Numa Plutarch: A Good Ruler

In Plutarch’s Lives, four men were introduced: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Coriolanus, and Caesar. However, out of these four, Numa proved to be a superior leader. Unlike the other three rulers, Numa Pompilius was a virtuous, moral, and humble man who led a life free of luxury. He was devoted to piety and philosophy and was a religious man who made worship of the gods his priority. The people also found him to be an excellent counselor and an honest judge who showed intelligence in his decisions and actions. When Numa Pompilius was elected to be ruler of Rome, he declined because he loved the personal life he led. After much persuasion from father, kinsmen, and electors, Numa accepted the crown of Rome. Numa showed his great governing skills during his time as emperor, who helped reconstruct both politics and religion. He tore down immoral laws and established new righteous laws in their place. The most important actions he accomplished during his time as ruler, was the uniting of the Romans and the Sabines. Numa proved by his actions that he was a better ruler.
Numa showed great morality in his decisions and his actions. He changed laws in the name of morality. Plutarch writes saying that Numa commanded, “the repeal or rather amendment of the law which gives power to fathers to sell their …show more content…
There was constant friction between the two races. Numa came to realize that if the conflict between the people continued, a civil war could break out and possibly destroy Rome. To resolve this problem, Numa divided the city into trade guilds including, goldsmiths, shoemakers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and others . He gave each guild a plot of land, their governance, and religious ways. Once Numa did this, no one was thought or spoken of a Roman or Sabine, but were now identified by his guild. All feelings of resentment towards the other disappeared, and the city was a made