Praetors Lunch | Page 2

closeness of
blood relations.
Other lives about them are ambience to their drama
of life. All that the world holds enrich their learning. They have their
own company to increase their happiness. They help themselves and
with relish exhaust the time granted.

SIXTH MORSEL
Morning recedes.
Noon emerges.
Up on the bridge ,the cobbled passage below, the sun nigh. Breeze
blows mildly. Dries noon swelter dry. A column on the march .At the
outskirts of the garrison town, clatter of horses, armed men of war and
metal are accustomed sounds , familiar sights.
Javelins high , tips
glinting. Clear without scarlet stains of battle or rust of war. Chins up.
Feet in perfect stride. Sturdy steps in unison.
Bouncing blades ,
sheathed in their scabbards. Jangling armour as leather soles stamp the
stone tiled road.
Neighing mounts , tasselled reins, governed by their
masters, they gallop obediently. Shields glint. Their helmets of war
inject ferocity to their visages.
Meridian peaks.
Morn recedes.
The proud standard borne by its bearer. Beast?s paws knotted at his
chest. Beast?s maw agape from the top of his helmet till rear curvature
of his neck. Fangs in line with temples. His cohorts , the horn blowers
ride nearby. The visibility and density of dyed tufts discern common
soldier from centurion, centurion from officer.
Red cloaks clasped
and drape imperiously over backs of the empire?s officials. Saddled
snugly atop their mounts, towards destination ,advance. To the
horizon ,another outpost awaits them. Keeping their presence seen and
felt. Mere manoeuvres .Necessary routine.
Town square forums and
resthouses. Aqueducts and baths of villas. They must forego these
comforts. They are duty bound for now.
Daylight recedes.
Evening emerges.
SEVENTH MORSEL
Prosperity has many friends and many envious schemers who duck at
blind corners . Comrades and kin trumpet deeds . Generosity towards
common masses too gains favour .We?ll know it when the market place
speak of none but the doer . To detractors, motives are questioned
unflaggingly .
Any hint of misdemeanour or misstep , the forum
echoes with it with the zeal equalled only by the homecoming of a

victor crowned with honours except it?s ill distinction and not exalted
honour.
Whisperings at public baths , hastened steps towards or away
from the object of their speculation .
Some will speak well of them.
Some will be too distant to know them well enough to dislike or to be
fond of with conviction sprung from familiarity. Prosperity puts a
person on different plain yet this dagger is just as sharp on both sides
for the one is also vulnerable to the critical eye of scrutiny.
Doubts,
beliefs , suspicions and truths addled with syllables which make a name.
Common populace , will they choose to know the truth and live with
the measure of a human being or swallow myth and live with the flight
of legend ? That shall be determined by conduct , attainments ,
favourable circumstances and an orator?s persuasive logic.
EIGHTH MORSEL
Fear their leaders more than their faceless enemies . Guard the standard
as if it were one?s life .A source of pride to be defended. In all manner
of weather or even in peace
the play of battle fills the gap of idleness.

Hardened muscles are not to grow soft and feeble.
Barbaric tribes of east and west. Threats to outer reaches of reign.
There our garrisons cannot rest their tools . Craggy mountains and
treacherous forests are home to nomadic tribes which live to hunt and
plunder , wild like their wilderness dwellings.
They have neither
patience nor skill to cultivate the land. They are not of that ilk.
Cities and orderliness are strange to them. They are curiosities amongst
us .We are game in their company.
They see our numbers and
strength .They do not venture forth . An uneasy peace simply broken by
the party which is the first to charge , cry out and first to snatch their
arms out of their housing .
NINTH MORSEL
?Quot homines tot sententiae.?
So many people so many opinions.
The voice of the leader slices across the indiscernible chatter. All
persuading , nobly commanding . A clear voice brings with it a defined

course. The rest obey , they lack the chief?s possessions. ?Qualis Rex
talis grex?. Such is the leader , such is the people. One?s virtues are
taken note of .The most ardent admirers mold themselves to that
manner. What their leaders do and and do not. Whatever those
venerated say or withhold. There are imitators , emulators , travesty
smiths. Once in a while , one or a small band of them rise to remold
status quo. A wave is hatched and unleashed .It becomes an acceptable
convention. It is the manner of people that which is proven will be used
till the spring is parched or when something superior is offered and that
offering tickles their longing. Far