With an introduction, conclusion, and twenty short chapters, Thomas E. Strunk’s On the Fall of the Roman Republic: Lessons for the American People attempts to do exactly what the subtitle suggests: draw lessons for modern Americans from the collapse of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
Each chapter focuses on a specific event between the time of Tiberius Gracchus (133 BCE) and the reign of the Emperor Tiberius (25 CE). Over the course of this century and a half, Strunk uses each event to highlight trends in modern American political history that would seem to suggest the United States is either in or on the verge of a similar period of revolutionary change. For example, in the first part of chapter 5 Strunk gives a brief overview of the land reforms proposed by Tiberius Gracchus, and his subsequent murder by the Senate. Strunk then argues that this event is the beginning of the normalization of violence as a political process at the end of the Roman Republic—indeed both at the end and as a cause of the end of the Republic. He rounds out the chapter by apparently increasing incidences of individual violence in contemporary times as well as the regularization of violent rhetoric from former President Trump culminating in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
As another example, in chapter 17 Strunk draws on the execution/murder of Cicero to trace the decline of freedom of speech at the end of the Roman Republic. The man who had spent his life giving political speeches was executed because of his rhetorical attacks on Mark Antony. “But there was no mistake to be made; when Antony had Cicero killed for his caustic orations, freedom of speech died with him. Romans henceforth would always have to consider their words carefully, and many would pay with their lives for not adhering to the emperor’s desires.” (78) Strunk then connects this collapse in Roman rights with the rise in hostility of politicians to the American media, particularly including former President Trump’s regular claims of “fake news”, now-Montana Governor Gianforte’s assault on a reporter, and the mob violence against journalists at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Strunk draws heavily on Tacitus for his conclusions, but clearly and properly references other ancient voices as well (Plutarch, Lucan, Cicero, and Augustus himself are all present). And while Strunk clearly favors Tacitus’ interpretation of events over, say, the Res Gestae, he is even-handed and thoughtful in his handling of sources and historical events.
What’s more, even aside from the lessons for contemporary America that Strunk wants to develop, On the Fall of the Roman Republic serves as a concise overview of most of the key political events taking place in Rome during the transition into the Empire. While it will not replace more thorough surveys, the historical aspects of this book will serve as a useful introduction for those who want an accessible and short book on a complex time period.
What may or may not useful in the long term are Strunk’s reflections on our contemporary political setting. Strunk’s genuine concern for the health and future of the American republic is undeniably admirable, but drawing parallels—however loosely—between ancient events and modern ones is always going to be skewed by our current historical perspective. By focusing primarily (but not, to his credit, exclusively) on the events at the end of the Trump administration as the parallels to the collapse of the Roman Republic, Strunk has tethered part of his book to a specific contemporary historical moment. Whether this is appropriate of course cannot be yet known. In ten years will the events of January 6, 2021 still feel to readers as having the same weight as the gang violence between Clodius and Milo? (Chapter 13) Will Trump’s rally on that day still seem like an event on the scale of Sulla’s march on Rome? (Chapter 8) While Strunk’s broader points about republicanism in general and the specific decline of Rome are important, only time will tell whether he has bound these points too tightly to the events of the last six years.
Aside from this potential future limitation, On the Fall of the Roman Republic is a thoughtful and engaging reflection on the end of Roman republicanism and the principles modern readers might draw from that era.