poem the sophomore romans the sophomore says what is truth and turns to bask in the admiration of his peers how modern how daring how liberating how modern how daring how liberating they chant the sophomore being american doesn t know that his question modern skeptical cynical was asked before by a modern skeptical cynical urbane cosmopolitan politician appointed not elected who happened to live two thousand years ago like many politicians he cared less about ideals than results less about ends than means less about anything than keeping his job and his head we might call him a bit brutal though firm would be kinder and no doubt stalin who let nobody go laughed at his laxness he didn t like his job perhaps he no longer hoped for better nor feared worse except regarding his head and when these wily jews with their heads i win tails you lose conundrums brought forth their madman his first impulse was to play the roman i find nothing wrong with him see to it yourselves but when they mentioned king and caesar his heart froze if he killed their madman he d start a riot and lose his job and his head if he saved the king of the jews he d piss off caesar and lose his job and his head and when his wife told him to have nothing to do with the righteous lout she didn t tell him anything he hadn t already figured out so he punted not my jurisdiction take him to see herod who just happened to be in town herod appreciated the courtesy but wasn t worried and sent the sharp tongued fool who suddenly didn t have much to say funny how people lose it under pressure back in the attire proper to his royal state his ass is covered if herod has no problem caesar certainly won t the fool can be king of whatever world he wants as long as it s not caesar s i m letting him go he said with a shout looks like he ll last this one out the crowd s reaction puzzled him they really wanted him dead they didn t want the king of the jews they wanted barabbas instead and as josephus records they got him oh well he thought they all look the same to me and we ll get barabbas next time and if i can get them to say we have no king but caesar by killing a madman hell i ll kill ten a day and then pilate had his fun a little joke short to the point trilingual and all this went as it always does when someone gets caught in the gears of government and there s a scientific explanation no doubt for the superstitious rumors persisting to this day that it didn t all end with a tomb and a roman squadron on guard our sophomore doesn t know about this he doesn t recognize his kindred spirit or truth either as he admits i guess we haven t learned much in two thousand years fred gilham gilham csl sri com peace is only better than war when it s not hell too war being hell makes sense walker percy the second coming
