Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 72 ~ Novationes

30th November 38 AD

For an hour, he had been standing on his feet, waiting for the auspices to finally be read so that the senate session could be convened. But the augurs had only appeared half an hour ago and were now bending over the entrails of the sacrificial animal with pompous expressions. As if their opinion still carried any weight. On days like these, he found himself asking the question Aurelia had asked him not so long ago: why did they still hold on to these ancient rituals when no one believed in them anymore? Even now, he still had no answer. Maybe they held on to these little rituals because they were part of their culture and there was no real reason to abolish them. Maybe they held on to them out of convenience, because if they did away with one of the ancient customs, they would have to give their whole religion a complete overhaul. Perhaps his ancestor Augustus had kept these rituals so that the façade of the republic could be maintained. Or maybe it was just so that people like Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus would get a chance to feel important. Gaius didn't much like Passienus - perhaps because he was married to the sister of Agrippina's good-for-nothing husband, perhaps because Passienus was a pompous blowhard who enjoyed leaving the Senate out in the cold by needlessly dragging out the reading of the auspices.
Impatiently, Gaius gritted his teeth and earned an admonishing jab in the ribs from Uncle Claudius, who stood beside him, trying to suppress his guffaw. Immediately Gaius put on his impenetrable mask of polite composure and tried to restrain his impatience. In his position as Pontifex Maximus, he could have taken over the reading of the auspices at any time, and he admitted that he had certainly considered it before Passienus' arrival. But today was Passienus' day with this task and to relieve him now would be tantamount to public exposure and would cause Gaius more problems than Passienus.
Weeks ago, with Aurelia's help, he had already selected suitable candidates for all the offices, and he had drawn the governors of the provinces a few days ago. Nevertheless, he was more nervous than usual on this day. For months he had been working with Aurelia in secret on this plan and although he kept going over his speech in his mind during the unnecessary waiting time, he could not suppress his restlessness. This was the first submission that was really close to his heart. What if his motion failed in the Senate?
At last, Passienus raised his head and announced that the omens were favourable. Gaius would have preferred to roll his eyes or at least give the busybody a dirty look. Instead, he trudged wordlessly past Passienus in high spirits and enjoyed the cosy warmth inside the temple. It really was outrageously cold for November.

Of course, another hour passed with polite chatter and waiting, only then had most of the senators finally taken their seats and silence slowly returned. Gaius calmly let his gaze wander over the magistrates, then he rose with a serious expression and silenced them with a wave of his hand. He remained silent for a blink of an eye and watched with satisfaction as the tension in his audience rose. Most of them leaned forward with interest.
"Esteemed senators, we stand in the pulsating heart of the world," Gaius began gravely. "Rome is the centre of the arts, trade and politics - but it is not the centre of education and knowledge. As Tullius Cicero aptly pointed out, we Romans have been in competition for centuries with the Greeks and Egyptians, who were already striving for knowledge before us. Philosophia, the love of wisdom, is one of those words that we inherited from the Greeks. My divine ancestor Augustus, in his great foresight, had the first publicly accessible library in Rome built. We have here clever minds that strive for knowledge. We have places here where anyone can find the knowledge of all wise men at any time. But still today, a study trip to Greece or Alexandria is necessary for a Roman to be truly fully educated. Where does this come from? What must we do to make our city what it is destined to be - the centre of all striving, thinking and being? Is it not our duty, then, gentlemen, to see to it that the generations to come find here in Rome the very place where they will receive their knowledge? All the conditions are already in place. What Rome needs, senators, is a university, an independent institution where all the arts are taught"
In his speech, he listed everything that Aurelia and he had discussed and planned over the past months. He revealed the whole concept, unveiled the merits and anticipated their possible counterarguments. In the process, he clearly felt the scepticism of his listeners turning more and more into approval. At the end of his speech, he felt as if he had run a marathon, but the thunderous applause of the senators made his body quiver and gave him new strength. Emphatically slowly, he took his seat back in his curule chair and watched as the senators jumped to their feet and expressed their approval in speeches of their own. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Uncle Claudius nodding slightly at him before rising and silencing the speaking Praetor by his higher rank. Inconspicuously, Gaius smiled to himself as he listened with interest to his uncle's panegyric. Now the time had come to finally make his mark on Rome.