33
The Noblest Roman of Them All
Here’sa puzzle for you:
A man once found a very old piece of money that had on it the date “100B. C.”
That couldn’t be so. Why not? See if you can tell without looking at the answer at the bottom of the page.[1]
[1]People living 100 years before Christ was born could not have known when he was to be born and so could not put such a date on the coins they made.
[1]People living 100 years before Christ was born could not have known when he was to be born and so could not put such a date on the coins they made.
In the year 100B. C.was born in Rome a boy who was named Julius Cæsar.
If you had asked him when he was born, he would have said in the Year 653.
Why do you suppose?
Because Roman boys counted time from the founding of Rome in 753B. C., and Cæsar was born 653 years after the city was founded. That makes it 100 years before Christ, doesn’t it?
Piratesseemed to be everywhere in the Mediterranean Sea at that time—Pirates. Now that Rome was ruler of the world, there were many ships carrying gold from different partsof the empire to Rome. So the pirates sailed up and down, lying in wait to capture and rob these ships laden with gold.
When Cæsar grew to be a young man, he was sent off to sea to fight these pirates, and he was captured by them. The pirates kept Cæsar a prisoner and sent to Rome saying they would not let him go unless Rome sent them a great deal of money. Cæsar knew that he would be killed if the money was not sent. He knew, too, that he might be killed, anyway. But he was not only not afraid but he told the pirates that if he lived to get back home he would return with a fleet and punish every one of them. When at last the money came they let him go, nevertheless. They thought Cæsar would not dare to do what he said. They thought he was just “talking big.” At any rate, they did not believe he would be able to catch them. Cæsar, however, kept his word, came back after them as he said he would do, and took them prisoners. Then he had them all put to death on the cross, which was the Roman way of punishing thieves.
The far-off places of the Roman Empire were always fighting against Rome trying to get rid of her rule, and had to be kept in order by a general with an army. As Cæsar had shown such bravery in fighting the pirates he was given an army and sent to fight two of these far-off places—Spainand a country north of Spain then known as Gaul, which is now France.
Cæsar conquered these countries, and then he wrote a history of his battles in Latin, which of course was his own language. Nowadays this book, called “Cæsar’s Commentaries,” is usually the first book which those who study Latin read.
In 55B. C.Cæsar crossed over in ships to the island of Britain, which is now England, conquered it, and went back again next year in 54B. C.
Cæsar was becoming famous for the way he conquered and ruled over the western part of the Roman Empire. Besides this, he was very popular with his soldiers.
Now there was in Rome at this time another general named Pompey. Pompey had been successfully fighting in the eastern part of the Roman Empire while Cæsar had been fighting in the west. Pompey had been a great friend of Cæsar, but when he saw how much land Cæsar had conquered and how popular he was with his soldiers, he became very jealous of him. Notice how many quarrels and wars are caused simply by jealousy. You have heard of at least two already.
So while Cæsar was away with his army Pompey went to the Roman Senate and persuadedthe senators to order Cæsar to give up the command of his army and return to Rome.
When Cæsar received the order from the Senate to give up his command and return to Rome, he thought over the matter for some time. Then at last he made up his mind that he would return to Rome, but he wouldnotgive up his command. Instead, he decided that he and his army would take command of Rome itself.
Now, there was a little stream called the Rubicon which separated the part of the country over which Cæsar was given charge from that of Rome. The Roman law forbade any general to cross this stream with an army ready to fight—this was the line beyond which he must not pass, for the Romans were afraid that if a general with an army got too close to Rome he might make himself king.
When Cæsar decided not to obey the Senate, he crossed this stream—the Rubicon—with his army and marched on to Rome.
People now speak of any dividing line from danger as “the Rubicon” and say that a person “crosses the Rubicon” when he takes a step from which there is no turning back, when he starts something difficult or dangerous which he must finish.
When Pompey heard that Cæsar was coming he took to his heels and fled to Greece. In a fewdays Cæsar had made himself head not only of Rome but of all Italy. Cæsar then went after Pompey in Greece and in a battle with his army beat him badly.
Now that Pompey was out of the way, Cæsar was the chief ruler of the whole of the Roman Empire.
Egypt did not yet belong to Rome. So Cæsar next went there and conquered that country. Now, in Egypt there was ruling a beautiful queen named Cleopatra. Cleopatra was so charming that she seemed able to make every one fall in love with her. Cleopatra flirted with Cæsar and so fascinated him that he almost forgot everything else except making love to her. So although he had won Egypt he made Cleopatra queen over that country.
Just at this time some people in the far eastern part of the empire started a war to get rid of the rule of Rome. Cæsar left Egypt, traveled rapidly to the place where the enemy were, made quick work of conquering them, then sent back the news of his victory to Rome in the most laconic (do you remember what that means?) description ever given of a battle. There were only three words in the message. Although the messenger could have carried three thousand as easily as three words, Cæsar sent a message that would have been short even for a telegram. Hewrote, “Veni, vidi, vici,” which means, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
When Cæsar at last got back to Rome, the people wanted to make him king, or said they did. Cæsar was already more than king, for he was head of the whole Roman Empire. But he wasn’t called king, for there had been no kings since 509B. C., when Tarquin was driven out. The Romans had been afraid of kings and hated them, or were supposed to hate them.
A few of the people thought that Cæsar was getting too much power and believed it would be a terrible thing to make him a king. They, therefore, decided on a plot to prevent such a thing happening. One of these plotters was a man named Brutus who had been Cæsar’s very best friend.
One day when Cæsar was expected to visit the Roman Senate they lay in wait for him until he should appear—in the same way I have seen boys hide around the corner for some schoolmate, against whom they had a grudge, until he should come out of school.
Cæsar came along, and just as he was about to enter the Senate the plotters crowded around him, and one after another they stabbed him.
Cæsar, taken by surprise, tried to defend himself; but all he had was his stylus, which was a kind of pen he used for writing, and he couldnot do much with that, in spite of a famous saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
When at last Cæsar saw Brutus—his best friend—strike at him, his heart seemed broken and he gave up. Then, exclaiming in Latin, “Et tu, Brute!” which means, “And thou, O Brutus!” he fell down dead. This was in 44B.C.
Antony, one of Cæsar’s true friends, made a speech over Cæsar’s dead body, and his words so stirred the crowd of people that gathered round that they would have torn the murderers to pieces if they could have caught them.
Shakspere has written a play called “Julius Cæsar,” and the month of July is named after him.
Now whom do you suppose Antony called “The Noblest Roman of Them All”?
“Julius Cæsar”?
No, you’re wrong. Brutus, the friend who stabbed Cæsar, was called, “The Noblest Roman of Them All.”
Why, do you suppose?
You’ll have to read Antony’s speech at the end of the play to find out.
Cæsar was pronounced in Latin “Kaiser”; and in later years the rulers of Germany were called this, and those of another country by the shortened form, “Czar.”