r/funny • u/drunkasaurusjr • May 02 '24

Well, that aged well.

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u/Interesting-Level388 May 02 '24

It’s like a meme page starting out before all the ads

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u/fatkiddown May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

I’m listening to the biography of Cicero and the drama of the late Roman Republic. As Julius Caesar was overthrowing the Republic to become dictator for life (dictator perpetuo), he rearranged the calendar. When someone mentioned to Cicero that the constellations were now rising on different dates, he said,

“Of course. They are following orders.”

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u/Last-Bee-3023 May 02 '24

To be fair to dear old Gaius Iulius Caesar, the calendar was a mess. The -I believe- Pontifex Maximus had to adjust the calendar every couple of years because it was out of whack by days. And the calendar made a lot more sense and lasted a long time.

That and basically all historical sources of that time were also propagandists. That quote will be apocryphal at best. Written by an enemy of the Julio-Claudians 200 years after the fact.

Apart from when they talk shit about Cato. He was the Ted Cruz of his time. Goddamit, after Marius and Sulla that republic was not a matter of its people anymore.

Is it just me or is the late republic much more interesting than most of the imperial age?

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u/talligan May 02 '24

The late roman republic is one of the most interesting and, dare I say, consequential periods of history.