Gaius Octavius

How would a gold standard work? Assume that a bank has 100 ounces of gold (capital and depositor's gold). How would it go about making loans (and protect itself against 'runs')? Would it be a gyro bank?

There were numerous safeguards to assure that the ballot wasn't fixed, so your claim that the ballot was easily fixed comes out of thin air. (And, so you say. I can't cite anything, but this is a generally held position.) Besides, it's totally disingenuous to argue simultaneously that Caesar was elected because he was popular AND to argue that Caesar could not be elected because the system was stacked against him. You can't have it both ways. (Don't recall this argument.) Either Caesar was popular enough to get elected in the first place and thus--if he remained popular after killing most of his enemies in the civil wars--had nothing to fear from another election, OR Caesar was PART of the political machine that stacked the deck against outsiders (Thus, the election could be fixed!) and thus--again--had no reason to fear elections once he had supreme power. Is too much to expect even the most elementary logic from Caesar's cheerleaders? (I really do hate to say this, but your logic seems to fail here.) Have you never asked yourself just once why--if Caesar were so popular--he quit running for office and (indisputably) accepted this unheard-of office dictator in perpetuum? If you have even the slightest sense of sincere sympathies for the populares, doesn't this betrayal of the sovereignty of the people (or the sovereignty of the Senate) send shivers down your spine? For a populare (Thank you for the gratuitous 'compliment'.), this defense of Caesar's dictatorship is pure, shameless hypocrisy. According to your general argument, prior to Caesar's crossing the Rubicon, all was well in Rome. The Senate held the 'populares' in high esteem. It didn't have a contract with Pompey. Cicero wasn't playing it safe. And, the Senate wasn't corrupt. Senators didn't practice usury and trade through their agents. Perilous times demanded action - Caesar was the man of the hour. The 'liberators' had their own pockets in mind and by no means whatsoever the common good nor the state's well being.

Shingles? Bell's Palsy? Diabetes? BeriBeri? Malaria? Lead Poisoning?

No problem. Briefly, the slave in the chariot at the triumphal procession was there mainly to hold the golden crown;. The phrase supposedly whispered on the ear seems to have been nothing more than a Christian myth (by Tertullianus). Thanks.

You just couldn't say 'lead poisioning', could you? Is it against your religion? Well, my priest says Χρόνος (Chronos) . What's Chronos got to do with it? Let that pass. You'll probably answer in Urdu. Just get on with some arcane, eclectic, and esoteric disease - without going to the dictionary!

Big A, I'm confused. That's not unusual though.

I thought that this was also whispered into a triumphators ear as he entered the City.

You just couldn't say 'lead poisioning', could you? Is it against your religion?

And this?

Thanks Big A. "Memento Mori" = ? (Remember to die?)

Which one is you? Did I see Reggie Jackson? The music didn't blow me out of my chair! I still had a crew cut back then. Flies used to take off and land on my head. Friend suggested that I be shot and mounted over the mantle piece.

There aren't any 'new posts' today! Same ole mismatch.

Spot on My Lady. Hadrians 'favourite'.

My Lord of the Brigantines! and you responded - how? L_W, AAA+++, I'm going to steal it!

Can't wait!

Anemia? Knope! It's really simple. The G-Man may have been affected from drinking water!

God looks with favor on those who speak Latin. Gaius is not a part of that crew.

Nice piece of work, The Augusta. Looking forward to any answers.

How do you know that the majority of plebeians wanted Caesar? Because Plutarch told you so? (What is particularly wrong with that?) How did he know? (How do you know otherwise?) There were no polls in the ancient world, except one--the ballot. (Which was easily fixed.) So if the majority of plebeians wanted Caesar, then Caesar had no reason to fear being defeated in election. Yet Caesar instead had himself declared dictator for life, thereby depriving the people (or the Senate) of any chance to express their opinion one way or the other. Now if Caesar were really so popular with the people, as opposed to being a contemptible populare poseur, why -- at the summit of his power -- didn't he give the people a chance to express themselves? Why did he arrest their tribunes? Why did he appoint their magistrates? Why did he act--not like a man of the people, winning one election after another as Marius did--but like an ordinary Hellenistic tyrant? I'll tell you why--Caesar didn't have the love of the people; (Again, how do you know?) he had the love of his army, and he figured that that was all that mattered. You are doing what we all do; we pick and chose our sources according to our biases.

Thanks N. & PNS.

Try the Loeb series or the Penguin books. Remember that you are dealing with translations and not 'original' stuff.

Drink a grappa to help the cell! It's that stuff that killed the others. Thanks for your kind suggestion.

Claudius?

Clue: Iron was close!