Podcast summary and Notes on " publius"

Prayer Can Bring Healing to Others

Paul the apostle becomes one of the greatest people of prayer whose account is recorded for us in Scripture. When he is shipwrecked on the island of Malta, he prays for the sick father of the chief official of the island, Publius, and he is healed.

Building a Life of Prayer

en-usFebruary 27, 2023

Brutus v Publius

I have long held that the Anti-Federalist of 1788 is the ideological grandfather of todayâs libertarian*. Many of the same issues of today find a distant echo in the complaints of the Anti-Federalists. In those distant echoâs of the past are many ideas and knowledge points which both the Federalist and Anti-Federalist not only knew, but understood. Many of the things that would have stood out to the readers and listeners of 1788 were familiar to them, but to our modern ears and eyes, either make no sense or we simply do not even recognize them as meaningful. Letâs start with the names. The Federalists papers, written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, signed their papers with the nom de plume âPublius.â There were, of course, multiple reasons for this. The the use of a fictitious name removed the built in prejudice from the reader, either for or against the actual author. The name âPubliusâ was partially chosen to represent the idea, specifically âof the people,â reflecting the Federalist position that âWe the Peopleâ had created and would operate the Constitution were it ratified. The name would have been seen as a bold claim that the people themselves were sharing this opinion of things. But there is actually a deeper meaning to the name. For the same reasons, the Anti-Federalists adopted a variety of names and identities: Cato, John DeWitt, the Pennsylvania Minority, the Federal Farmer, and of course, our focus, Brutus. Unlike the Federalist Papers, some of the authors we now know, but many of them at which we are still, more than two centuries later, simply guessing. Today we read these many names and arguments and we have lost the understanding that readers of both sides would have had in 1788. To gain back some of that understanding, we have to travel back in time to the Rome and the foundation of the Republic. It is here that we find two men, Publius Valerius Policola and Lucius Junius Brutus. More than two thousand years later these two men would inspire the writers on both sides of the ratification debate to proclaim their positions and beliefs. In 1788, both sides and their audiences knew this history and what was being saidâ¦

en-usAugust 18, 2022

Publicola

Valerius Publius, aka Publicola, topples the tyrant Tarquin with Brutus and founds the Republic on better justice than the Roman kings had exercised. Like his parallel Solon, his obsession with justice makes him seek the happiness of his own people all the way to his death. Remembering Solon's examples of happiness, does Publicola die a happy man?

Parallel - Solon

Important People

Tarquinius Superbus - The seventh, and last, king of Rome. Thrown out because of his refusal to punish his nephew who had raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia. This is important to the backstory and Plutarch only briefly summarizes it.
Lucius Junius Brutus - The citizen who stood up to Tarquinius and drove him into exile. Also elected first consul.
Mucius Scaevola - Roman soldier famous for breaking into the enemy camp, killing the wrong man, and then sticking his hand in fire to prove Roman toughness.
Lars Porsena - described by Plutarch as "the most powerful king in Italy" he attacks Rome but later becomes a strong ally. Read on to find out how.
Cloelia and Valeria - Two Roman maidens given to the enemy in a hostage exchange.
Horatius Cocles - A one-eyed Roman veteran who single-handedly defends the last bridge into the city of Rome while his two friends destroy the bridge behind him. While taking several more wounds, he leaps into the river in full armor and swims across to safety and eternal glory.
Appius Claudius - A Sabine who breaks off from the Sabines out of respect for the Romans and, along with 5000 other families, is inducted into the citizen rolls.

Important Places

Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline
Clusium - Lars Porsena's town, far north up a tributary of the Tiber (called the Clanis)
Anio River - The land given to the defecting Sabines are along this tributary of the Tiber
Fidenae - Another rival polis

C. 1 - Lineage and Establishment of the Republic

C. 2 - Tarquin trying to infiltrate

C. 3 - The Plot against Brutus

C. 4 - Vindicius discovers the plots

C. 5 - Publicola brings the plot to public attention

C. 6 - Brutus brings justice to conspirators

C. 7 - Collatinus falls; Valerius (Publicola) rises

C. 8 - Ridding the Remains of the Tarquins from Rome

C. 9 - The Romans Win By One

C. 10 - Publicola Earns his Nickname

C. 11 - Consular Elections and Reform Laws

C. 12 - Tyranny and the Treasury

C. 13 - 15 - Jupiter Capitoline: The Chariot on Top

C. 16 - Porsena v. Publicola

C. 17 - Porsena v. Mucius Scaevola

C. 18 - Porsena: From Adversary to Ally

C. 19 - Hostages Escape, sent back, ambushed!

C. 20 - Triumphant Brother, with Publicola's help

C. 21 - Fourth Consulship; Sabine Enemies (Appius Claudius)

C. 22 - Sabines outwitted in a three-front counter-attack

C. 23 - Dies in Triumph

Helpful External Links

Publicola's Stories in Art
Free Online English Translation
Anne White's Study Guide on Ambleside Online
Horatius at the Bridge by Thomas Babbington Macaulay - An almost 600-line poem immortalizing Horatius's bravery in English verse! (a favorite poem of W

en-usApril 11, 2021

On this page

publius

Episodes (3)

Prayer Can Bring Healing to Others

Brutus v Publius

Publicola