In search of a modern Petronius
“Where have you gone, Petronius? “A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” First, my apologies to Simon and Garfunkel and the late great New York Yankee baseball champion, Joe DiMaggio.
Petronius was a Roman senator who was an adviser to the Roman emperor, Nero. Nero was the guy who burned down most of Rome so that he could build himself a golden mansion in the center of town. Nero divorced his first wife so that he could marry his second wife, and eventually had both killed, but this is a story for another time.
Petronius “wrote a book about a rich uneducated man that gave lavish dinner parties. The host’s showiness and vulgarity exposed his cultural inferiority. Petronius’ stories and essays were about the insincerity and vice among people of the highest rank, and those who flourished during Nero’s reign.”
Petronius had empathy for the human race. He once offered to exchange himself for a man condemned to death by Nero, because he knew that man was innocent.
Many Roman senators were executed by Nero when they questioned his actions. His overthrow by the senators failed and more were executed. Petronius knew his days were numbered, and so he took his own life. He left a letter to be read by Nero upon his death. Nero expected great words of praise, but that was not what Petronius wrote. His letter plainly stated what a murderous, narcissistic ignoramus he was.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that our senatorial leaders, especially those of the conservative Republican persuasion, do themselves in, when dealing with our authoritarian leader. I am recommending that they speak “power to truth” as the saying goes, when dealing with the president.
Bipartisan cooperation and civil discourse in government has gone out the window. It must be restored.
We need a bridge over troubled waters. “The words of the prophets are (no longer) written on the subway walls, and tenement halls.” They are now written on Twitter, Facebook and the ubiquitous nightly news from both the left and right point of view. Be not afraid to speak up.
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer and adviser, mentioned that there is “nothing wrong taking advice from the Russians.” This statement makes me wonder if I spent two years in the infantry for nothing.