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It is said that Julius Caesar borrowed so much money to become elected pontifex maximus that he essentially forced his creditors to support his political ambiti

by NeoTar 2y ago

It is said that Julius Caesar borrowed so much money to become elected pontifex maximus that he essentially forced his creditors to support his political ambitions in the hope of seeing some payment on the debts. So, essentially, ‘twas ever so.

EGreg 2y ago
Indeed. Shill your own bag. Saw it with Bitcoin too. And every company VCs invest in and the public invests in through wall street. “Too big to fail”.
moffkalast 2y ago
That man really had the gaul to do anything.
duxup 2y ago
I suspect even just loaning powerful people money at that time was effectively being on them / a political act in the first place. Less so that it built up over time and surprised anyone.
- elmomle 2y ago
  This is true to some extent, but his debtors had a strong interest in Julius Caesar's continued success--which means that even if his later actions were ones that the debtors would not have supported originally, their wagons had been hitched to his and they had a very strong incentive to support him.
notahacker 2y ago
And for a slight twist on the same theme, MMM Ponzi schemer Sergei Mavrodi, who had no political ambition whatsoever, ran for the State Duma (which granted him immunity from prosecution: the only issue he turned up to vote on) after his scheme collapsed and was voted in by thousands of people whose only hope of seeing the savings he'd conned them out of again rested on trusting his promises to sort everything out
mongol 2y ago
I wonder if Pontifex Maximus is the oldest title still in use.
- tourmalinetaco 2y ago
  Depending on your viewpoint and what “counts”, king is probably the oldest in a loose non-specific way. Though this did lead me down a rabbit hope where I found an interesting bit of trivia. The Akkadian word for king, “šar”, is suspiciously close to the Slavic word for monarch, “tsar”. I can’t find any concrete evidence of a connection, but hey, it’s fun to ponder whether it’s coincidental or not.
  - arethuza 2y ago
    Isn't "tsar" derived from "Caesar" which was originally just someone's name?
  - bee_rider 2y ago
    I thought tsar was derived from Caesar? (Or is that just a folk etymology?)
  - arrosenberg 2y ago
    There is no connection. Tsar and Kaiser are both derived from the name Caesar, which became a royal title (along with Augustus) in the 300s under Diocletian.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - jihadjihad 2y ago
    Doesn't seem related--looks like šar is Semitic in origin [0] while tsar comes to the language by way of Caesar [1]. 0: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C5%A1arrum#Akkadian https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C5%A1arrum#Akkadian 1: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tsar#Etymology https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tsar#Etymology
  - mlfreeman 2y ago
xyst 2y ago
Too indebted to fail
- pomtato 2y ago
  hahaha gave me a chuckle.
jonathanyc 2y ago
While studying anthropology I briefly heard about the theory that in monarchies the support of the nobility should be conceived of as an investment. It really stuck with me.

by NeoTar 2y ago

EGreg 2y ago

Indeed. Shill your own bag. Saw it with Bitcoin too. And every company VCs invest in and the public invests in through wall street. “Too big to fail”.

moffkalast 2y ago

That man really had the gaul to do anything.

duxup 2y ago

I suspect even just loaning powerful people money at that time was effectively being on them / a political act in the first place. Less so that it built up over time and surprised anyone.

elmomle 2y ago
This is true to some extent, but his debtors had a strong interest in Julius Caesar's continued success--which means that even if his later actions were ones that the debtors would not have supported originally, their wagons had been hitched to his and they had a very strong incentive to support him.

notahacker 2y ago

And for a slight twist on the same theme, MMM Ponzi schemer Sergei Mavrodi, who had no political ambition whatsoever, ran for the State Duma (which granted him immunity from prosecution: the only issue he turned up to vote on) after his scheme collapsed and was voted in by thousands of people whose only hope of seeing the savings he'd conned them out of again rested on trusting his promises to sort everything out

mongol 2y ago

I wonder if Pontifex Maximus is the oldest title still in use.

tourmalinetaco 2y ago
Depending on your viewpoint and what “counts”, king is probably the oldest in a loose non-specific way. Though this did lead me down a rabbit hope where I found an interesting bit of trivia. The Akkadian word for king, “šar”, is suspiciously close to the Slavic word for monarch, “tsar”. I can’t find any concrete evidence of a connection, but hey, it’s fun to ponder whether it’s coincidental or not.
- arethuza 2y ago
  Isn't "tsar" derived from "Caesar" which was originally just someone's name?
- bee_rider 2y ago
  I thought tsar was derived from Caesar? (Or is that just a folk etymology?)
- arrosenberg 2y ago
  There is no connection. Tsar and Kaiser are both derived from the name Caesar, which became a royal title (along with Augustus) in the 300s under Diocletian.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- jihadjihad 2y ago
  Doesn't seem related--looks like šar is Semitic in origin [0] while tsar comes to the language by way of Caesar [1]. 0: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C5%A1arrum#Akkadian https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C5%A1arrum#Akkadian 1: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tsar#Etymology https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tsar#Etymology
- mlfreeman 2y ago

xyst 2y ago

Too indebted to fail

pomtato 2y ago
hahaha gave me a chuckle.

jonathanyc 2y ago

While studying anthropology I briefly heard about the theory that in monarchies the support of the nobility should be conceived of as an investment. It really stuck with me.