Mere Mortal (LB - V)

My nobel predecessor, Augustus Caesar, once said, "I found Rome a city of bricks, and I left it a city of marble." I would like to think Rome is grander still for its time under my administration.

Under my predecessors, Rome was an empire of expansion. Under me, it became one of endurance. Many scorn me for turning my back on the constant wars of expansion, the old glory of Rome, that had become an increasing drain on Rome's coffers, yet surprisingly few complained when I discharged the public levies that were required to finance the burden of that glory.



In my time I have tried to excel at every possible learning and experience. But all of that is fleeting, for I am but human. I shall return to dust, with only stone and stories to mark my name. That being said, let them be good stones.





The wall we have built in the north of England will last for millenia. Even though plundered by farmers looking for stone through the centuries to come, it will still present a lasting testimony to the might and majesty of Rome. I find it curious that my own legacy will be inextricably tied to this tiny corner of the empire more than anywhere else.






Yes, Augustus left a city of marble, but the Pantheon that survives 2000 years later is the one that was rebuilt and improved under my reign. It will remain the largest domed structure on the earth until the 20th century.




I am painfully aware that I am speaking across generations — nay, centuries — and like most leaders I would hope that the record is kind to me.

But in my day I have been despised. I tried to please everybody, and in the end I pleased none.

I did not put my name on many monuments, nevertheless it has endured in various corners of the world.

I am Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus.

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This post is part of the GBBMC "Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign" (see Kevin Apgar's site here for further details) in support of Paul Davidson's book The Lost Blogs: From Jesus to Jim Morrison, which you can order via Amazon. Kudos to Claire for getting me interested in this. Take a look at her posts and guess who she is playing this week.

BTW, How does one write like a Roman?