Hurry And Scurry

It was a Roman custom for conquering generals to be treated with unimaginable respect. They returned from the front to find the entire capital turned out in a mega-celebration that must have resembled something like New Year’s Eve in Times Square.

Yet, a few Roman traditions bear witness to a practice that was meant to temper some of the pomp and circumstance. A hired man, sometimes a slave, was included in the conqueror’s procession. He ran along beside the general’s chariot and would periodically whisper in the conqueror’s ear, memento mori: “Remember your death.”

Those whispered words were intended to ring louder than all the cheers of victory. And without a doubt they rang truer; for all accomplishment eventually fades, even the accomplishments of conquering demigods. But these words were also meant to motivate. In life, short as it is, one cannot bask in the celebrations of the past…