Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 3:25 am Post subject: City of brick---->city of marble
Literally, i think this is shows how much Augustus physically changed the city of Rome. he had dozens of temples, statues, forums, and politicol buildings built and improved during his reign.
Figuratively, i think this is a metaphor for just how much Augustus improved rome. not only did he improve its buildings, he improved its military, created land reform, and distributed vast amounts of his own wealth to the citizens. this phrase says just how much rome benefited from augustus' rule.
Literally this means how Augustus rebuilt many Roman buildings into much grander, stronger versions (probably using marble, a much more valuable material, instead of brick).
The larger meaning of the saying could be looked at several ways. First, Augustus built up the Roman Empire into something much stronger in more ways than just buildings. Also, while both brick and marble are good building materials, marble is a lot more ornate and complex to build with. Marble can come in many shades and colors and is often used in sculpture, unlike brick which is usually one, dull color but is much easier to build with. This shows how Caesar fixed the crumbling Republic with brick, which looked much better and was much stronger than the materials of the corrupt Republic. Augustus, however, then took that brick and made it into marble, something even better than brick.
I think the literal messahe that this quote protrays is that he says in this document multiple times that he rebulit a lot of romes buildings, and built many from scratch. I think that was important to him, because he says he did this on his own inniciative, and for some of it with his own money so he really poured his heart and soul into rebuilding rome.
The deeper meaning of this quote shows how he did a lot more to help rebuild rome than rebuild the actual buildings. After the chaos that followed ceasars death Rome was left in a pretty vulnerable state, and he swooped in and made it better again, by ending the civil wars. He not only helped the Rome that already existed, but he expanded Romes territory greatly making it an even more prosporous nation. These were just a few of his many accomplishments that changed rome for the better.
well, as said in the reading he was responsible for the creation of many new temples, and other buildings in rome, as well as rebuilding or renovating some, as a way of sharing his wealth. Augustus had somewhat of the effect of a god upon the city, and was nearly worshipped so, as said on page 565, "the senate decreed that vows for my heallth should be offered up.." During his many consulships he gave generous amounts of money to poorer citizens, and gave lots of money to veterans, about 400,000,000 sesterces as said on page 567. by helping people, building and repairing, a, he did have the effect of turning a brick city to marble, by sharing his happiness and glory with those around him, he made rome shine.
I agree with the literal meaning pertaining to Augustus' renovations throughout Rome and especially the construction of various temples/buildings. I feel it also represents his success whilst governing Rome. His expansion upon a global scale such as his entry to Europe, all enhanced Rome's political influence and strength. His refusal to assume complete control demonstrates his discipline with power. This may be off topic, but during our gender discussion concerning the qualities men should have, a great contribution was the ability to step down from power. He maintained control over Rome by extinguishing civil disputes, while simultaneously adding to its "mass".
Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 4:36 am Post subject: brick to marble.
In literal terms, i think it means that Augustus built and rebuilt a lot of temples, public buildings, theaters, and government buildings. He also planted many statues of precious metal, and repaired the infrastructure, such as the aquaducts (though i don't think those were built in marble.)
Figuratively, I think the phrase means that Octavian was a healing force for Rome. He greatly expanded the empire, as well as regained territories they had lost. He also strengthened the city financially, much out of his own pocket. Furthermore, he succeeded in bringing back many of the old traditions of Rome, partly through building and restoring many temples.
His legacy was that we brought rome out of a state of chaos, and helped it get organized again.
Literally, the phrase could mean that Rome was in disorder and chaos before Augustus changed Rome to become an organized and well functioning society. Bricks are foundations for building things but they are not as stable as marble, which is more concrete. Rome was a bit unstable but when Augustus firmly ruled, Rome changed for the better and thrived.
Augustus had a huge impact on Rome. At the mere age of nineteen he raised an army that liberated the republic. A republic that otherwise was corrupt. Augustus in a way was modest by refusing to accept certain titles of power so that he didn't have more power than his colleagues. Augustus conducted a successful lustrum (census), gave land to soldiers who had finished their duty, used some of his own money to fund certain public interests, honored the gods/old traditions, brought peace in the sea, made alliances, built buildings/temples, ended the civil wars, and greatly expanded Rome’s empire. Augustus changed Rome. Also Augustus had public approval in both high positions and low positions of power, which was vital to his success. He left Rome a much stronger and stable place than it was before.
Last edited by mswartz on Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:04 am; edited 1 time in total
literally i think it means he enhanced the physical materials. He rebuilt buildings and things more grandly and in some cases with marble-hence the saying.
Figuratively I think it is just another way of saying that he had a huge impact on Rome he made things better. (so he said) which is the brick to marble bit, because marble is better. An city, in the saying, stands for of course ROme.
I don't know if we are supposed to reply to the two other questions here, but i am going to.
His impact on Rome, was huuuuge. Basically he improved many things, both trading stuff and building stuff and just things that had to do with the well being of Rome. In other words he re-built it or greatly improved it.
His legacy, the man who some would say saved Rome and or the father of the, not new Rome, but the Rome kind of like second era Rome that became really amazing and prosperouse.
i think to think literally would have to be thinking in a wide spectrum at the same time. i believe literally agustus was a leader of a rome that was not doing too well (brick) and made it something wonderful (marble). he brought back the old laws and ideals that were held dear to the people of rome. he made the dream of rome a reality. his legacy as the re builder of rome is well deserved. the peoples love for him is a clear sign of his greatness.
Literally, the phrase refers to the architectural expanse that occurred on behalf of Augustus' reign. Figuratively, it could refer to the fact that he shaped and polished the Roman society and economy into something much better. His legacy seemed to be all the changes he made to the Roman government, economy, and land. The differences he made beneffited Rome greatly, and he was celebrated as such. In history he is a major step towards the way we run current governments today. His policies included the establishment of police and fire-fighting forces; also very central in our government.
Of course, in the literal sense, Augustus rebuilt Rome changing its physical structure from bricks to marble.
Figuratively, Augustus rebuilt Rome, changing its governmental structure and simply the way things were done in Rome. He proved to be a very selfless leader, often declining positions or honours in the government given to him by his peers. He would not take the positions of people who were currently alive and holding the position, unless they died. He "liberated the the Republic, which was oppressed by the tyranny of a faction." He rewarded those who furfiled their military service and he was very respectful of his ancestors and wanted to make Rome better, while instilling the values that the ancestors left behind.
The phrase, “Augustus found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble” means that Augustus changed the city so greatly, so much more for the better that all of Rome’s power and glory was unrecognizable to its former self. By this quote, it is clear that Augustus is one of the greatest, if not the most illustrious ruler Rome has ever had. He was, essentially, the perfect Roman. He was such a perfect leader that like his predecessor Julius Caesar, he was asked to be reelected numerous times; yet, every time, while he allowed himself to be reelected, he refused to take any more power than what he was originally given. Obviously, the people and the government have seen two of the greatest Roman leaders happen sequentially, and are beginning to suspect that having a dictatorship is the best way to run the government. And so the Senate, whose powers have just been restored by Augustus anyway, will bestow supreme power onto the next ruler, regardless of whether he wants it or not. This will create a pattern of emperors in Roman history, and eventually, these Emperors will stop being the just individuals that they claim to be, whereupon it will be too late to halt the corruption.
The phrase “Augustus found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble” has both literal and metophorical meanings. The metophrical meaning is that he came into power when Rome was in a state of certain disarray, changing it in many ways for the better. He helped reformed the government and the society as a whole, and Rome once again began to prosper (he took the census and found that one time, the population was 4,063,000, and the next time, the population was 4,233,000, so Rome's population was growing as well). He also improved the trading industry and many people loved him as a leader. Literally, this phrase means that he rebuilt many Rome buildings with marble instead of brick, making them stronger and more grande.
Like everyone said, Augustus literally turned Rome into a city full of marble (wealth). Augustus improved Rome's economy so much and built temples, statues, and other buildings made up of marble.
figuratively, i think the phrase means Augustus developed Rome into a new, better place/country.
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