tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2541979398191373640.post1402128558583891516..comments2023-10-17T03:34:04.053-06:00Comments on Wizards of Oz: Crossing the Rubicondeichmanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13358324721299617982noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2541979398191373640.post-11725330736378508672008-01-14T06:53:00.000-07:002008-01-14T06:53:00.000-07:00Zen, Thanks for the correction. My penumbra has ...Zen, Thanks for the correction. My penumbra has shrunk even more!deichmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13358324721299617982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2541979398191373640.post-26686554440024339772008-01-12T13:07:00.000-07:002008-01-12T13:07:00.000-07:00Gracias Shane.Caesar did not fear imprisonment as ...Gracias Shane.<BR/><BR/>Caesar did not fear imprisonment as ancient Rome had no prisons per se. In fact, Caesar himself had suggested imprisonment for the lead plotters in the Cataline Conspiracy as an alternative to execution and had been voted down at Cicero's urging on the basis that the Senate lacked any such facilities or legal precedent for such a punishment.<BR/><BR/>What Caesar feared, was a campaign of lawsuits and slander by Cato and other Optimate reactionaries and a denial of the traditional <I>dignitas</I> due to him as a former consul and provincial governor. Which is exactly what Cato was trying to orchestrate, in order to force Caesar into exile.<BR/><BR/>Cato and his Optimate allies were in violation of normal Roman political practice with the vehemence and extent to which they were taking their public feud with Caesar - sort of Caesar-Derangement-Syndrome. At times their implacable rage even disturbed Pompeii, who had more pragmatic concerns regarding his fellow Triumvir.<BR/><BR/>Historians speculate, that much of the hatred dirtected at Caesar was for intensely personal reasons ranging from thwarted glory to Caesar bedding the wives of many of his enemies as well as keeping Cato's sister as a long term mistress.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16283319657103608208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2541979398191373640.post-56497539178765337622008-01-10T18:46:00.000-07:002008-01-10T18:46:00.000-07:00Great post Shane.I like the way they handled the c...Great post Shane.<BR/><BR/>I like the way they handled the crossing of the Rubicon in "Rome" (HBO/BBC) - Vorenus, Pullo and co splash across the stream like infantrymen everywhere ("no big deal, just another river"), while a boy fishes on the bank.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2541979398191373640.post-39354990880966068932008-01-10T14:23:00.000-07:002008-01-10T14:23:00.000-07:00Thx Dan - I am but a mere shadow of the true ZenPu...Thx Dan - I am but a mere shadow of the true ZenPundit Master!deichmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13358324721299617982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2541979398191373640.post-75542860929980468632008-01-10T14:03:00.000-07:002008-01-10T14:03:00.000-07:00So instead of Venice -- the site of an Italian con...So instead of <I>Venice</I> -- the site of an Italian constitutional crisis? An <I>Italian</I> constitutional crisis?<BR/><BR/>I'm glad I'm not the only history nerd out there ;-)Dan tdaxphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07205344738190870766noreply@blogger.com