera, c. 1806.

In 458 BC, the Romans were fighting the Aequians and the Sabines. The consul Minucius Esquilinus had led an army to fight the Sabines and Aequians. However, Minucius's army had been trapped by the Aequians in the Alban Hills, and was attempting to fight off a siege. A few Roman horsemen escaped, and returned to Rome to tell the senate what had happened. The senate fell into a panic and authorized the other consul for the year, Horatius Pulvillus, to nominate a dictator. Horatius nominated Cincinnatus for a dictatorial term (also known as Magister Populi or "Master of the People") of six months.

A group of senators was sent to tell Cincinnatus that he had been nominated dictator. According to Livy, the senators found Cincinnatus while he was plowing on his farm. Cincinnatus cried out "Is everything all right?" They said to Cincinnatus that they hoped "it might turn out well for both him and his country," and then they asked him to put on his senatorial toga and hear the mandate of the senate. He called to his wife, telling her to bring out his toga from their cottage.

When he put on his toga, the senatorial delegation hailed him as dictator, and told him to come to the city. The delegation told him of the situation. Cincinnatus knew that his departure might mean starvation for his family if the crops went unsown in his absence. But he assented to the request anyway. He then crossed the Tiber river in a boat provided by the senate, as his farm was on the far side of the river. When he reached the other side of the Tiber, he was greeted by his three sons and most of the senators. Several lictors were given to him for protection.

The next morning, Cincinnatus went to the Roman forum, and nominated as his Master of the Horse (his chief deputy) Lucius Tarquitius, who was considered one of the finest soldiers in Rome. Cincinnatus then went to the Roman popular assembly and issued an order to the effect that every man of military age should report to the Campus Martius -- the Field of Mars, god of war -- by the end of the day.

Once the army assembled, Cincinnatus took them to fight the Aequi. Cincinnatus led the infantry in person, while Tarquitius led the cavalry. The Aequi were surprised by the double attack and were soon cut to pieces. The commanders of the Aequi begged Cincinnatus not to slaughter them all.

Cincinnatus did not want to cause any unnecessary bloodshed, and told the Aequi that he would let them live if they submitted to him and brought their leader, Gracchus Cloelius, and his officers to him in chains. A yoke was set up, made up of three spears, and the Aequi had to pass under it, bowing down while confessing that they had been conquered. After this, the war ended and Cincinnatus disbanded his army. He then resigned his dictatorship and returned to his farm, a mere sixteen days after he had been nominated dictator.

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 retired as dictator and resumed where he had left off, working on his farm.

Legacy

Named in his honor are the town of Cincinnato, in Lazio, Italy; the U.S. town of Cincinnatus, New York; and the Society of the Cincinnati which, in turn, lent its name to the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. George Washington was often compared to Cincinnatus for his willingness to give up near-absolute power once the crisis of the American Revolution had passed and victory had been won, and the Society of the Cincinnati is a historical association founded in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War to preserve the ideals of the military officer's role in the new American Republic.

Footnotes

References

Primary sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cincinnatus

• Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, iii. 26-29

"…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

• Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquities, x. 23-25
• Florus, Epitome de T. Livio Beliorism omnium annorum DCC Libri duo, i. 11

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.