The Lure of Parabolic History

The Lure of Parabolic History
Caesar At The Rubicon

We no longer know the exact course of the ancient Rubicon, let alone the exact spot where Julius Caesar crossed it. Yet, from then to now, “crossing the Rubicon” has been a cliché for passing the point of no return in an endeavor. In Caesar’s time, that river of destiny, flowing from the Apennines to the Adriatic, marked the physical boundary between Cisalpine Gaul, to its north, and Italy proper, to its south. It also marked the legal boundary across which a general could not bring his army without becoming, ipso facto, a criminal, a traitor, and an enemy of the state...