Do you know this man?

[indianasmith]

(NOTE: This is a religious post.  If such things offend you, please do not read it.  There are many other great posts in this forum that will be more to your taste!)


Do you know him?




His full name is Gaius Octavius Julius Caesar Augustus, but today we remember him simply as Caesar Augustus. 2012 years ago, he was the most important man on earth. He created the Roman Empire, ending 100 years of civil war that had torn the Republic apart. He avenged his adoptive father's death at the hands of a cabal of Senators, and defeated the most popular man in Rome, Mark Antony, in order to seize supreme power. He took over a dysfunctional Republic and made the government run like a well-tuned engine. He expanded the Empire and then made peace. Four times he was able to extinguish the fires in the Temple of Mars, signifying that Rome had no foreign conflicts going anywhere. He boasted that he "found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble." Poets sung his praises; sculptors vied to create images of him; and a grateful Senate named him "First Citizen of Rome."
Yet today he is primarily remembered for a single verse in the Gospel of Luke: "Now there went forth in those days a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed . . ."

I wonder if Augustus, in his wildest dreams, ever imagined that a child born to a destitute teenage mother in a barn surrounded by livestock, cradled in a feed trough, in a tiny village of the most insignificant province of his Empire, would become King of Kings and Lord of Lords? That history would be split in two at that moment? That he would become a mere footnote in the story of the carpenter from Galilee who would change the world in a far more lasting way? Angels sang at His birth, and the whole earth trembled at his death. The glory of Augustus is but a memory for historians, but the glory of the Lord of Hosts endures forever and ever.

Joy to the world, the Lord is Come!

[Umaril Has Returned]

Very nice post, Indy!  I myself admit that I had no idea who the guy was until you mentioned his name, although I have heard of Augustus Caesar before.  Looking at the face it's plain to see he was Roman (the classic nose).

Augustus indeed did change the world, but there was one yet to come who made even greater history, as His is "The Greatest Story Ever Told".  Great post, and a belated Merry Christmas, old friend. 

I'd like to stay and talk, but it's back to Skyrim. Oh no, here comes that dual-wielding Forsworn guy again......

[Allhallowsday]

(NOTE: This is a religious post.  If such things offend you, please do not read it.  There are many other great posts in this forum that will be more to your taste!)
Do you know him?


...

I recognized AUGUSTUS CAESAR right away.  It was the Church that preserved the histories of the ancient world.  We'd know much less about Rome or any Caesar if it weren't for the copious, mindless, copying over centuries by obscure monks. 

[indianasmith]

true that, except that I don't know how "mindless" their copying was . . . virtually all of the educated men in Medieval Europe were clerics, and they were conscious of their duty to preserve what learning they could in those dark times.  And, in all fairness, Muslim scribes also preserved much of the historic record of the ancient Middle East.

[Allhallowsday]

true that, except that I don't know how "mindless" their copying was . . . virtually all of the educated men in Medieval Europe were clerics, and they were conscious of their duty to preserve what learning they could in those dark times.  And, in all fairness, Muslim scribes also preserved much of the historic record of the ancient Middle East.

I'm sure you're right regarding education in quarters.  I'm thinking of the educated scribe copying word for word, perhaps character for character, in vellum pages, over tedious hours perhaps of a language he could not read or speak.  I'm stressing the many thousands of man hours (enlightened or not) were spent attempting to preserve history. 

[lester1/2jr]

He took over a dysfunctional Republic and made the government run like a well-tuned engine.

yeah how'd that work out

[indianasmith]

Pretty good as long as he was alive to run it - afterward, not so much.
Absolute monarchy is the BEST form of government - as long as you are the monarch!

[Allhallowsday]

Pretty good as long as he was alive to run it - afterward, not so much.
Absolute monarchy is the BEST form of government - as long as you are the monarch!

[lester1/2jr]

http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Economics-Politics-Monarchy-Natural/dp/0765808684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356963775&sr=8-1&keywords=democracy+the+god+that+failed

don't knock the Monarchs

[indianasmith]

So what IS the best form of government, Lester? Not trying to knock you, just curious.

[zombie no.one]

I recognize Augustus Caesar but who is the other guy or "child" you seem to be referring to?

[indianasmith]

Um . . . Jesus of Nazareth.

(I assume you are jerking my chain!)

[zombie no.one]

oh that guy... slightly overrated imo

the 'water into wine' trick was pretty good but you know, sometimes you just want a plain old drink of water. plus I'm allergic to red wine. he doesn't really do it for me. but I respect his steez.

[indianasmith]

There was just a bit more to Him than water into wine - and he didn't do the H2O to bubbly transformation thing often.  It would have made bathing in the house difficult!!



(If you REALLY want a better picture of what He was about, I recommend the Gospel of John)

[lester1/2jr]

Indiana- Zombieocracy