Scipio Nasica

Book I

Roman statesman who warned that prosperity would corrupt Rome, preferring an enemy to keep morals intact.

VI

Not directly mentioned, but referenced indirectly through the discussion of Roman generals.

The Moral Decay of Rome and the Fear of Security

Cited as the best citizen and pontiff who opposed the destruction of Carthage, fearing that security would corrupt Roman morals.

XXXI

Adjudged Rome's best man; opposed destruction of Carthage and resisted building theater seats to preserve Roman virtue.

Of the establishment of scenic entertainments

Mentioned as the pontiff who prohibited the construction of a theatre to prevent moral pestilence.

XXXIII

Cited as a prudent leader who prohibited theatres to preserve virtue and warned against the corrupting influence of prosperity.

Of the obscenities practised in honour of the mother of the gods

Chosen by the senate as the most worthy citizen to receive the image of Cybele; Augustine invokes him as a judge of the obscene rites, arguing he would be ashamed.

IX

Interlocutor in Cicero's De Republica, who comments on the lewdness of comedy and the Twelve Tables' penalty for pasquinades.

Chapter XII

Quoted as boasting about Roman laws protecting citizens from poetic slander while allowing gods to be defamed.

XIII

Cited as a witness to Roman disdain for players, recorded in Cicero.

XVIII

Mentioned as opposing the destruction of Carthage, believing fear of Carthage would restrain Roman vices.

Chapter XXI: Cicero's Opinion of the Roman Republic

Interlocutor in Cicero's dialogue, who defines a republic as the weal of the people and argues that justice is essential for its existence.

XXIX

Cited as an example of virtuous Roman ancestors whose virtue is perfected by true piety.

Of the ingratitude of Rome to Scipio, its deliverer, and of its manners during the period which Sallust describes as the best.

The great Scipio, liberator of Rome and Italy, who defeated Hannibal and subdued Carthage, was forced into exile at Liternum due to accusations from his enemies.

Concerning the three kinds of gods about which the pontiff Scaevola has discoursed

Referred to as the learned pontiff Scaevola who distinguished three kinds of gods.

Chapter XVIII

Not directly mentioned, but the context of Roman poverty and virtue includes figures like Fabricius and Cincinnatus.

Of the power delegated to demons for the trial and glorification of the saints, who conquer not by propitiating the spirits of the air, but by abiding in God.

Cited as an example of one who conquered by valor (earning the title Africanus) rather than by appeasing enemies, paralleling the martyrs' victory over demons.

Whether There Ever Was a Roman Republic Answering to the Definitions of Scipio in Cicero's Dialogue

The character in Cicero's dialogue who defines a republic as the weal of the people, associated by common acknowledgment of right.