A Point of Law
Encyclopedia
A Point of Law is a 2006
novel by John Maddox Roberts
. It is the tenth volume of Roberts's SPQR series
, featuring Senator Decius Metellus
.
Decius Metellus
has returned from his military expedition to Cyprus
, having concluded a successful campaign against local pirates and gathered enough booty to pay off his outstanding debts and finance his campaign for praetor
. He is campaigning in the Forum when a young aristocrat loudly denounces him for alleged fraud and theft while in office on Cyprus, and boldly threatening to prosecute him for said acts. A minor scuffle breaks out, before the young man is dragged away.
Later, the young man is found gruesomely murdered, and suspicion falls on Decius. To his consternation, his family inform him that, although the charges are unlikely to stick, they can nevertheless delay his election for at least a year. Decius, thinking hard, realizes that the young man may have been a virtual nobody, but could recite a pedigree that would virtually guarantee him popular support - claiming descent from Scipio Africanus
and the Gracchi, among others. This means that the young man was likely the figurehead of a conspiracy. The exact aim of the conspiracy is unclear, but Decius reasons that someone must be aiming at reducing the Caecilia Metelli's voting bloc in the Senate (as Decius concedes, he himself is not that important).
Decius consults Sallust
ius, who gives him a small lecture about the Republic's political landscape: for generations, the great aristocratic families
of Rome have been slowly shrinking, more dependent on adoption to sustain their numbers, and gradually losing their hold on the highest offices of state which they consider to be their birthright. Now, with Caesar
's power, wealth, and popularity growing on a daily basis, these aristocrats are being pushed to increasingly desperate lengths. Sallust confides that he was a guest at several dinner parties at which schemes were discussed to seize control of the State; the young man was to have been the figurehead, and popular support was supposed to have been further mobilized by proposing a mass cancellation of debts. Of course, Sallust dismissed the scheme as hare-brained.
the Younger: protagonist;
Hermes: Decius's freedman and assistant;
Julia: Decius's wife, Julius Caesar
's niece;
Asklepeiodes: Greek physician, Decius's close friend;
Callista: Greek scholar living in Rome;
Gaius Sallustius Crispus
;
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
;
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Major;
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor
;
Gaius Scribonius Curio
;
Fulvia
;
Cicero
;
Cato the Younger
;
Julius Caesar
(mentioned only);
Pompey (mentioned only);
Octavius
(mentioned only);
, A Point of Law explores the gradual decline of the Roman Republic
as a result of its increasingly dysfunctional politics. The conspiracy which Decius uncovers and thwarts is symptomatic of these ills: amateurishly planned, poorly executed, and born of a blinkered, reactionary mindset. Decius is profoundly depressed: he has always loathed and mistrusted Caesar as ambitious and unscrupulous, yet he cannot deny that he is far smarter and more capable than almost anyone in the Senate.
2006 in literature
The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...
novel by John Maddox Roberts
John Maddox Roberts
John Maddox Roberts is an author who has written many science fiction and fantasy novels, including his successful historical fiction, such as the SPQR series and Hannibal's Children....
. It is the tenth volume of Roberts's SPQR series
SPQR series
The SPQR series is a collection of detective stories by John Maddox Roberts set in the time of the Roman Republic. SPQR is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus , the official name of the Republic.The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius...
, featuring Senator Decius Metellus
Decius Metellus
Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is a fictional character created by author John Maddox Roberts, the protagonist of Roberts's SPQR series...
.
Plot summary
SenatorRoman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
Decius Metellus
Decius Metellus
Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is a fictional character created by author John Maddox Roberts, the protagonist of Roberts's SPQR series...
has returned from his military expedition to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, having concluded a successful campaign against local pirates and gathered enough booty to pay off his outstanding debts and finance his campaign for praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
. He is campaigning in the Forum when a young aristocrat loudly denounces him for alleged fraud and theft while in office on Cyprus, and boldly threatening to prosecute him for said acts. A minor scuffle breaks out, before the young man is dragged away.
Later, the young man is found gruesomely murdered, and suspicion falls on Decius. To his consternation, his family inform him that, although the charges are unlikely to stick, they can nevertheless delay his election for at least a year. Decius, thinking hard, realizes that the young man may have been a virtual nobody, but could recite a pedigree that would virtually guarantee him popular support - claiming descent from Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
and the Gracchi, among others. This means that the young man was likely the figurehead of a conspiracy. The exact aim of the conspiracy is unclear, but Decius reasons that someone must be aiming at reducing the Caecilia Metelli's voting bloc in the Senate (as Decius concedes, he himself is not that important).
Decius consults Sallust
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
ius, who gives him a small lecture about the Republic's political landscape: for generations, the great aristocratic families
Optimates
The optimates were the traditionalist majority of the late Roman Republic. They wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the Tribunes of the Plebs, and to extend the power of the Senate, which was viewed as more dedicated to the interests of the aristocrats who held the reins of power...
of Rome have been slowly shrinking, more dependent on adoption to sustain their numbers, and gradually losing their hold on the highest offices of state which they consider to be their birthright. Now, with Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's power, wealth, and popularity growing on a daily basis, these aristocrats are being pushed to increasingly desperate lengths. Sallust confides that he was a guest at several dinner parties at which schemes were discussed to seize control of the State; the young man was to have been the figurehead, and popular support was supposed to have been further mobilized by proposing a mass cancellation of debts. Of course, Sallust dismissed the scheme as hare-brained.
Characters in A Point of Law
Decius MetellusDecius Metellus
Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is a fictional character created by author John Maddox Roberts, the protagonist of Roberts's SPQR series...
the Younger: protagonist;
Hermes: Decius's freedman and assistant;
Julia: Decius's wife, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's niece;
Asklepeiodes: Greek physician, Decius's close friend;
Callista: Greek scholar living in Rome;
Historical Characters
Octavia the Younger;Gaius Sallustius Crispus
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
;
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus (consul 51 BC)
Marcus Claudius Marcellus, was a member of the plebeian gens Claudia of the branch cognomitated Marcellus and a Roman politician.Marcellus was elected curule aedile in 56 BC. In 52 BC he was elected consul, together with Servius Sulpicius Rufus, for the following year...
;
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Major;
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor
:See Gaius Claudius Marcellus for other men of this name, or Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior for his cousin, consul of 49 BC.Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor was a Roman senator and consul. He was a member of the distinguished Claudius family...
;
Gaius Scribonius Curio
Gaius Scribonius Curio
Gaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic.-Father:Gaius Scribonius Curio was a Roman statesman and orator. He was nicknamed Burbulieus for the way he moved his body while speaking...
;
Fulvia
Fulvia
Fulvia Flacca Bambula , commonly referred to as simply Fulvia, was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Through her marriage to three of the most promising Roman men of her generation, Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony, she gained...
;
Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
;
Cato the Younger
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
;
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
(mentioned only);
Pompey (mentioned only);
Octavius
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
(mentioned only);
Major themes
As with the previous volumes of Roberts's SPQR seriesSPQR series
The SPQR series is a collection of detective stories by John Maddox Roberts set in the time of the Roman Republic. SPQR is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus , the official name of the Republic.The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius...
, A Point of Law explores the gradual decline of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
as a result of its increasingly dysfunctional politics. The conspiracy which Decius uncovers and thwarts is symptomatic of these ills: amateurishly planned, poorly executed, and born of a blinkered, reactionary mindset. Decius is profoundly depressed: he has always loathed and mistrusted Caesar as ambitious and unscrupulous, yet he cannot deny that he is far smarter and more capable than almost anyone in the Senate.