Imperium, the Latin word for the power to command is a suitable title for this book. Reading it, I looked for clues on whether 'absolute power', as we understand it, corrupts. Imperium is the fictional account of Cicero as told by his secretary and slave Tiro and gives the reader an interesting view on the intrigues in the corridors of power in the great ancient Roman days. Although, being fictional, it has not subjected to the same rigour as would a true historical account and provides space for some sanitising on the life of Cicero. What is not debatable is that most of the characters in the book lived in those BC days and most of the events did take place. The book is an extremely easy read and I would advice it for any person who wants to dabble in politics or power of sorts.
As usual, I bought the book as I idled at Heathrow awaiting a flight and I was not disappointed. It made me nostalgic of the good old days in my history class and I couldn't help but juxtapose the intrigues in the corridors of power in ancient Rome with power as it is practiced today. I noted many similarities both at organisational, country and world level which reminded me that human nature doesn't really change much even as civilisations come and go. I recall a learning session, I once attended where we were so boldly informed that the work place - even churches - of all shapes and sizes are power games and one must be politically savvy to survive. I wished I had lived in ancient Rome (as a RoMAN!) as life seemed quite exciting...If one was a man. The feminists of this day and age may be enraged by the fact that women have been short changed in the book as the book is so devoid of women of any import...but I guess that was the order of the day.
I asked my two teenagers to read Imperium and they were both awed which surprised me, as we often do not meet eye to eye on what constitutes a good book. My saving grace was that my son loves History and my daughter wants to read Law. My daughter is in that idealistic stage that all youngsters go through where she swears that her wit would only be used to advance the cause of the downtrodden. However, I cautioned her not to be too narrow minded and that, like Cicero, she may be called upon to prosecute the innocent, defend the guilty (after all the whole basis of law is that everyone must have a good defence) or even hold the power over the guilty. She may, in the course of her life, have to make deals with unsavoury people and take positions that may be against 'her own conscience' for the greater good. Although my interest in law is peripheral - given my father's oft quoted saying that 'lawyers were thieves' - I, nonetheless, have strong views that one had better be a realist and an all rounded lawyer is one who is able to defend the indefensible, prosecute, sit in judgement and perhaps aid and abet as a juror. Unfortunately, my daughter, like Lucius, presupposes that law, and the politics that goes with it, is a fight for justice whereas to the realist, like Cicero - it is simply a profession.
Mr Harris transports me, without much ado, to the years before Christ both in his expressions and in the history that he covers in the book in a manner that is not threatening. He leaves me with many a lesson in politics and in human & personal relationships. I found myself entranced and highlighting passages to quote on a rainy day when in need of something witty to say. As I am neither a student of history nor politics, I did not concentrate on the factual accuracy of the book, although I couldn't resist researching on some of the events of the day. I am sure many a historian would call into question Harris' depiction of Cicero and the happenings of the time but I was more interested in the substance than the form. As I read into the wee hours of the morning, I was quite enthralled by the apparent similarities with life as it is now and took a liking to all things Cicero. I could not help musing what posterity will write about our day and age. Will the "war against terror" be deemed an enhanced figment of a politician's imagination even as the pirates menace was assumed to be a creation of Pompeii in his desire for purpose and sole command? As posterity ponders the plundering of resources and the scramble for Africa and other continents, will they opine that robbery and exploitation have always been the handmaids of civilisation and that nations did not acquire wealth without knowing how to drive a hard bargain? When posterity analyses the Arab Spring or the Impact of the Cold War on resource rich nation states, will they conclude that, after all, domination at home was maintained or perpetuated by the proceeds of extortion abroad?
I learnt much from the wisdom that so easily explained family and human relationships. The Cicero brothers, Pomponia & Quintus, Cicero & Terentia, Cicero & his slave Tiro, Caelius & his father and the myriad relationships that commingled with politics through out the book. Oh! How so similar to the relationships in our day and age. My best passage was 'that in a sphere of human activity in which friendships are transitory and alliances made to be broken, the knowledge that another man's name is forever linked to yours, however the fates may play, must be a powerful source of strength. The relationship between the Ciceros, like that of most brothers, I expect was a complicated mixture of fondness and resentment, jealousy and loyalty...' This sole paragraph has helped me appreciate the relationships between my siblings & I. I must confess that I couldn't resist quoting Tiro's explanation of Cicero & Terentia to a friend this very evening, that when two people have an argument, more often than not the argument is not about the subject matter they are quarrelling about but another subject matter all together.
My mother would love this book. I am tempted to buy her a copy for Christmas as I am certain Imperium will remind her of her hey days in the political circles of the Mumias constituency campaigns and the impact that politics had on herself, her family and her children. She may be surprised to learn that politics and the pursuit of elected office...no matter the time and place...has many constants.
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