ASCLEPIADES Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Yes, but let's not take this discussion out of context. My point being that the army, for many Roman aristocrats, was a springboard for a 'misspent youth'. Well, within the same context, and judging by those figures, it seems that it had the opposite effect on Hadrian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustus Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 (edited) Yes, but let's not take this discussion out of context. My point being that the army, for many Roman aristocrats, was a springboard for a 'misspent youth'. Well, within the same context, and judging by those figures, it seems that it had the opposite effect on Hadrian. Salve - There are always individual exceptions to any rule. I personally believe there is no better substitute for the parental role to troubled youth than military service. It is a great awakening for these young men who have been raised to young manhood without ever having accomplished anything, nor ever seemingly having much expected of them. Suddenly for them they recognize that if they really want to be the men they've pretended to be they have to perform, responsibly, as if they really were men. This applied to young plebeian males if less so to higher classes. My only reason for drawing a distinction as I did between plebs and pats is that a pleb would not get a second chance, while the delinquency of a pat might just be politely overlooked, by shunting him aside, or otherwise making him less relevant to the military order required. The very arrogant are another case, as they share a lot of characteristics with the very stupid. Edited October 24, 2007 by Faustus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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