Part 31 (1/2)
”He has honors enough,” said Brutus ”A thanksgiving of forty days for his victories has been proclaimed, there will be four successive Triumphs, he has been appointed 'Prefect of Morals' and Dictator for ten years, and his Triumphal chariot will be placed on the Capitoline Hill opposite Jupiter's He has no need of a month of 'Julius' He has rudge s?”
That awful silence, only just dispelled, descended again And I heard in Caesar's voice such sorrow, such pain, that it hurt me to hear it What was Brutus to him, that his disapproval should rend him so?
”No, of course not” It was not Brutus who spoke but Servilia, his ain
”No,” heaway and not at Caesar
”My Caesar has been away from Rome eleven of the past twelve years,” said Calpurnia ”If Ro so far afield, why should we object?” She had a pleasing voice, I had to ado, he has been at my side only a feeeks”
As she spoke, I realized that he had spent more time with me than with her
I picked at my mackerel and waited for the remark to pass
”It is difficult, now, to knohat is noble in Rome and must be preserved, and what has served its tihtfully
”Young Octavian is a fierce guardian of all things traditional,” said Caesar ”If anything passes his scrutiny, it is sure to be proper”
”In Egypt it see but tradition,” said Ptoleo they seehosts”
”But Alexandria is a new city,” said Octavia, beside him ”All new, and very beautiful, from what I have heard”
”Yes,” I said proudly ”It is the most modern city in the world, and it was planned by the Great Alexander”
Servers began re out theout theof the utensils, and the busyness of the attendants, made us pause in the conversation I looked at Caesar and noticed that he had not touched his wine Then I remembered he had told me he seldom drank it, lest it provoke his condition He also had eaten very little The rattling of the utensils, and the busyness of the attendants, made us pause in the conversation I looked at Caesar and noticed that he had not touched his wine Then I remembered he had told me he seldom drank it, lest it provoke his condition He also had eaten very little
”Did you enjoy Alexandria?” Calpurnia asked Caesar in a loud voice
He started, taken by surprise Clearly such bluntness was out of character for Calpurnia; shehard ”I enjoy all battlefields,” he finally said ”And Alexandria was a battlefield; it required all ht in city streets, with a civilian population all around Especially as any mistakes could cost innocent people dear”
Calpurnia opened her mouth to press further, but lost her nerve
Just then the new courses were brought out, arranged on silver platters There was a rich, dark pork steith apples I was ypt There was also a kid, prepared Parthian style, and a dish of stuffed thrushes fed with uests, caantic red roasted o down and bid on theIt seemed that mullet had become a passion with Romans, and prominent houses bid in auctions for them at the fish oes down every day, determined to carry off the best”
”What, in person?” Octavian sounded scandalized
”It's no worse than the other things he does Carrying on with that retinue of actors and actresses, drinking, living in Po for it,” said Brutus ”But I speak of the e of Rome in your absence, Caesar”
”He did not perform well,” said Caesar ”I was disappointed He was dismissed There's an end to it What he does with his drink and his actresses concerns me not”
”But is he not related to us? Is he not part of the Julian house?” Octavian sounded distressed
”Distantly,” said Caesar
”Not distantly enough,” said Octavia
”Why speak any further of him?” said Caesar ”He has his merits, and they have served me well in the past He failed in this latest task But he is a great general, nonetheless He has a deep intuitive sense of tactics There is no man I would sooner have with me on the battlefield”
”I ypt with Gabinius” I re cavalry officer who had refrained fro fun of my drunken father when the other Romans looked at hio or ed since then” He speared a large chunk of , to his platter Splatters of sauce fell on the napkin
More dishes followed: boiled cucumber and what Caesar announced was ”squash, Alexandrian style” It was so I had never tasted before, but obviously it fit what Roined about us It was filled with cinnamon and honey
”This is new to me,” I confessed ”There is much we do not know about one another's custo For example, the lictors and the bundles of branches they carry What do they mean? And the ranks of senators, the quaestors quaestors and and praetors praetors and people called and people called curule aediles curule aediles--what responsibilities do they have?”
”You ask questions like a child,” said Brutus ”Is this how a queen receives knowledge?”
”It is how all wise people do, Brutus,” Caesar reproved him Then he turned to s that are foreign to you Very well--who better than Octavian, that Roh?”
Not his nephew! It would be irkso around after me, I could tell Nonetheless I smiled and said, ”No, Octavian e of Pontiffs”
”Oh, but this will be good training for his to you,” said Caesar ”He must venture out in public He is, after all, to ride in a chariot in h he did not join you on the battlefield,” said Agrippa ”Well, next time we'll both be there!” He chewed heartily on a piece of kid
I bent tothe pork It is a robust meat, with a rich flavor This particular animal had been fed on acorns in Brutus's province, so he said
”Brutus may soon remarry,” said Servilia abruptly ”He hter”
Caesar put down his knife and looked steadily at Brutus ”Perhaps you ish to reconsider,” he said slowly
”We have no king in Rome from whom I must ask permission,” he answered ”Or does the Prefect of Morals control all the htly ”But et monotonous One has heard all the same family stories, knows all the jokes and all the same recipes No novelty”
”Well, we Ptolemies like it that way!” said enerations, just like the Pharaohs! That's because we're divine!”
Everyone stared at him
”We don't believe in that in Ro sisters?” Ptole to be divine We have a republic here--all citizens are equal”
”What a funny idea!” Ptolehed
”It is a western idea,” I said quickly to him ”People in the east feel differently In our part of the world, kings are the tradition And we believe that Gods le with rippa But there was no malice in his voice ”Zeus seeuise or another--first as a golden shower, then as a swan--and creating hordes of half-divine offspring bastards”
”Men do enough of that on their own/' said Calpurnia ” ”They need no help fro to me and Caesarion So it was known all over Ro Let him speak!