Augustus
The name by which Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the
first Roman emperor, in whose reign Jesus Christ was
born, is usually known; born at Rome, 62 B.C.; died
A.D. 14. It is the title which he received from the
Senate 27 B.C., in gratitude for the restoration of
some privileges of which that body had been deprived.
The name was afterwards assumed by all his successors.
Augustus belonged to the gens Octavia and was the son
of Caius Octavius, a praetor. He was the grand-nephew
of (Caius) Julius Caesar, and was named in the latter's
will as his principal heir. After the murder of Julius
Caesar, the young Octavianus proceeded to Rome to gain
possession of his inheritance. Though originally in
league with the republican party, he eventually allied
himself with Mark Antony. Through his own popularity,
and in opposition to the will of the senate he
succeeded (43 B.C.) in obtaining the consulate. In the
same year he entered into a pat with Antony and Lepidus
by which it was agreed that for five years they would
control the affairs of Rome. This (second) Triumvirate
(tresviri reipublicae constituendae) so apportioned the
Roman dominions that Lepidus received Spain; Antony,
Gaul; and Augustus, Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia. The
first concerted move of the Triumvirate was to proceed
against the murderers of Caesar and the party of the
Senate under the leadership of Brutus and Cassius. A
crushing defeat was inflicted on the latter at the
battle of Philippi (42 B.C.), after which the fate of
Rome rested practically in the hands of two men.
Lepidus, always treated with neglect, sought to obtain
Sicily for himself, but Augustus soon won over his
troops, and, on his submission, sent him to Rome where
he spent the rest of his life as pontifex maximus.
A new division of the territory of the Republic between
Antony and Augustus resulted, by which the former took
the East and the latter the West. When Antony put away
his wife Octavia, the sister of Augustus, through
infatuation for Cleopatra, civil war again ensued,
whose real cause is doubtless to be sought in the
conflicting interests of both, and the long-standing
antagonism between the East and the West. The followers
of Antony were routed in the naval battle of Actium (31
B.C.), and Augustus was left, to all intents and
purposes, the master of the Roman world. He succeeded
in bringing peace to the long-distracted Republic, and
by his moderation in dealing with the senate, his
munificence to the army, and his generosity to the
people, he strengthened his position and became in
fact, if not in name, the first Emperor of Rome. His
policy of preserving intact the republican forms of
administration and of avoiding all semblance of
absolute power or monarchy did not diminish his power
or weaken his control. Whatever may be said in regard
to the general character of his administration and his
policy of centralization, it cannot be denied that he
succeeded effectually in strengthening and
consolidating the loosely organized Roman state into a
close and well-knit whole. He was a patron of art,
letters, and science, and devoted large sums of money
to the establishment and enlargement of Rome. It was
his well-known boast that he "found it of brick and
left it of marble". Under his management, industry and
commerce increased. Security and rapidity of
intercourse were obtained by means of many new
highways. He undertook to remove by legislation the
disorder and confusion in life and morals brought
about, in great measure, by the civil wars. His court
life was simple and unostentatious. Severe laws were
made for the purpose of encouraging marriages and
increasing the birth-rate. The immorality of the games
and the theatres was curbed, and new laws introduced to
regulate the status of freedmen and slaves. The changes
wrought by Augustus in the administration of Rome, and
his policy in the Orient are of especial significance
to the historian of Christianity. The most important
event of his reign was the birth of Our Lord (Luke 2:1)
in Palestine. The details of Christ's life on earth,
from His birth to His death, were very closely
interwoven with the purposes and methods pursued by
Augustus. The Emperor died in the seventy-sixth year of
his age (A.D. 14). After the battle of Actium, he
received into his favour Herod the Great, confirmed him
in his title of King of the Jews, and granted him the
territory between Galilee and the Trachonitis, thereby
winning the gratitude and devotion of Herod and his
house. After the death of Herod (750 A.U.C.), Augustus
divided his kingdom between his sons. One of them,
Archelaus, was eventually banished, and his territory,
together with Idumaea and Samaria, were added to the
province of Syria (759 A.U.C.). On this occasion,
Augustus caused a census of the province to be taken by
the legate, Sulpicius Quirinius, the circumstances of
which are of great importance for the right calculation
of the birth of Christ. See ROMAN EMPIRE; LUKE, GOSPEL
OF.
Sources
The chief sources for the life of Augustus are the
Latin writers, SUETONIUS, TACITUS, VELLEIUS,
PATERCULUS, and CICERO (in his Epistles and
Philippics); the Greek writers, NICHOLAS OF DAMASCUS,
DIO CASSIUS, and PLUTARCH. See also his official
autobiography, the famous Monumentum Ancyranum. For the
origin and character of the legends that, at an early
date, made Augustus one of the "prophets of Christ" see
GRAF, Roma nella memoria e nelle immaginazioni del
Medio Evo (Turin, 1882), I, ix, 308, 331.
PATRICK J. HEALY Transcribed by Janet Grayson
[New Advent Catholic Website]
http://www.knight.org/advent
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright �
1996 by New Advent, Inc., P.O. Box 281096, Denver,
Colorado, USA, 80228. (
[email protected])
If you would like to contribute to this worthwhile
project, please contact Kevin Knight by e-mail at
(knight.org/advent). For more information please
download the file cathen.txt/.zip.
-------------------------------------------------------
Provided courtesy of:
Eternal Word Television Network
PO Box 3610
Manassas, VA 22110
Voice: 703-791-2576
Fax: 703-791-4250
Data: 703-791-4336
Web:
http://www.ewtn.com
FTP: ewtn.com
Telnet: ewtn.com
Email address: sysop@ ewtn.com
EWTN provides a Catholic online
information and service system.
-------------------------------------------------------
