A Parable : By Comparison

One Roman Senator Odious Surpluss represented the Patrician class and served for one term. He loved the idea of holding power and privilege that came with his office. When Caesar fell he wanted to fill in the role of great Caesar. He harangued at the forum, same forum where Marcus Antonious urged the mob to take vengeance on his assassins,and he cited all that he could do if power were given to him. He promised bushels of grains treble the quota given to the citizens and lands for veterans who came from their service. Hoi Polloi received it all with cheer and applause. However some were raking up his past and there were quite a few unsavory details. Rumors of his greed went around the city. One evening at one house the clique that supported Octavian asked him to speak for himself. “Did you not grab the land earmarked for the veterans who came from the Gauls?”
Senator Odious slightly went pale but he defended saying, “I can bring witnesses who came from Spain and Germany”. He rolled out names of veterans from expeditions to these regions. Octavian who had silently heard these till then, laughed and Senator Odious shuddered. Octavian said,”If we ask what you were doing up North we do not want to hear what you were not doing in the West or East.”
This reminds me of a President hopeful lately trying to prove he is the most humane and compassionate man ever applied for the office.
benny

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