I WONDER —

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 6 November 1926, Page 18

I WONDER

What do we mean by crossing the Rubicon? The Rubicon is a small Italian river runing- into the Adriatic Sea sixty miles from the town of Rimini. At the time of Sulla, the famous Roman dictator, the short course of the Rubicon traced the frontier between the Roman province of Umbria and Cisalpine Gaul. Wishing to be guarded against renewed incursions, the Roman iSenate had decreed that anyone crossing, over the' river with armed men would be regarded as a foe to the Republic. In 49 8.C., Julius Caesar happened to be in Cisalpine Gaul with some legions when he heard of the intrigues Pompey was brewing against him in Rome. Caesar made up his mind to revenge hilnself, and, gathering his legions, marched towards Rome. The Rubicon lay on bis way. To pass beyond was to wage war against the (Republic of Rome. Caesar stopped, hesitating for a few minutes on the bank of the riverff; but at last he shouted: Alea jacta est! (The die is east), and ordered his troops to cross over. Since that day' the expression “to cross the Rubicon” has been applied to - all decisive, irrevocable resolves that do not permit of drawing back, whatever the consequences. Next Week’s Wonder Query: What Makes the Colours of the Sunset?