Caesar Augustus (63BC-14AD)
Over the past year or so, I have
been reading ancient Roman history and biographies of notable Romans of that
time. I have done so out of interest and at the recommendation of my doctor, a good
friend who insists I need some mental popcorn to balance the nonfiction staple
of my literary diet. Rather than the fiction he recommends I have opted for the
grandeur that was Rome!
I finished my most recent book, Augustus,
this morning, in my bed. I mention where I was to express how grateful I am to
be retired and have the time to read as much as I want, of what I want.
Happily, government reports and white papers, emails, congressional inquiries,
immigration law books, have not appeared before my eyes since November 2007. With
that and having in mind my friends many of whom are also in their good, old age, I offer
below some excerpts from the last pages of Augustus. Pages that focus on the emperor’s final days, his summing the counts of his personal life and the
accomplishments of his rule. As background, a good summary of Caesar Augustus’s
life may be found here.
Augustus was written by John Williams, a
native Texan who was educated at the University of Denver. Williams obtained
his Ph.D. in English literature at the University of Missouri in 1954, and thereafter
returned to the University of Denver to teach literature and creative writing. Williams’s
previous books include Butcher’s Crossing (1960) and Stoner (1965). I have read
neither.
Augustus was published in 1972 and
received the (US) National Book Award in 1973. This book fits best in the
category of historical fiction. The contents are factual but the book is no
straightforward narrative of events through time. Its format is that of a
collection of fictional letters and journal entries by members of Augustus’s
family, friends, comrades in arms, enemies, and the prominent poets and
historians of his time.
The entries are arranged in an out-of-sequence
manner. For example, in one instance you will be reading a letter from 22BC and
next a journal entry from 4AD. Then you might go back to 20BC. This took some
getting used to for a non-classicist like me, but I adjusted. The method was effective
for narrating events and for conveying deeper meanings from the reflective
depictions and reminiscences of the writers.
Not being deeply knowledgeable of
European classics and geography, I found using Google Maps and Wikipedia
useful. I even listed the main characters in chronological order of the dates
of their lives. One does not need to go to these lengths to enjoy and learn
from this book. It is a true page-turner of mostly short entries written in a
clear style, but a notch-up characteristic of the literati of that time. The
editors and proofreaders of this great work were meticulous.
From the first page, I simply let
my eyes flow and mind relish the vivid imagery of Rome, its people, and their
Empire. I did not mark this 305-page masterpiece with marginalia until I reached
its final forty pages or so. I then began very minimally placing brackets and asterisks
in the margins. I would have begun marking key events in the earlier pages when
I was younger. But now, I wanted to focus on writings about living, meaning, dying;
understandings of such arrived at by Roman men and women at the close of long, virtuous
and often unvirtuous lives.
It is from Augustus’s final
letter my excerpts begin. This one is to historian, biographer, and the emperor’s
friend, Nicolaus
of Damascus. Nicolaus was a Jewish historian and philosopher and intimate
friend to Roman client King
Herod the Great of Judea. The following are for all of my friends and readers,
young and old.
