Those who keep the lives of their fellow-citizens in peril, themselves, live in extreme fear. Isocrates. Helen. Speech 10. Section 32.
Image: Statue of Emperor Domitian, Vatican Museums, Vatican City. The head may have been recut from Nero. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Steerpike Note: Domitian's government exhibited strong authoritarian characteristics; he saw himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of brilliance. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. Domitian became personally involved in all branches of the administration: edicts were issued governing the smallest details of everyday life and law, while taxation and public morals were rigidly enforced. According to Suetonius, the imperial bureaucracy never ran more efficiently than under Domitian, whose exacting standards and suspicious nature maintained historically low corruption among provincial governors and elected officials. Domitian ensured that libellous writings, especially those directed against himself, were punishable by exile or death. Surprisingly, though, Domitian was popular with many of the people.
Image: Statue of Emperor Domitian, Vatican Museums, Vatican City. The head may have been recut from Nero. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Steerpike Note: Domitian's government exhibited strong authoritarian characteristics; he saw himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of brilliance. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. Domitian became personally involved in all branches of the administration: edicts were issued governing the smallest details of everyday life and law, while taxation and public morals were rigidly enforced. According to Suetonius, the imperial bureaucracy never ran more efficiently than under Domitian, whose exacting standards and suspicious nature maintained historically low corruption among provincial governors and elected officials. Domitian ensured that libellous writings, especially those directed against himself, were punishable by exile or death. Surprisingly, though, Domitian was popular with many of the people.
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