Chapter 13 Summary and Analysis

The Roman economy, both urban and rural, is slave-based. Both areas experience the sense of alienation brought about by slavery disrupting any sense of community in either area. The practice of manumission and co-optation means the native born Romans, or the ruling class, are numerically now a minority. The majority of the population consists of aliens who are despised by the ruling elite.

The plebeians view the civic freedom of the upper class as a threat to their own personal freedom. They have more faith in one-man-rule and a ruler like Augustus. They accept the sovereignal freedom of the emperor because it poses less of a threat to their own personal freedom than does the civic freedom of the upper class. Augustus exhibits concern for the masses. Someone like Cicero does not. He loathes the plebeians and slaves and is a...