Praetors Lunch | Page 2

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 easier to remain constant than alter a course. Given the disposition toward ease , the well trodden tempts .Yet heed well that it is the passage of tribulation where the coronet of glory and honour