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Hey Augustus, Thanks and No Thanks!
Augustus was a better leader than Julius Caesar, maybe because he was an extremely
observant person and learned a lot from Julius Caesar’s mistakes; in the same way, future leaders
can learn a lot from Augustus. The “First Citizen” was well-respected and did a lot of good in
ancient Rome, but even he made some mistakes. For example, on social issues, Augustus may
have been a little bit harsh on people, especially unmarried or childless women and men.
According to “Information about Augustus,” he gave tax breaks to newlyweds or couples with
children, but the unmarried or the childless he left out in the cold ( Frey 2). Augustus also tried to
regulate and censor people’s moral behavior. For example, the “Information About Augustus”
handout states, “theater audiences had to refrain from rowdy behavior” ( Frey 2). He also tried to
regulate works that were published. These issues made him unpopular with some of Rome’s
citizens because they felt their private decisions should stay private and be not taxed or watched
over. Although these actions were unpopular, Augustuts’s positive influences on Rome meant
much more to the people than his few flaws. For starters, the article by Frey, “Information about
Augustus” claims, Augustus made “Rome safer and more beautiful” to live in (1). Augustus
constructed the very first fire and police stations to keep people safe from burning buildings and
criminals. He also restored many temples and built new buildings including theaters and the
Forum of Augustus. According to “Information about Augustus,” the ruler was said to have
claimed, “‘I found Roma a city of brick and left it a city of marble’” ( Frey 1). Not only did he
help renovate the city, but he also helped sort out tax issues between the plebeians and the
patricians. Normally, the patricians would overtax the plebeians just to get more money for
themselves. When Augustus came into rule, however, he let governors have longer terms in
office to make better laws for the provinces they governed. He also raised governors’ pay, so
they would not have to heavily tax the people to get money (Frey 2). Augustus was a great ruler,
and he always thought things through well; these decisions helped the people live more
peacefully. He seemed to always have the people in mind and created many laws that helped
them thrive in the Roman Empire. In all, Augustus teaches leaders to let people figure out their
own private matters and “family values” and to support citizens a lot in their safety and
wellbeing.