so what have i learnt from reading all my roman historical novels? what are the three things i have learnt about life, based on readings on roman politics and military strategy:

1) Never underestimate your enemy, give due respect when waranted. Countless Roman generals and consuls have been overrun and hordes of roman lives have been lost thanks to the arrogance attributed to supposed patrician blood and disdain for "barbarians". Incidentally, the word "barbarian" comes from the Greek word "bárbaros", or "the sound foreigners make". The greeks originally used it to refer to all races of non-Greek origin; it later evolved into the rude sub-human, uncivilized definition we have today.
2) Information is everything. Not just information but information of information. Know your enemy, its strengths, its weaknesses, its strategies, its whims and fancies. Know your battlefield, know your own forces and resources, and know how to muster and motivate them. And know and control what your enemy knows.
3) Always have a backup. Never throw all your resources into a battle, always have fresh reserves.

i still remember what my roman history professor told us on the first day of class (and reiterated again and again, both explicitly, and implicitly via example and demonstration) .. Rome was not just a city with its temples and its senate, it was not just an empire. Rome was an idea, it was a vision, it was an ideal, a dream. A vision of a civilized world standing in the darkness that was the ancient world. And like all such human indulgences, the vision held and lasted long after the physical manifestations crumbled, be it to corruption or power struggles or external influences. And that's why it prevailed so long, long after the empire crumbled, long after the temples collapsed and the marble stolen, the idea of Rome still lived on in the minds of many. i think this is part of the answer of how Rome became what it was, it was loyalty and commitment not just to king or emperor, but to the vision of Rome that drove men.

Kings die. Dreams live on.

apparently F's brother hooked up with some hot girl and had a little something something at our version of boot camp. man i wanna go for that now, sounds like a real party