THE JANUS OF THE POLITICS AND THE PROBLEM OF THE SECURITY OF THE REPUBLIC IN SALLUST

Abstract

The conspiracy of Catilina questions the survival of Rome. Two types of punishment for their supporters in prison compete with each other and put into play two conceptions of politics: a technical conception, defended by Caesar, and a moral one, defended by Cato. In addition to this thesis, our interpretation holds that the roots of political pluralism can already be seen in a situation in which diverse and irreconcilable opinions and worldviews meet freely and legitimately in order to shape the will of the republic; and our interpretation considers also the effect, namely, that the common good has become formalized; it is no longer a prior and definite object but now it gets defined by a majority decision. Finally, we insist that the dogmatic nature of the moral conception of politics, despite contributing to the growth of pluralism, tends towards its elimination.