Ambition In Julius Caesar By Plutarch

In the book, Plutarch lives he discusses Caesar’s life and his position as a Roman leader. Plutarch describes Caesar as a man with an ambition that knows no limit. According to Plutarch Caesar aspires to obtain total control and will do anything to achieve it, which in Plutarch’s point of view is a bad characteristic. Plutarch presents Caesar as a powerful Roman leader with the capability to use his spirit and ambition to transform civilian men into ambitious soldiers. Caesar’s will to conquer additional territory and lead Rome represents his desire to obtain power and a powerful empire. Plutarch frames Caesar’s ambition as destructive and complicated. Plutarch makes the reader believe that Caesar’s ambition is ultimately a negative aspect

of his character. This is seen in the text when Caesar complains that he has not conquered as much land in comparison to Alexander. A key point to see here is that Caesar compares himself and Alexander as army leaders and nothing else.

At the start, Plutarch presents Caesar as a commanding officer and then begins to condition the reader to view Caesar as a ruler. Plutarch does this to explain to the reader why Caesar had such a strong ambition to raise up the Roman empire slowly, without conquering so much in so little time. To Plutarch Caesar’s ambitions were unnatural and his mercy towards other was astonishing to Plutarch. Caesar’s description does not follow the usual structure of Plutarch’s writing. Caesar was presented as a man of skill for a political and military leadership role. Caesar was described to have charisma and beloved by all his subjects, as a result Caesar is viewed to care more about the benefit of his empire than the growth of social status. However, Plutarch presents Caesar’s ambition as a strange trait to have because for Plutarch Caesar’s mercy shows weakness and lack of control over the empire. This shows the reader were Caesar’s main priorities land, to simply gain power and nothing else. Plutarch is trying to convince the reader that Caesar is a power-hungry Roman individual that has a limit less ambition to claim himself as a lead

power.
Plutarch’s representation of Caesar’s ambitious characteristic can be seen in the episode where Caesar takes over Gaul and comments that he “would rather be first here than second at Rome” (page.469).

Plutarch describes the city to have barbarian like features and was a devastation to look at. His perception of the city as an insignificant city tells the reader that Gaul is not such an honorable conquer. However, Caesar is pleased to have claimed it under his empire because under Plutarch’s perception Caesar simply wants to gain the title of the most powerful ruler in the land. Caesar’s mention that he would rather be first in Gaul than in Rome, which is a much more prestigious and rewarding title, is meant to show the reader that Caesar doesn’t care what land he obtains. Plutarch presents this comment to the reader as a Caesar’s way of saying that simply wants to claim first power. Caesar’s rejection of Roman power is meant to translate as not a rejection of the Roman empire but an example of Caesar’s desire to be number one, even if it comes with a less impressive structure. Plutarch demonstrates Caesar’s ambition to be driven by the goal of obtaining power, because for Plutarch the desire to possess anything other than the Roman empire must come with a different goal set in mind. For Plutarch, anyone who would demonstrate such modesty for their actions has a hidden agenda to ultimately control the empire. What Plutarch wants the reader to get from this episode is that

Caesar is full of vice because for Plutarch it is not possible for someone to not have an agenda for ultimate power of the Roman empire.
Another example of Plutarch’s representation of Caesar’s ambition to claim dominance in power is the episode where a group of pirates capture Caesar. The pirates had actually enjoyed Caesar’s behavior to his body guards and believed Caesar’s boldness in speech was very admirable. Here Plutarch is elevating Caesar’s status as strong political leader because even though the pirates produce a threat for Caesar, Plutarch still wants the reader to see Caesar as more than a captive. Plutarch wanted the audience to view him under his political standing and his capability to escape his perils. After Caesar’s bribery is paid off he crucifies them. Plutarch’s description of Caesar’s actions here are meant to present Caesar with barbarian like behavior. Caesar’s treatment of the pirates as a result strengthen Plutarch’s image of Caesar as a power-hungry Roman leader. Caesar had also stolen the pirates’ money along with the dismantle of their ships. Caesar’s action to kill the pirates in return made him a barbarian because he treated them in a manner that the pirates would have treated him. Caesar had jailed the pirates first but did not give them the right to a jury, even though he had said he would. His denial to give the pirates a lawful prosecution lowered Caesar to brute behavior standards. Which ultimately enforce Plutarch’s belief that Caesar’s hidden goal is to obtain power. Caesar’s reaction to the pirates demonstrates how he was no better than they were because he obliged by their standards rather than the proper Roman judicial system. act on barbarian behavior that put him and the pirates on the same level.
Objections to Plutarch’s view of Caesar as a leader with great ambition would be Caesar’s desire to return home after defeating the Germans. After the battle, Caesar returned to Rome to take care of issues within his empire. This creates a more kind and structured image of Caesar rather than the destructive image Plutarch placed Caesar in before. If Caesar only wanted to conquer land for the sole purpose of having power he would have continued to prosper. Caesar’s return home tells the reader that Caesar cared more for the benefit of his empire than his status as a military leader. Another flaw in Plutarch’s image of Caesar as an ambitious leader is that he forgives all those that had wrong him if he was a power-hungry figure he would have used this opportunity to demonstrate his power over them and punish them accordingly. Plutarch’s description of these events is strategically placed so the reader starts with the representation of how Plutarch wants the reader to perceive Caesar and ends with that same perception. In between that perspective Plutarch places events that present Caesar as less of a barbarian like leader and more as a people character. Caesar’s character can also be seen to lack sufficient will power to achieve his goal of total power. In the episode where Caesar compares himself with Alexander and the comparison between Alexander and his empire are unidentical in size. Caesar feels upset because he could not obtain what Alexander had achieved in terms of size of the Roman empire. Alexander had conquered much more than Caesar and because of this Caesar doubted his capabilities to lead Rome. Caesar’s ambition had always been to raise the Roman empire and transform it into a powerhouse. Caesar’s ambition ultimately became his weakness because his desire for power could never be filled and due to this he could not raise Rome to the standard he had aspired to achieve. Plutarch’s approach to minimalize the obscenities in Caesar’s character is by distracting the reader to react to a different part of the episode. For example, in the episode where Caesar compares his military capabilities with Alexander’s Plutarch makes the reader understand it as how Caesar focuses on his military status above all. The anecdote is meant, under Plutarch’s view, to be seen how Caesar’s total focus is to be first in how much power he can gain. To become the greatest and achieve the most power out of the leaders that came before him. Another example of Plutarch’s ability to neutralize objections to his point of view is