CUENTO

Claudius Rex

Perhaps she was 15 when we first met. She came to Rome with my young half-brother Maximus the year of the Greek Olympic Games.
My nephew had won a gold medal at the horse cart races. She was of course proud of her eldest brother and could not stop talking about his success. I was busy with affairs of state, but kept an eye on Selinet not because her striking beauty was attractive to me; rather, because she represented a security risk at the imperial palace and elsewhere. Exceedingly trusting, Soli as I used to call her, instantly gained the favor of the praetorian help. By experience I knew that two caring matrons would not be enough to keep her out of trouble.
She would come into my office and ask me to let her play with my maps. With her index finger pointing toward the map she used to say: ¨Uncle that´s Athens where my brother became an Olympic champion¨.. ¿Why did you not win at any Olympic game?

I tried to explain that my back´s forward bend is congenital. I was born that way. She would then insist that I let her see my back. Well Soli some of us were born to run and compete and others to watch the competition. Still others like me came here to build Stadiums. ¨Oh, that´s so boring¨ she would tell me, walking away without being dismissed.

After that I began to think that she was too good, too gentle for Rome. Then, I set out to find a better place for Soli. She already knew Greek, so she could easily learn Latin. That will honor Terencio, Séneca y Virgilio, my preferred teachers. I could provide for her education and try to replace her hedonistic tendencies with good memorization of poetry.

So, I talked to Soli about her new school in Switzerland. It is the best place money can buy, with the best teachers. There are mountains to hike, many lakes, flowers, animals in the wilderness. Besides there is music for quiet dreaming. You´ll study all winter and work summers. After a long pause, she replied: ¨Come on uncle Claudius, you know that´s boring also¨.
j. a, canto, MBA