CAESAR AUGUSTUS ~ January 16, 27 BCE

27 BCE – The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BCE – 19 August CE 14), was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 31 BCE until his death in CE 14. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, and between then and 31 BCE was officially named Gaius Julius Caesar.

In 27 BCE the Senate awarded him the honorific Augustus ("the revered one"), and thus consequently he was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. Because of the various names he bore, it is common to call him Octavius when referring to events between 63 and 44 BCE, Octavian (or Octavianus) when referring to events between 44 and 27 BCE, and Augustus when referring to events after 27 BCE. In Greek sources, Augustus is known as κτάβιος (Octavius), Κασαρ (Caesar), Αγουστος (Augustus), or Σεβαστός (Sebastos), depending on context.

The young Octavius came into his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE. In 43 BCE, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in a military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. As a triumvir, Octavian ruled Rome and many of its provinces as an autocrat, seizing consular power after the deaths of the consuls Hirtius and Pansa and having himself perpetually re-elected. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its rulers: Lepidus was driven into exile, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by the fleet of Octavian commanded by Agrippa in 31 BCE.

After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Octavian restored the outward facade of the Roman Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, but in practice retained his autocratic power. It took several years to determine the exact framework by which a formally republican state could be led by a sole ruler; the result became known as the Roman Empire. The emperorship was never an office like the Roman dictatorship which Caesar and Sulla had held before him; indeed, he declined it when the Roman populace "entreated him to take on the dictatorship". By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including those of tribune of the plebs and censor.

He was consul until 23 BCE. His substantive power stemmed from financial success and resources gained in conquest, the building of patronage relationships throughout the Empire, the loyalty of many military soldiers and veterans, the authority of the many honors granted by the Senate, and the respect of the people. Augustus' control over the majority of Rome's legions established an armed threat that could be used against the Senate, allowing him to coerce the Senate's decisions. With his ability to eliminate senatorial opposition by means of arms, the Senate became docile towards his paramount position. His rule through patronage, military power, and accumulation of the offices of the defunct Republic became the model for all later imperial government.

The rule of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana, or Roman peace. Despite continuous frontier wars, and one year-long civil war over the imperial succession, the Mediterranean world remained at peace for more than two centuries. Augustus expanded the Roman Empire, secured its boundaries with client states, and made peace with Parthia through diplomacy. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army (and a small navy), established the Praetorian Guard, and created official police and fire-fighting forces for Rome. Much of the city was rebuilt under Augustus; and he wrote a record of his own accomplishments, known as the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, which has survived. Upon his death in CE 14, Augustus was declared a god by the Senate, to be worshipped by the Romans. His names Augustus and Caesar were adopted by every subsequent emperor, and the month of Sextilis was officially renamed August in his honour. He was succeeded by his stepson and son-in-law, Tiberius.

Augustus (plural augusti), Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Caesar Augustus and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors. The feminine form is Augusta.

Although the use of the cognomen "Augustus" as part of one's name is generally understood to identify emperor Augustus, this is somewhat misleading; "Augustus" was the most significant name associated with the Emperor, but it did not actually represent any sort of constitutional office until the 3rd century under Diocletian. The Imperial dignity was not an ordinary office, but rather an extraordinary concentration of ordinary powers in the hands of one man; "Augustus" was the name that unambiguously identified that man.

Image & text:wikipedia.com

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ~ January 15, 1929

Photo/csus.edu

Although the official holiday is next Monday January 19, today is the actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He would have been eighty-six years old!

My brother Sherry was at the Mall in D.C. and heard Dr. King deliver the "I have a dream" speech just before his Senior year at Princeton in 1963. I remember hearing the news of his assassination in April 1968, my Freshman year at Yale. It was only a few days after the jubilation we felt when President Johnson announced he wouldn't seek the nomination for another term. We had thought the Vietnam War was soon coming to an end. Instead the next few months saw the assassination of Robert Kennedy and the dashing of our hopes.

Nevertheless, the words and example of Martin Luther King, Jr. live on and continue to inspire us. Certainly he prepared the path for Barack Obama.

ALBERT SCHWEITZER ~ January 14, 1875 ~ September 4, 1965

Albert Schweitzer (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian German-French theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, from 1871 to 1918 in the German Empire. Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well as the traditional Christian view, depicting a Jesus Christ who expected and predicted the imminent end of the world. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life", expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, now in Gabon, west central Africa (then French Equatorial Africa). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ reform movement (Orgelbewegung).

Schweitzer's passionate quest was to discover a universal ethical philosophy, anchored in a universal reality, and make it directly available to all of humanity. This is reflected in some of his sayings, such as:

"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace."

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

Image & text:wikipedia.com

My father used to have an oil portrait of Albert Schweitzer in his church office study. It had been painted by a Pennsylvania State Penitentiary prisoner-- in for life-- for murder. It was a very handsome, well painted portrait, based on the photograph above.

RENZO ~ SIX YEARS OLD TODAY!

My puppy Renzo is Six Years Old today! He shares his birthday with Martin from Bratislava, who has been such a wonderful friend to all my dogs, whenever he's visited San Francisco.

Renzo came to California five years ago last June with my nephew Sheridan and his wife Sylvie. They picked him up in Pennsylvania and took him back to their apartment in Manhattan for nearly a week before flying to San Francisco for a family wedding in Tahoe.

My friend Adam named Renzo. Originally I was going to call him Roger (which I thought was cute with the double meaning) but Adam thought that too prosaic, and suggested Renzo instead. (With Rupert, Rose and Rob, his name had to start with an 'R') Next Adam coined the sobriquet "Chewy" for my dear Blenheim puppy. Now he calls him "Demon Dog" since he squirms like a fish out of water, and is a very demanding little pup. His funny, off-centered face betrays his mischievousness.

I understand from the breeder Mary Louise in Pennsylvania, that Renzo's not likely to calm down very much even after being fixed. It's in his genes. His sisters, mother, and grandfather were all hyper-active. So I have lots of fun to look forward to over the years! Now I have his mother Bette, who joined the family three Decembers ago.

For the year before Bette's arrival, my wonderful neighbors, Ben and Susan, took Renzo for a half-hour run in Glen Park with their three border collies. They picked him up about 7:05 A.M. Renzo started to yelp and circle as soon as he heard Lucy bark. Then either Susan or Ben came in the back door and took my little guy away for a romp in the park chasing birds. 

Happy birthday to my frisky Renzo boy!

ALEXANDER HAMILTON ~ January 11, 1755 or 1757 ~ July 12, 1804

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1757 – July 12, 1804) was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, a Founding Father, economist, and political philosopher. The chief of staff to General George Washington during the American Revolution, he was a leader of nationalist forces calling for a new Constitution; he was one of America's first lawyers, and wrote half of the Federalist Papers, a primary source for Constitutional interpretation. He was more influential than the other three members of Washington's Cabinet, and the financial expert; the Federalist Party formed to support his policies.

Born and raised in the Caribbean, Hamilton attended King's College (now Columbia University) in New York. At the start of the American Revolutionary War, he organized an artillery company and was chosen as its captain. Hamilton became the senior aide-de-camp and confidant to General George Washington, the American commander-in-chief. After the war, Hamilton was elected to the Continental Congress from New York, but he resigned to practice law and to found the Bank of New York. He served in the New York Legislature, and he was the only New Yorker who signed the U.S. Constitution. He wrote about half the Federalist Papers, which secured its ratification by New York; they are still the most important unofficial interpretation of the Constitution. In the new government under President Washington he became Secretary of the Treasury. An admirer of British political systems, Hamilton was a nationalist who emphasized strong central government and sucessfully argued that the implied powers of the Constitution could be used to fund the national debt, assume state debts, and create the government-owned Bank of the United States. These programs were funded largely by a tariff on imports and a highly controversial whiskey tax.

By 1792, the coalition led by Hamilton was opposed by a coalition led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Hamilton's Federalist now had to compete with Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. The parties fought over Hamilton's fiscal goals and national bank, as well as his foreign policy of extensive trade and friendly relations with Britain, especially the Jay Treaty which was ratified, by a single vote, after a lengthy struggle between the two coalitions. Embarrassed by a blackmail affair that became public, Hamilton resigned as the Secretary of the Treasury in 1795 and returned to the practice of law in New York. In 1798, the Quasi-War with France led Hamilton to argue for, organize, and become the operational commander of the new national army.

Hamilton's opposition to his fellow Federalist John Adams hurt the party in the 1800 elections. When Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in the electoral college, Hamilton helped defeat his bitter personal enemy Burr and elect Jefferson as president. With his party's defeat, Hamilton's nationalist and industrialization ideas lost their former national prominence. Hamilton's intense rivalry with Burr resulted in a duel, in which Hamilton was mortally wounded.

Hamilton was always denounced by the Jeffersonians and later the Jacksonians, but his economic ideas, especially support for a protective tariff and a national bank, were promoted by the Whig Party and after the 1850s by the newly created Republican Party, which hailed him as the nation's greatest Secretary of the Treasury.

Image & text:wikipedia.com

JULIUS CAESAR Crosses the RUBICON ~ January 10, 49 BCE

49 BCE: Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war.

Rubicon (Rubicō, Italian: Rubicone) is a 29 km long river in northern Italy. The river flows from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region between the towns of Rimini and Cesena.

"Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BCE crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war.

The river is notable as Roman law prohibited the Rubicon from being crossed by any Roman Army legion. The river was considered to mark the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the north and Italy proper to the south; the law thus protected the republic from internal military threat. When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army in 49 BC, supposedly on January 10 of the Roman calendar, to make his way to Rome, he broke that law and made armed conflict inevitable. According to historian Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase ālea iacta est ("the die is cast").

Suetonius also described how Caesar was apparently still undecided as he approached the river, and the author gave credit for the actual moment of crossing to a supernatural apparition. The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has survived to refer to any people committing themselves irrevocably to a risky and revolutionary course of action – similar to the modern phrase "passing the point of no return". It also refers, in limited usage, to its plainer meaning of using military power in a non-receptive homeland.

Since the river has changed its course many times through the years, it is impossible to confirm exactly where the original Rubicon flowed when Julius Caesar crossed it.

Image & text:wikipedia.com

LORD NELSON'S STATE FUNERAL ~ January 9, 1806

1806 – Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St. Paul's Cathedral. His funeral was two and a half months after the Battle of Trafalgar.

Nelson's body was returned to Britain aboard the Victory. Unloaded at the Nore it was taken to Greenwich and placed in a lead coffin, and that in another wooden one, made from the mast of L'Orient which had been salvaged after the Battle of the Nile. He lay in state in the Painted Hall at Greenwich for three days, before being taken up river aboard a barge, accompanied by Lord Hood, Sir Peter Parker, and the Prince of Wales. The coffin was taken into the Admiralty for the night, attended by Nelson's chaplain, Alexander Scott. The next day, 9 January, a funeral procession consisting of 32 admirals, over a hundred captains, and an escort of 10,000 troops took the coffin from the Admiralty to St. Paul's Cathedral. After a four-hour service he was laid to rest within a sarcophagus originally carved for Thomas Cardinal Wolsey.

Nelson's most famous monument is his column in Trafalgar Square in central London.

Image & text:wikipedia.com