Marcus Licinius Crassus

It is still October and instead of working, I am following Librivox's reading of Plutarch's biography of Crassus. This admirable Roman was born into a family of unlaughing misers, but very talented and energetic. He made his fortune buying up the real estate expropriated by Sulla, the dictator, and by organizing a 500 man strong building company that bought and repaired burned down or collapsed buildings.

He was also a talented and cruel general (he erected crosses with crucified slaves all along the road from Reggio Calabria to Rome), and lost his life fighting against the Persians. Roma was a welfare state, its citizens received a daily portion of grain so they did not need to work, and they were entertained 200 days a year with exciting circus shows. This easy urban life conduced to negative vegetative growth and the fatal weakening of the Roman State.