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Ops in Latin Literature

Excerpt from Ch. 20 De Bello Gallico by Julius Caesar

De Bello Gallico was written in the 50's B.C. by Julius Caesar, during his campaign in Gaul. These commentaries were predominately used as propaganda and spread among the plebeians. Even though it was originally written for a personal gain, De Bello Gallico is a great example of Latin prose.

Diviciaus multis cum lacrimis Caesarum complexus obsecrare coepit ne quid gravius in fratrem statueret: scire se illa esse vera, nec quamquam ex eo plus quam se doloris capere, proptera quod, cum ipse gratia plurimum domi atque in reliqua Gallia, ille minimum propter adulescentiam posset, per se crevisset; quibus __opibus__ ac nervis non solum ad minuendam gratiam, sed paene ad perniciem suam uteretur.

Diviciaus, having embraced Caesar with many tears, began to implore that nothing more serious be dicided against his brother: that he had believed he knew those things were true, that not anything more of his guilt be taken from him, because although he himself had much more popularity at home in the rest of Gaul, he wsa much less powerful due to his youth, he used wealth and nerves not only for the sake of lessening he popularity but ofter for lessening his own ruin.

My virtue that this passage contains is ops. Ops refers to the prosperity and wealth of the Roman culture. We can apply this idea to our lives today by trying to achieve not only monetary wealth, but cultural prosperity through knowledge. Ops is an important virtue to keep in mind today because as a society, you want to strive for high cultural substance.

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