Saturday, June 11, 2011

Caesar Crossed The Rubicon

as a general, Caesar was not allowed to cross the Rubicon river, no general was permitted to do so under the prevailing customs and laws of his time.  the act of doing so constituted civil war, and in fact one ensued.   after conquering most of europe all the way to Briton, Caesar was called back to Rome by the Senate. if he obeyed and went to Rome without his Legions he might have been tried for past deeds.  legend has it that he said "the die is cast" i won't hedge the Latin, but that is close enough.
Caesar Crossing the Rubicon Image The Rubicon No Longer Exists

like Caesar of old, i have been challenged.  last night, i was called to Rome by MorgansDead.  let me find the tweet, oh here it is:

Polar Bear is like the cutest big boy ferret ever! Sorry @Samuel_Clemons my Polar Bear is cuter than you


arrangements are being made, i'm being coiffed and groomed, the twin masseuses have been called in to calm my nerves, my best accessories are being laid out ( GI joe helmets,  micro headsets, navy scarf )  the entire far flung ferret clans are being notified and rounded up, guests will soon arrive,  electricity and excitement are in the air,  peanut butter and banana slices are laid out nicely ~  all visiting ferrets must have plenty of sleeping bags ~ all for the Great Ferret Cute Off ~ oh yes, the die is cast

this just in:  "Sam, seriously.  you compare your cuteness being challenged to Caesar crossing the Rubicon?"  mary, my detractor.  

me:  mary,  will you be bringing any guests? 

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after checking on my pile of poptart wrappers, and left footed socks,
with all the goings on, and so much to do, i have done what any manic, pampered, slightly hyper ferret would do in these die cast circumstances.....


i've increased my nap schedule


follow sam on twitter  http://twitter.com/samuel_clemons 


 

4 comments:

  1. It's obvious that this @MorgansDead is in need of a prompt eye exam...and a bit of exposure to The Animal Planet. My dear MorgansDead, the polar bear may seem "cute", while you're trying to figure out a way to break the ice for a good snuggling, he's sizing you up for dinner...or breakfast if you're visiting early, perhaps even brunch, but which actual meal void you'll fulfill for him isn't important. What is important is that you'll never be able to snuggle that polar bear. And the only dancing you'll do with him will be the flailing you find yourself doing at the end of his claws. By the way, his paws are larger than your head.

    Bottom line, if you can't snuggle it, it ain't cuter than you, Sam...Oh yes Sam, you ARE right! The die most certainly has been cast...

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  2. My apologies...I have just been informed that this Polar Bear is actually the name of a ferret. This changes some things, but not everything - the eye exam is still a priority.

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  3. Lmao! No worries, Sammy. There can be no ferret cuter than you. I don't even have to see this Polar Bear wannabe. I mean, he must have some kind of lame ego to pump himself up by pretending to be a polar bear. Sheesh! I'm in your corner all the way.

    Btw, I'd always heard that Caesar said, "Let the dice fly." Interesting.

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  4. ah yes, the parsing of the Latin: a bit of controversy as the word iacta is in the nominative singular tense, which meant the actual phrase must have been “The dice is cast,” which, while more accurate, doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well as the mistaken translation, attributed by Suetonius (as iacta alea est [ˈjakta ˈaːlea est]). The phrase is still used today to mean that events have passed a point of no return, that something inevitable will happen. Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, his favorite Greek writer of comedy; the phrase appears in “Ἀρρηφόρος” (Arrephoros,) (or possibly “The Flute-Girl”), as quoted in Deipnosophistae, Book 13, paragraph 8.

    Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, «Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος», [anerriphtho kybos] διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.

    He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present 'Let the die be cast' and led the army across.

    – Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9

    It is generally assumed, e.g. by Shakespeare, that Caesar here meant, "The die has been cast"; i.e., "The die is now cast", and not, "The die was cast."

    In a more modern use in case some readers don't like such ancient history, there is a Star Trek Episode so named: The Die is Cast from the TV Series Deep Space Nine.

    In any event, My Twitter Attorney, the course of history was changed. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the semi democratic Republic of Rome was changed to an Empire as a civil war was fought. All Emperors thereafter were given the tag Caesar and vested with great powers unlike anything given any of it's leaders before Caesar.

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