Gore Vidal Quotes

I know not why any one but a school boy in his declamation would whine over the Commonwealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they were rich, grew corrupt; and in their corruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves and of one another.

[The] emperor of the West, the feeble and dissolute Valentinian, [had] reached his thirty-fifth year without attaining the age of reason or courage.

Rome had Caesar, a man of remarkable governing talents, although it must be said that a ruler who arouses opponents to resort to assassination is probably not as smart as he ought to be.

While the Romans languished under the ignominious tyranny of eunuchs and bishops, the praises of Julian were repeated with transport in every part of the empire, except in the palace of Constantius.

That Rome was comparatively great and wealthy is certain.

Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city.

In Rome, the emperor sat in a special part of the Colosseum called the Caesarian Section.

Rome alone can resist Rome.

When Rome burned, the emperor's cats still expected to be fed on time.

Our society, like decadent Rome, has turned into an amusement society, with writers chief among the court jesters

Rome in the ages, dimmed with all her towers, / Floats in the mist, a little cloud at tether.

In the second century of the Christian era, the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind.

Let us now relieve the Romans of their fears by the death of a feeble old man.

Julius Caesar was an aristocrat who sided with the Roman people. He's not my hero, but he was one of a long line of what we'll call 'populares,' which were popular leaders who tried to institute these reforms that the people were fighting for.

We later moved to Rome, where I am presently living.

We are fascinated with our own history, and we are fascinated with the Romans because they were millennia ago, and yet they still capture our imagination because they were actually so similar to us. They were very civilized. They had a very similar political system.

Ancient Rome was a violent place.

Rome shall not rule America.

Hercules King of Rome and of Annemark, three times one surnamed de Gaulle will lead, Italy and the one of St. Mark to tremble, first monarch, renowned above all.

There are all kinds of historians and scholars who say that Brutus could have been a son of Caesar. That's definitely a possibility. He's a generation younger than Caesar.

Julius Caesar's wife, who said to Julius, We are not naming our son Sid! Never got a dinner!

America is the new Roman Empire. Remember what happened to Rome.

Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?

History has scarcely deigned to notice [Libius Severus's] birth, his elevation, his character, or his death.

I certainly don't see myself as Caligula.