What Would Gibbon Say About Our Recent Presidents?
As a classical military historian, Victor Davis Hanson always bears reading. His recent entry reflecting on our most recent (post-Kennedy) presidents is another "classic" read.
This time he uses arguably the greatest english language historian, Edward Gibbon, to provide perspectice on our presidents and on what America itself expects of its presidents. Unsurprisingly, he finds that "greatness" is no longer what it once was and makes the unfavorable comparison to our era as being analogous to the post-Marcus Aurelius age in Roman imperial history.
He specifically cites the historical Commodus (not quite what the movie Gladiator portrays but close enough) as being an emblem of Rome's downward spiral:
"Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were all re-elected. While contemporaries were critical of all three, they proved successful, stable executives.
This time he uses arguably the greatest english language historian, Edward Gibbon, to provide perspectice on our presidents and on what America itself expects of its presidents. Unsurprisingly, he finds that "greatness" is no longer what it once was and makes the unfavorable comparison to our era as being analogous to the post-Marcus Aurelius age in Roman imperial history.
He specifically cites the historical Commodus (not quite what the movie Gladiator portrays but close enough) as being an emblem of Rome's downward spiral:
"Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were all re-elected. While contemporaries were critical of all three, they proved successful, stable executives.
In Roman times, the equivalent would have been the period of the "Five Good Emperors." The 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon famously remarked of the reigns of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, between 96 A.D. and 180 A.D., that theirs was a time when "the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous." This was lost with the succession of the erratic and unstable Emperor Commodus.
In contrast, there has been no such stability during the last 50 years in this country, even as we have become ever more wealthy."
It would not be surprising to find that I agree with much of what Hanson says here. The wisdom of our leaders does not seem so great, nor does it seem that we are producing such men today. Perhaps, part of the problem is that we no longer teach classics with the same reverence we once did. This automatically eliminates so many worthwhile models for emulation. It also eliminates a few good examples of hubris that do a better job exemplyifying human frailty than our current crop of "hollow men."
Posted by Greg R Lawson at 12/15/2011 4:46 PM 
Categories: Classical History Presidents
Tags: Classical History Presidents
Categories: Classical History Presidents
Tags: Classical History Presidents
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