The Isle of the Fell

I - On History

So then came the rise of many great battles and many great wars, and great men, that of the seeker, that of the general, that of the Greek, that of the Persian, that of Aristotle and Epicurus and the Neoplatonists. Then there were the Romans, who traveled and conquered everything.

What was their virtue? That of glory and honor! They were individuals who wished to be great, and so they were a society not of those who wished to follow virtues, but those who wished to make it.

Once, they were more timid and believed they were commanded, but then, they had overcome Hannibal, and become less fearful. What were they to fear now? They had overcome the hardships of the Latins, Pyrrhus, and Carthage. Once they followed principles of duty and family, as were that of Aeneas, but now all that was abandoned out of its drabiness, and they had made a culture of overcoming! And so was every man at the top, who looked at himself and wished to be great, and so then was Flamininus and Lucius Mummius, Marius and Sulla, and Caesar and Pompey. 

Was not, after Augustus, greatness complete? There were other great men before Caesar, who achieved great things, but that which was greatest was value-making, who was the Divine Julius who conquered them all, and so all the other Romans said, "Hail Caesar, but not as I hail Scipio Africanus, but not as I hail Cicero, and not as I hail Marius, or Cincinnatus. Hail Caesar, not because of any of his gifts, but because he is Caesar, and I wish that I could only be as good as he can be, he is the absolute Ideal and the perfect man, and nothing can be beyond him, for he was the greatest orator, politician, and general there ever could be."

So were they, and they wished to make an Empire with the heart and soul of Caesar, and no longer became glory-seekers and masters of morals, but followers and worshippers, and so there were Mark Antony and Augustus, the first saints to Caesar. Who was the greatest on Earth? Caesar was in the sky as a god, and he looked down at everyone! Only those who were the most faithful to him, who were the most like him, who tried to be Caesar the Conqueror, as was Trajan! Was there any independent man? If he lived, he was not Scipio Africanus the Great or Lucretius, but Nero the Wicked, or Domitian the Tyrant! Now they praised Virgil, who copied Homer and praised Caesar!

So was Caesar, the greatest and highest master, and when he lived, he was so great that he ruled a nation after his death. The nation idolized him, put him on a pedestal of greatness, but now, what was there?

So were the Romans, and they saw Caesar in the sky and wished to cross the sky and become him. It should have been impossible, for the sky was up there! Yet they were men who were not animals, and men who had nothing else to do but seek what was Ideal for them, and so they crossed the sky and held a great empire.

So were they, at the end of the journey! And now they looked in front of them, and Caesar was right there. Yet they refused to believe it! Thus spoke them, "How can that be Caesar? We are still hungry, and we are still unsatisfied. Was not Caesar good? Was not his form blessed and perfect in every way? Then either the Caesar here is false, or the true Caesar is a liar! We have reached him, yet he denies us the absolute salvation which we have come for. There is no meaning in Rome anymore, and there is still a longing in my soul to do, not to be. There is no heaven but the one that bores and drains one of energy, and the only true heaven were the steps to heaven."

So was Commodus, and he had no love for Caesar's kingdom, but loved his kingdom, and then there was Septimius Severus, who was a self-made man, and Diocletian and Aurelian and Constantine, all greats who were not Emperors and worshippers, but value-makers and warlords, and so then they looked at Rome, and all the Senators and generals looked at Rome, and they spoke of it, "There is Rome, rich with gold, whom we once saluted to. Now, there are kingdoms elsewhere that I shall found and make others salute me, and to do that, I shall take the gold of Rome." Thus was the collapse of Rome, and then the coming of the great and many nations, and with the collapse of Aristotelianism and the coming of the others who sought ought the good for themselves.