Cato the Elder

[Catus Marlicus, The Elder Statesman]

The ancient historian Plutarch tells us:

"The Romans used to call men who had no family distinction, but were coming into public notice through their own achievements, "new men," and such they called Cato. But he himself used to say that as far as office and distinction went, he was indeed new, but having regard to ancestral deeds of valour, he was oldest of the old. His third name was not Cato at first, but Priscus. Afterwards he got the surname of Cato for his great abilities. The Romans call a man who is wise and prudent, catus. "

"As for his outward appearance, he had reddish hair, and keen grey eyes, as the author of the well-known epigram ill-naturedly gives us to understand:"

'Red-haired, snapper and biter, his grey eyes flashing defiance,

Porcius, come to the shades, back will be thrust by their Queen.'

[Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder, 2-3]

The Draconian Laws & A Very 'Greek' Tragedy

If you read the headlines, it seems the Greeks have been compelled to adopt 'Draconian' fiscal laws.

That's the severe economic measures being imposed upon the birthplace of Western civilization by a Eurozone that will only be satisfied with the harshest of economic cut-backs.

Its the ongoing tragedy [Greek of course] that is the Euro financial crisis . That much everyone knows ... .

However, its not for the first time that the Greek people have been the subject of such harsh legislative imposition .... that's for sure!

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The Draconian Laws

Indeed, the emperor is reminded - from a hazy back-bedroom of his classical memory - that it was of course Greece - classical Athens to be precise - that first saw the imposition of the original Draconian Laws. And they were no 'walk in the park', let me tell you ...

[Draco of Athens - the 7th Century B.C. Athenian law giver]

Instituted by the man himself, Draco was a protogenic law giver of the 620's BC, who's name became synonymous with a code of harsh and unbending law. Indeed so severe was the imposition of Draco's law code, that most of it was later repealed by his more enlightened, civic successor:

"He [Solon] repealed the laws because of their harshness and the excessively heavy penalties that they carried; the only exceptions were the laws relating to homicide. Under the Draconian code almost any type of offence was liable to the death penalty, so that even those convicted of idleness were executed, and those who stole fruit and vegetables suffered the same punishment as those who committed sacrilege or murder. This is the reason why, in later times Demades became famous for his remark that Draco's code was written not in ink but in blood. Draco himself, when he was once asked why he decreed the death penalty for the great majority of offences, replied that he considered the minor ones deserved it, and so for the major ones no heavier punishment was left."

[Plutarch, Life of Solon,  I.17]

Well, its a kind of logic you have to admit.

Anybody reasonable can only hope that the current fiscal impositions being imposed upon Greece are sustainable and that it will not be too long before a modern day Solon, once more emerges  ....

The New Age

Today in town - while battling through crowds of zombie shoppers - I was overcome by a most shocking noise!

Was it a car horn, or perhaps the intruder alarm from a high street shop? Whatever it was, I cannot say.

However, I was struck with a profound understanding that nothing following would be the same again.

"... the most striking phenomenon of all was when the sound of a trumpet rang out from a perfectly clear and cloudless sky with a shrill, prolonged and dismal note so loud that people were driven half crazy with terror. The Etruscan wise men declared that this portent foretold a change over into a new age and a total revolution in the world. According to them there are eight ages in all. In each age the lives and manners of men are different and God has established for each age a definate span of time which is determined by the circuit of the Great Year. Whenever this circuit comes to an end and another begins some marvelious sign appears either on earth or in the heavens so that it becomes at once clear to those that have made a thorough study of the subject that men of a differnt character and way of life have now come into the world and the gods will be either more or less concerned with this new race than they were with their predecessors."

[Plutrach, Life of Sulla, 7]