Body without a head, or head without a body?

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. - George Patton

This is another somewhat ambiguous one for Caesar (but still of the three I found most reflective) in regards to his command.
In class we hear about the Caesar's ideology that the Roman army is a large body but it needs one strong leader to play the head role. I'd like to touch upon the fact that, though Caesar is a strong head, none of his movements would have worked if the body of Romans beneath him weren't as tactful themselves as they were. I'd just like to give them as much credit as Caesar himself. Though the body requires the head to figure out the movements, the head requires the body to physically move.

Roman mindset

A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him. - General Douglas MacArthur

This could be argued as reflecting Caesar's command, but also against.
I believe it reflects his command because of all his gambles. If the army under him wasn't as revved up as they were, they could have crumbled. Much of this has to do with the Roman mindset of pleasing your general. Caesar inspired them as a whole to force their victory, no matter how unlikely their win would be. If this Roman mindset did not exist, the troops under Caesar would have suffered more losses and his command would not have been so prized.
One could say the Roman mindset actually disproves this quote as a parallel to Caesar's command, for the very reason that, other than a cultural norm, Caesar's gambles would not have succeeded as well, or at all.

The Coliseum: The Symbol of Rome?

"While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; / When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; / And when Rome falls - the World."
~~ Lord Byron

Humans, Vessels for the Future

"A few of the sublimest geniuses of Rome and Athens had some faint discoveries of the spiritual nature of the human soul, and formed some probable conjectures, that man was designed for a future state of existence."
~~ David Brainerd

"That man was designed for a future state of existence." This concept summarized by David Brainerd is something that many of us fail to see as the big picture today. It is true that in order to survive we must prepare for what we may face in the future but that is true with all living things. What makes this quote special is that it's attributing this idea to Rome and Athens. The invention of democracy in Athens can be critiqued as its most decorated example of preparing for a future state of existence since we still take from its origins in today's governments. Therefore saying that, "man was designed for a future state of existence," isn't all that off from the big picture.

Rome is a Tough Place to Be

"I'd rather be first in a village than second at Rome"

~ ~Julius Caesar

Caesar is attributing to the idea that it isn't at all easy being the emperor when there are so many that look up to him and so many that want his power. His degree of power is somewhat similar to that of Alexander the Great in the sense that thousands of others look up to them as leaders. But as Caesar admits it in his quote, the power comes with its everlasting price and that is, the need to stay on top.

The Root of Health

"Walking is man's best medicine" - Hippocrates

After we talked about Roman medicine in class I found it interesting that they were so advanced. It's astonishing to think about how they performed all of these surgeries and made all of these tools that we still use.

This quote shows that health (other than unpreventable diseases and aging illnesses), is pretty simple. Exercise will always keep you healthy. Even the best and brightest, like the man who inspired the Hippocratic Oath, know the basic key to living a good life.

Value of Virtue

"Unlike Greek mythical figures, the heroes of Rome's early past were not taller, stronger, wealthier, or better-looking than their remote descendants; they were exceptional only in virtue." - Ancient Mediterranean World, p118

Virtue is defined as moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. This fact, that Romans chose to idolize those who portrayed these fine qualities instead of those which are merely shallow and superficial, evidently shows their great respect for what really matters. The Greeks praised men and women of strength leading to great heroic glory whether by means of athletic competition or even the slaying of a giant monster. But the Romans on the other hand showed respect for those who used their skills for the greater good, exemplifying how high they valued dignified morality.

Giant Nations with Giant Issues

"In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous"

-Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-117 ce.)

Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. I thought it was funny when I saw this because in law we had just talked about the size of the Roman Empire and thats why it had need for lawiers, because of the many laws. So I'd assume with an empire roughly two thirds of the United States you would have a need for many laws because of corruption, for a nation of 10 people 1 may be corrupt and a nation of 100,000 perhaps 100. So reading this quote wasnt suprising in any way but I did find it intresting.