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Authors: John Maddox Roberts
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affairs of men. They are nothing but the sport of the gods. I think the stars are of greater significance in our lives than most of us realize."
"Oriental mummery," Hortalus pronounced, "begging our royal guest's pardon. I think that the only omens of significance for us are those officially recognized and handed down to us by ancient custom: the auguries and the haruspices."
"Those being?" Tigranes asked.
"Auguries are taken by the officials of the college of augurs, of whom there are fifteen," Caesar explained. "It is a great honor for one of us to be elected to that college. They interpret the divine will by observing the flight and feeding of birds, and by determining the direction of lightning and thunder. Favorable omens come from the left, unfavorable omens from the right."
"Haruspices, on the other hand," Cicero said, "are determined by observing the entrails of sacrificial animals. This is carried out by a professional class, mostly Etruscans. Official or not, I consider it to be fraudulent."
Tigranes looked confused. "Just a moment. If you regard the left side as favorable and the right as unfavorable, why do Roman poets often speak of thunder from the right as a sign of the gods' favor?"
"They are following a Greek custom," Claudia said "The Greek augurs faced north when taking the omens Ours face south."
"Speaking of lightning," Catilina said, "I don't know whether it came from right or left, but this morning a bolt struck the statue of Lucullus by the wharf at Ostia. I heard this from a bargeman at the Tiber docks today. Melted him into a puddle of bronze."
There was much chatter about this omen. No official augur was required to interpret this one as unfavorable to Lucullus.
"This sounds most ominous," Hortalus said. "Let us hope that it doesn't presage some terrible defeat in the East." The statement had a hypocritical ring to it, but then Hortalus always sounded that way. If he told you the sun had risen that morning, you would go outside to see, just to make sure.
"There are no few here in Rome who would rejoice to see Lucullus recalled," Curius commented.
"But the Senate would never recall a successful general," I said, not liking the sound of this.
"Not as long as he's successful," Publius Claudius said, smiling. "And my brother-in-law has been
very
successful." He picked up a skewer of grilled lamb and gnawed at it daintily.
"Mark me," Catilina said, "that man is building himself an independent power base in the East, currying favor with those Asian cities by bankrupting half of Rome." Sergius Catilina was one of those red-faced, red-haired men who looked and sounded angry all the time. He referred to Lucullus's slashing of the Asian debt. When Sulla was Dictator, he had levied a tremendous assessment on the cities of the province of Asia, which they could pay only by borrowing at usurious rates from Roman financiers. To save the cities from utter ruin Lucullus had forgiven much of the debt and had forbidden high interest, earning him the undying enmity of our moneylenders.
"Perhaps Publius will be able to point out the error of his ways when he sails to join Lucullus next year," Claudia said airily. She seemed to want to lighten the conversation and quickly changed the subject. Soon the main course dishes were cleared away and we all observed a few moments of silence as the household gods were brought in. Officiating as household priest, Publius drew his toga over his head and sprinkled the little gods with meal and wine lees. When the gods were carried out, the dessert was served.
During this time, Tigranes paid me inordinate attention, asking me to explain this or that concerning Roman custom, law or religion. He showed extraordinary interest in my career and plans for future officeholding. I might have been flattered at such interest from a man who might one day be King of Kings, but at the time I felt more annoyed that he prevented me from devoting my time to Claudia. As a result, Caesar
"Oriental mummery," Hortalus pronounced, "begging our royal guest's pardon. I think that the only omens of significance for us are those officially recognized and handed down to us by ancient custom: the auguries and the haruspices."
"Those being?" Tigranes asked.
"Auguries are taken by the officials of the college of augurs, of whom there are fifteen," Caesar explained. "It is a great honor for one of us to be elected to that college. They interpret the divine will by observing the flight and feeding of birds, and by determining the direction of lightning and thunder. Favorable omens come from the left, unfavorable omens from the right."
"Haruspices, on the other hand," Cicero said, "are determined by observing the entrails of sacrificial animals. This is carried out by a professional class, mostly Etruscans. Official or not, I consider it to be fraudulent."
Tigranes looked confused. "Just a moment. If you regard the left side as favorable and the right as unfavorable, why do Roman poets often speak of thunder from the right as a sign of the gods' favor?"
"They are following a Greek custom," Claudia said "The Greek augurs faced north when taking the omens Ours face south."
"Speaking of lightning," Catilina said, "I don't know whether it came from right or left, but this morning a bolt struck the statue of Lucullus by the wharf at Ostia. I heard this from a bargeman at the Tiber docks today. Melted him into a puddle of bronze."
There was much chatter about this omen. No official augur was required to interpret this one as unfavorable to Lucullus.
"This sounds most ominous," Hortalus said. "Let us hope that it doesn't presage some terrible defeat in the East." The statement had a hypocritical ring to it, but then Hortalus always sounded that way. If he told you the sun had risen that morning, you would go outside to see, just to make sure.
"There are no few here in Rome who would rejoice to see Lucullus recalled," Curius commented.
"But the Senate would never recall a successful general," I said, not liking the sound of this.
"Not as long as he's successful," Publius Claudius said, smiling. "And my brother-in-law has been
very
successful." He picked up a skewer of grilled lamb and gnawed at it daintily.
"Mark me," Catilina said, "that man is building himself an independent power base in the East, currying favor with those Asian cities by bankrupting half of Rome." Sergius Catilina was one of those red-faced, red-haired men who looked and sounded angry all the time. He referred to Lucullus's slashing of the Asian debt. When Sulla was Dictator, he had levied a tremendous assessment on the cities of the province of Asia, which they could pay only by borrowing at usurious rates from Roman financiers. To save the cities from utter ruin Lucullus had forgiven much of the debt and had forbidden high interest, earning him the undying enmity of our moneylenders.
"Perhaps Publius will be able to point out the error of his ways when he sails to join Lucullus next year," Claudia said airily. She seemed to want to lighten the conversation and quickly changed the subject. Soon the main course dishes were cleared away and we all observed a few moments of silence as the household gods were brought in. Officiating as household priest, Publius drew his toga over his head and sprinkled the little gods with meal and wine lees. When the gods were carried out, the dessert was served.
During this time, Tigranes paid me inordinate attention, asking me to explain this or that concerning Roman custom, law or religion. He showed extraordinary interest in my career and plans for future officeholding. I might have been flattered at such interest from a man who might one day be King of Kings, but at the time I felt more annoyed that he prevented me from devoting my time to Claudia. As a result, Caesar
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