Part I
The author feels that now is his best time to say what he has always kept away from people concerning the constitution of Rome. Polybius, the author of the “Rise of the Roman empire” reveals that the drive behind this decision came from the fact that he has not been able to find a greater changes of fortunes than what the Romans witnessed 1 . He tries to look at the motives and means through which the empire came to enjoy dominion. Polybius claims that one of the most important things which should be considered as an element of history is the establishment of causes and the capacity, and that they are the rewards of his study. The State constitution is the main factor that causes triumph or failure 2 .
Political descriptions already discussed by other writers are kingship, aristocracy and democracy. Lycurgus, being the first to construct a constitution proved using theory and practice that the best constitution is the one that contains the three elements 3 . The author suggested that other kinds of government can be defined as one-man rule, mob rule and minority rule. Polybius indicates the path through which various governments change and end in a democratic constitution. One-man rule develops into kingship. Kingship degenerates into a tyranny, and the abolishment of both gives rise to aristocracy which degenerate into oligarchy.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Lycurgus figured out that the best government is the one that has the three elements which kingship, aristocracy, and democracy. This text, however, meant shows that the Roman Republic was never meant to be a democracy, but it was something that fused democracy, autocracy to a perfect system of socio politics 4 . Roman political systems continued to pass through other modifications, but for them, it was not easy to identify whether their system of government was a monarchy, democracy or aristocracy.
Part II
The document is a form of a speech which the author seeks to use to address his audience 5 . When people read this kind of text, they hear Polybius voice in it. In this work, the author speaks about the development of the rise of the Roman Republic through changing constitutions. The author’s voice is his style of conveying his information 6 . The text, like all speeches, adopted the first person perspective, so it is possible to say that the author is speaking to the people directly, rather than being reported to them by others. At a closer look at the details in the book, one can tell that it contains the work that has so much of the author’s experience.
The person who wrote this text is Polybius 7 . The translation was made by Scott-Kilvert. The author says that this work is part of his greater design that examines the Roman development regarding its constitution. He acknowledged that this work has come last because of the importance that this part holds regarding he has been working on. His work is marked with a lot of objectivity. 8 Craighe Champion claims that the work of authority of speeches synonymous with Polybius is important because it helps the modern historians to obtain and convey truthful speech that could better be used as a reliable historical source 9 .
This work addresses the Greeks, that is, Polybius’ statesmen. In the contemporary world, it provides crucial information concerning the history of the Roman rise in changing constitution 10 . The learners, teachers, historians, and anthropologist who have an interest on this subject would find invaluable information to increase their knowledge on what built Roman. That is the information that the author wanted the audience to take away from the piece.
Polybius came up with his work which was recorded between 264–146 BC 11 . His rich knowledge in the happenings during his time is informed on his close attachment to politics of Rome. His father was a politician and he too served as a political leader. His focus on politics was driven by his desire to keep Megalopolis independent 12 . He gave a precise account of what was happening regarding the leadership structure and behavior because he became a victim of a form of bad constitution where he was held hostage to influence his father who was neutral during the war against the Perseus.
Part III
Polybius’ account tells us about his experiences in the hands of a ruler of the Roman Empire. The information he gave in his work is enough to tell the present generation about the views of the subject during this time 13 . He set himself to take the chance to explain the transformations regarding the constitution of Rome. Events happen unexpectedly sometimes and this author figured out that it was important to keep the record of the events so that they can have an idea of what might happen in the next few years.
Polybius was a Greek statesman, and the main reason why he wrote this work is because he wanted his fellow countrymen, then and after to learn about how the world came to be dominated by Rome. 14 He focused on its expansion to a time when it became the strongest empire. When he wrote the histories, he thought that it was imperative to capture this part because people were also transforming regarding the need for knowledge. He says “Now that I have described the information of the Roman state, its rise, the attainment of its zenith, and its present condition, and likewise the differences for better or worse between it and the other constitutions, I will bring this study to an end” (350) 15 . By this, he meant to appreciate the fact that there was no other way of appreciating the Roman success if it was not captured in the book of history. He took the part of the book explaining how governments can rise through various regimes and constitutions to the current democracies. Although Polybius wanted to talk about Rome, he offered a whole world view of history.
Bibliography
Champion, Craighe. "The nature of authoritative evidence in Polybius and Agelaus' speech at Naupactus." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 127 (1997): 111-128.
F.W Walbank, Polybius, Rome, and the Hellenistic World: Essays and Reflections (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) 22.
Mazur, Amanda. 2019. "What Does Polybius Mean By Pragmatic His | Thucydides | Carthage". Scribd . https://pt.scribd.com/document/287082209/What-Does-Polybius-Mean-by-Pragmatic-His .
Polybius, F Walbank, and Ian Scott-Kilvert. n.d. The Rise Of The Roman Empire .
Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire , trans. W.R Paton (Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1960-1968), 9.1.
Stanley Barney Smith, “Polybius of Megalopolis,” The Classical Journal Vol. 45, No. 1(1949):7.
Walbank, F. W, Bruce Gibson, and Thomas Harrison. 2013. Polybius And His World . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1 Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire , trans. W.R Paton (Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1960-1968), 9.1.
2 Ibd 54
3 Ibd78
4 Champion, Craighe. "The nature of authoritative evidence in Polybius and Agelaus' speech at Naupactus." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 127 (1997): 111-128.
5 Walbank, F. W, Bruce Gibson, and Thomas Harrison. 2013. Polybius And His World . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6 Ibd85
7 Champion, Craighe. "The nature of authoritative evidence in Polybius and Agelaus' speech at Naupactus." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 127 (1997): 111-128.
8 F.W Walbank, Polybius, Rome, and the Hellenistic World: Essays and Reflections
9 Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire , trans. W.R Paton (Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1960-1968), 9.1.
10 Stanley Barney Smith, “Polybius of Megalopolis,” The Classical Journal Vol. 45, No. 1(1949):7.
11 Ibd 45
12 Ibd67
13 Champion, Craighe. "The nature of authoritative evidence in Polybius and Agelaus' speech at Naupactus." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 127 (1997): 111-128.
14 Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire , trans. W.R Paton (Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1960-1968), 9.1.
15 Ibd72
