Roman Thesis

“There is a final speech by Flavius before he disappears forever from the play and from history. His legacy, in some sense. It starts with an order to Marullus. He asks him to go to the Capitol and, on his way, to strip the statues of the ornaments that celebrate the triumph of Julius Caesar. Marullus, with sudden prudence, asks him: ‘May we do so? You know it is the feast of Lupercal.’ His fear is justified. There is a political and religious prohibition against vandalising the images of Rome. Nonetheless, Flavius responds: ‘It is no matter.’ His terror of Julius is so great that he no longer fears the gods. He will finish his lines with an ornithological metaphor. ‘These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing will make him fly an ordinary pitch, who else would soar above the view of men and keep us all in servile fearfulness,’ he’ll say. But before that, before pronouncing his final word, he leaves a promise and an entreaty: ‘I’ll about and drive away the vulgar from the streets; So do you too, where you perceive them thick.’

“Why does Flavius hate Caesar so much? Or does he hate the vulgar? What if Rome’s only options were ominous plutocracy and centripetal tyranny? Would you, young Himalayan actor, welcome with cheers the arrival of the barbarian hordes, the sack and robbery?”