Great Speeches

Some of the greatest orations in history date from Roman times. This is not surprising, since rhetoric was an important part of the curriculum then, and it was a great age of statecraft.

The speech by Agrippa in 66 CE, warning the Jews not to rebel against the Romans, is among the most powerful orations to come down to us from the ancient world. Some excerpts:

"Think of the Athenians. Near little Salamis they broke the might of Asia, and today they are slaves of Rome, and the city-state that lorded it over Greece takes its orders from Italy. Think of the Spartans. They are happy under the same masters. Think of the Macedonians. They still dream of Philip and see visions of the goddess who with Alexander sowed for them the seeds of world empire, yet they endure this complete transformation without complaint and loyally serve the new recipients of Fortune's favors. Other nations by the thousand, bursting with even greater determination to assert their liberty, no longer resist. Will you alone refuse to serve the masters of the whole world?

Where are the men, where are the weapons that you count on? Where are the funds to pay for your expeditions? Where is the fleet that is to sweep the Roman seas? Do you think you are going to war with Egyptians and arabs? Why, our armies have been beaten by our neighbors time and again, while their armies have triumphed over the whole world. And even the world is not big enough to satisfy them, but across the ocean they have sought a new conquest, carrying their arms as far as Britain, that land of mystery. Why will you not face facts? Are you richer than the Gauls, stronger than the Germans, cleverer than the Greeks, more numerous than all the nations of the world? What gives you confidence to defy the power of Rome?"

Then there is the speech by Aristides c 150 CE, in praise of the Roman Empire, then at the peak of its power and prosperity. Speaking to a personification of Rome, Aristides said:

"It is you who have best proved the general assertion that Earth is mother of all and common fatherland. Now indeed it is possible for anyone, Hellene or non-Hellene, to go anywhere he wants with or without his property. Homer said 'Earth common to all' and you've made it come true. It is right to feel pity for those outside your hegemony, if indeed there are any, for they lose such blessings.

...No part of the earth escapes your rule, unless you have rejected it as useless....

....The world speaks in unison like a chorus, and so well does it harmonize under its chorus master that it joins it in praying for this empire to endure for all time....

...Like one continuous country and one race, all the world quietly obeys. Everything is carried out by command or nod, and it is simpler than plucking the string of a lyre.

As on a holiday, the civilized world lays down the weapons which were its ancient burden and turns to all manner of adornment and glad thoughts, with the power to realize them. Cities glisten with radiance and charm, and the entire Earth has been made beautiful like a garden. Like a perpetual sacred flame, the celebration is unending.

Let us pray that all the gods and their children grant that this city and this empire endure forever and never cease until stones float on water and trees fail to produce shoots in the spring, and that the Great Governor and his family enjoy the best of health so that they may continue to secure blessings for all."

Alas, it was not to be. Only about a decade after Aristides delivered his beautiful words, crises struck the Roman world. Marcus Aurelius weathered the crises but they were a harbinger of collapse. Nevertheless, the fact that even an ancient hegemon was able to achieve so much should spur the present superpower to the pinnacle of world history.