Gaius Laelius Sapiens
Encyclopedia
Gaius Laelius G.f. Sapiens (born ca. 188 BC), was a Roman
statesman, best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus
(Scipio the Younger) (d. 129 BC). He was consul of 140 BC, elected with the help of his friend, by then censor, after failing to be elected in 141 BC. Gaius Laelius G.f. Sapiens was the son and heir of the Punic war general Gaius Laelius
himself consul in 190 BC
. This Laelius had been former second-in-command and long-time friend, since childhood, of the Roman general and statesman Scipio Africanus
. The younger Laelius was apparently born around 188 BC, after his father had become consul but had failed to win command of the campaign against Antiochus III the Great
of Syria which would have made him a rich man. His mother's name is unknown.
(a distant relative of the future Pompey the Great) who promised to also step down but then returned to the field after Laelius had formally withdrawn. Pompeius thus became consul along with Gnaeus Servilius Caepio (of a family traditionally allied with the Cornelii Scipiones), and Scipio Aemilianus suffered a humiliating political reverse. Aemilianus got his friend elected consul in the following year (140 BC) along with Quintus Servilius Caepio
, who was the third successive Servilii Caepione brother to become consul in as many years.
Laelius was called Sapiens (English translation
: "wise") because of his decision not to undertake efforts at political reform that were beginning to create serious dissension in the Roman Senate. These efforts at reform had been initially proposed by Scipio Aemilianus but abandoned by him when the Senate failed to agree unanimously as he had demanded. Laelius was seen as wise because he avoided creating further dissension at the time; however, his unwillingness to stick his neck out led to a political schism within the Scipionic Circle. The reform program abandoned by Scipio and his circle of intimates, including Laelius, were later taken up by the brothers Publius Mucius Scaevola
and Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus
, and partially implemented by their relatives by marriage, the Brothers Gracchi. Despite this connection to radical reformers who were killed for their efforts, Laelius's own political significance is slight.
, adoptive grandson of Scipio Africanus
. As heir to the most prominent branch of the wealthy Cornelii Scipiones, Scipio Aemilianus was able to act as patron to many Greek scholars, philosophers, and historians, including the historian Polybius
(a Greek aristocrat who was a Roman hostage for nearly two decades) and the playwright Terence
(a Carthaginian-born Roman slave, educated and freed by his master, a Roman senator Varro).
Laelius's two sons-in-law were both consuls - Gaius Fannius who was consul in 122 BC (with the aid of Gaius Sempronius Gracchus) and Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
who was consul in 117 BC. The younger son-in-law, himself connected by marriage to the Brothers Gracchi, was a prominent rhetorician and jurist, and the teacher and mentor of young Cicero
. Cicero thus learned much about Laelius and his relationships with great men from his mentor Scaevola Augur, who was Laelius's son-in-law. Some of those relationships were inspiration and source material for Cicero's treatises on friendship.
In the later essay On Old Age (De Senectute), by Cicero
, Laelius is depicted, alongside his friend Scipio, as admiring Cato the Elder
for how well he bears his old age.
consul in 91 BC who was patron to the young Cicero. Crassus and his wife Mucia had two surviving daughters, the elder of whom married a praetor Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, descended from several consuls and censors and had several children including Metellus Scipio.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
statesman, best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus
Scipio Aemilianus Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus , also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and politician of the ancient Roman Republic...
(Scipio the Younger) (d. 129 BC). He was consul of 140 BC, elected with the help of his friend, by then censor, after failing to be elected in 141 BC. Gaius Laelius G.f. Sapiens was the son and heir of the Punic war general Gaius Laelius
Gaius Laelius
Gaius Laelius — also Caius Lelius — general and statesman, was a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign...
himself consul in 190 BC
190 BC
Year 190 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asiaticus and Laelius...
. This Laelius had been former second-in-command and long-time friend, since childhood, of the Roman general and statesman 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...
. The younger Laelius was apparently born around 188 BC, after his father had become consul but had failed to win command of the campaign against Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great Seleucid Greek king who became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. Antiochus was an ambitious ruler who ruled over Greater Syria and western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC...
of Syria which would have made him a rich man. His mother's name is unknown.
Political significance
Laelius was a candidate for the consulship in 141 BC, but withdrew his candidacy thanks to the false promises of a New Man Quintus PompeiusQuintus Pompeius
Quintus Pompeius was the name of various Romans from the gens Pompeius, who were of plebeian status. They lived during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.-Consul of 141 BC:...
(a distant relative of the future Pompey the Great) who promised to also step down but then returned to the field after Laelius had formally withdrawn. Pompeius thus became consul along with Gnaeus Servilius Caepio (of a family traditionally allied with the Cornelii Scipiones), and Scipio Aemilianus suffered a humiliating political reverse. Aemilianus got his friend elected consul in the following year (140 BC) along with Quintus Servilius Caepio
Quintus Servilius Caepio
Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder was a Roman statesman and general, consul in 106 BC, and proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul in 105 BC. He was the father of Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger and the grandfather of Servilia Caepionis....
, who was the third successive Servilii Caepione brother to become consul in as many years.
Laelius was called Sapiens (English translation
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "wise") because of his decision not to undertake efforts at political reform that were beginning to create serious dissension in the Roman Senate. These efforts at reform had been initially proposed by Scipio Aemilianus but abandoned by him when the Senate failed to agree unanimously as he had demanded. Laelius was seen as wise because he avoided creating further dissension at the time; however, his unwillingness to stick his neck out led to a political schism within the Scipionic Circle. The reform program abandoned by Scipio and his circle of intimates, including Laelius, were later taken up by the brothers Publius Mucius Scaevola
Publius Mucius Scaevola
Publius Mucius Scaevola was a prominent Roman politician and jurist. He was tribune in 141 BC, praetor in 136 BC, and consul in 133 BC....
and Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus was the son by blood of Publius Mucius Scaevola, the consul of 175 BC, and brother of Publius Mucius Scaevola...
, and partially implemented by their relatives by marriage, the Brothers Gracchi. Despite this connection to radical reformers who were killed for their efforts, Laelius's own political significance is slight.
Cultural significance
Laelius was a member of the Scipionic Circle, a group of friends, political allies, and Graecophiles who had gathered around the wealthy and well-connected Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus AfricanusScipio Aemilianus Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus , also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and politician of the ancient Roman Republic...
, adoptive grandson of 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...
. As heir to the most prominent branch of the wealthy Cornelii Scipiones, Scipio Aemilianus was able to act as patron to many Greek scholars, philosophers, and historians, including the historian Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
(a Greek aristocrat who was a Roman hostage for nearly two decades) and the playwright Terence
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
(a Carthaginian-born Roman slave, educated and freed by his master, a Roman senator Varro).
Laelius's two sons-in-law were both consuls - Gaius Fannius who was consul in 122 BC (with the aid of Gaius Sempronius Gracchus) and Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur was a politician of the Roman Republic and an early authority on Roman law. He was first educated in law by his father and in philosophy by the stoic Panaetius of Rhodes....
who was consul in 117 BC. The younger son-in-law, himself connected by marriage to the Brothers Gracchi, was a prominent rhetorician and jurist, and the teacher and mentor of young 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...
. Cicero thus learned much about Laelius and his relationships with great men from his mentor Scaevola Augur, who was Laelius's son-in-law. Some of those relationships were inspiration and source material for Cicero's treatises on friendship.
In the later essay On Old Age (De Senectute), by 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...
, Laelius is depicted, alongside his friend Scipio, as admiring Cato the Elder
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
for how well he bears his old age.
Family
According to Cicero, relying on Mucius Scaevola for first-hand information, the younger Gaius Laelius was married all his life to one woman, whose name is not mentioned. By her, he had two surviving daughters, both of whom married consuls. Cicero states that Laelia Minor, the wife of Mucius Scaevola, and her two daughters (as well as their daughters) were known for the quality and purity of their Latin. The younger daughter of Mucius Scaevola and his wife Laelia was Mucia Secunda, who was wife of Lucius Licinius CrassusLucius Licinius Crassus
Lucius Licinius Crassus was a Roman consul. He was considered the greatest Roman orator of his day, by his pupil Cicero.He became consul in 95 BC. During his consulship a law was passed requiring all but citizens to leave Rome, an edict which provoked the Social War...
consul in 91 BC who was patron to the young Cicero. Crassus and his wife Mucia had two surviving daughters, the elder of whom married a praetor Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, descended from several consuls and censors and had several children including Metellus Scipio.