Talk:Caesar Introduction

Caesar born 100 BC. (Suetonius, Iulius 88.1)

REVISIONS NEEDED: delete references to "Democratic Party" and replace with reference to populares, with a link to accurate info. on this, added to the Roman Customs page.

'The contrast is between two types of politics, not two parties. Popularis was usually applied to individuals claiming to represent the interests of the people, as opposed to the senate and the upper orders generally: they stressed the sovereignty of the popular assemblies and the importance of the office of tribune of the plebs, and advocated economic and social reforms to help the poor. The optimates favored the interests of the optimi or ‘best men’ (their own flattering term) and upheld the authority of the Senate, resisting distributions of wealth and property. Cicero like to think of himself as promoting the harmony of all the orders but his sympathy with the Senate and his defense of private property mark him as an Optimate, though a moderate one.' M. T. Griffin and E.M. Adkins, Cicero: On Duties (Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 1991), 34.