Gaius Laelius Sapiens (born c. 188 BC), was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

statesman, best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

(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 Sapiens was the son and heir of the Punic War general

Gaius Laelius Gaius Laelius was a Roman general and statesman, and a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign (210–206 BC; the Roman Hispania, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) and his African campaign (204–202 BC). His co ...

, 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 Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

. 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 (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the re ...

of Syria, which would have made him a rich man. His mother's name is unknown.

Military career

During the

Third Punic War The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia. When the Second Punic War ended in 201 ...

, in 147 BC, Laelius accompanied Scipio to Africa, and distinguished himself at the capture of the

cothon A cothon ( el, κώθων, lit=drinking vessel) is an artificial, protected inner harbour such as that in Carthage during the Punic Wars 200 BCE. Cothons were generally found in the Phoenician world. Other examples include Motya in Sicil ...

, the military harbour of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

. In 145 he carried on operations with moderate success against

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or w ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Political significance

Laelius was a candidate for the consulship in 141 BC, but withdrew his candidacy thanks to the false promises of a

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his Roman gens, family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as R ...

Quintus Pompeius Quintus Pompeius was the name of various Romans from the gens Pompeia, who were of plebeian status. They lived during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Consul of 141 BC Quintus Pompeius A. f. (flourished 2nd century BC) was the son of an Aulu ...

(a distant relative of the future

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

), 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'' ("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 Scipionic Circle, or the Circle of Scipio, was a group of philosophers, poets, and politicians patronized by their namesake, Scipio Aemilianus. Together they would discuss Greek culture, literature, and humanism. Alongside their philhellenic ...

. 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 Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus (c. 180 BC – 130 BC) was the natural son of Publius Mucius Scaevola and Licinia, and brother of Publius Mucius Scaevola. He was adopted at an unknown date by Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 171 BC), h ...

, 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. Furthermore, Laelius prosecuted

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian law, agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also serve ...

' supporters and opposed Gaius Papirius Carbo's plan to permit the reelection of tribunes. Laelius delivered other significant speeches: (145) against the proposal of the tribune Gaius Licinius Crassus to deprive the priestly colleges of their right of co-optation and to transfer the power of election to the people, (139) on behalf of the farmers of the revenue, and , a speech in his own defence, delivered in answer to Carbo and Gracchus. He also delivered funeral orations, amongst them two on his friend Scipio.

Cultural significance

Laelius was a member of the

, a

Graecophile Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

group of friends and political allies who gathered around the wealthy and well-connected

, adoptive grandson of

. He studied philosophy under the

Stoics Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that th ...

Diogenes of Babylon Diogenes of Babylon (also known as Diogenes of Seleucia; grc-gre, Διογένης Βαβυλώνιος; la, Diogenes Babylonius; c. 230 – c. 150/140 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the head of the Stoic school in Athens, and he was one o ...

and

Panaetius Panaetius (; grc-gre, Παναίτιος, Panaítios; – ) of Rhodes was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did m ...

of Rhodes and was also a poet. 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 Greek historian

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

and the Carthaginian-born playwright

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

. Laelius's two sons-in-law were both consuls -

Gaius Fannius Gaius Fannius (fl. 2nd century BC) was a Roman republican politician who was elected consul in 122 BC, and was one of the principal opponents of Gaius Gracchus. He was a member of the Scipionic Circle. Career Gaius Fannius was the son of Marcus F ...

who was consul in 122 BC along with

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...

, 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 Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

. Cicero thus learned much about Laelius and his relationships with great men from his mentor Scaevola Augur. Some of those relationships were inspiration and source material for Cicero's treatises on friendship.Project Gutenberg - De Amicitia, Scipio's Dream by Marcus Tullius Cicero
/ref> In

's later essay ''

De Senectute ("Cato the Elder on Old Age") is an essay written by Cicero in 44 BC on the subject of aging and death. To lend his reflections greater import, Cicero wrote his essay such that the esteemed Cato the Elder was lecturing to Scipio Africanus and Ga ...

'' (On Old Age), Laelius is depicted, alongside his friend Scipio, as admiring

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...

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 Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur, and her two daughters (as well as their daughters) were known for the quality and purity of their Latin. The younger daughter of Scaevola Augur and his wife Laelia was Mucia Secunda, who was wife of

Lucius Licinius Crassus Lucius Licinius Crassus (140–91 BC) was a Roman orator and statesman. He was considered the greatest orator of his day, most notably by his pupil Cicero. Crassus is also famous as one of the main characters in Cicero's work '' De Oratore'', a d ...

, 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 Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (c. 95 – 46 BC), often referred to as Metellus Scipio, was a Roman senator and military commander. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and the senatorial faction led by Pompey, he was a staunch supp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laelius Sapiens, Gaius 180s BC births 2nd-century BC Roman augurs 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Sapiens, Gaius Year of death unknown