The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-04
THE CESAR-MANIA.
Essay ON Csligula by Professor Quidde Of
Munich. written After the Dismissal Of
bismarck by the Emperor william n.

| Caius Cesar. known by his military
nickname Caligula, Boots" was very
young when he came Unexpectedly into
power. The hope OF genera
ton had gone into the grave with Ger
man1cus.
The young Emperor was to his people
an unknown quantity. Reports of him
had been both favorable and unfavorable !:
they feared his heedlessness OF
| counsel. the temptation to misuse Of power
30 great, the working out of his imma-
| ture personality.
| They feared especially that the young
| Emperor might be controlled by the all
powerful Prmtorlan Guard. But 1t was the
other way round. The leading statesman
| seems quickly to have fallen into dis
favor; the Emperor himself took the
helm. An era Of reform seemed to have
| begun, the way to liberal thought to have
| been laid open.
The showing aside OF the Minister and
Pr@torian General Macro. by whom
| Caligula had been elevated to the throne,
seemed to promise fundamental reform
In the government Political life was to
| have new freedom, social life to be beneh-
Gently remodelled.
| But this suspicious beginning was
quickly clouded by the Emperors grow
ing lust for power. and especially the hot
desire for a shining place In world his
tory, to hand down to posterlty a great
| name. The chief characteristic OF his
| rule was restless. nervous haste, rush
| ing from one interest to another. impul-
sive and impatient OF restraint. and OBJ
stinately set upon doing everything IT.
The repression OF the Minister with
whom Caligula replaced the statesman he
| had removed was not due to personal
| antipathy, but was the expression OF the
| Emperor's individual character: he could
| tolerate no possible rival he would be
fxl Miniatnr A,l tA.
| Imperial mania the kaiser adness sss
This Is the product OF moral degenera-
| ton In rulers, the sense OF seemingly lin
| itless power wipng out the boundary lines
OF decent moderation. the theoretical
grounding OF power in a divine right an
lmplous perversion. Homage paid by all
about nourishes the deluslon OF "A status
superior to all mankind. Not
merely court circles. but at last the mass
OF the people become corrupted by this
insidious deluslon. lese majesty figures in
the law books--and 1t IL wonder II an
absolute monarch preserves soundness OF
sense.
The picture OF kaiser madness that
CaUgula affords Is perfectly typical His
first manifestation Of true insanity came
after severe Illness, but this
Illness was only the apparent cause. the
real cause lay deeper. He was
erratic and extravagant, spending great
sums on festivals banquets and gifts
clothing. luxurious furnishings for palace
and villa. royal yachts and senseless
building projects. bridges. aqueducts
canals. And along with this passion for
building went an equal passion for tear
Ing down. What he built had the stamp
Of the bizarre the more impossible II
was. the uglier Its effect" the better IL
pleased him.
Now, a military mania he will lead his
army over the Rhine-fantastic mannu-
a m hos cold a
Germans paraded as captives. Again.
fantastic resolve TO rule the seas
In the manpuvrcs and sham battles with
triumphant professions there is "A touch
OF the comic quite in keeping with the
pathology OF the Cesar mania.
lie would shine in public speaking and
had a certain talent. He delighted in the
coryphees Of literature. and had the clas-
sic authors excluded from the libraries
AS such rulers delight in making every
one feel and fear their power. nothing
displeases them much as to discover
that 1t has limits. Caligula re-
warded with hate those who gained power
or who rendered him distinguished SER
vice. He humbled the great by
exaltinG their interiors in tho civil SER
vice and the army, Jurisprudence and
the jurists he discredited
Over the masses Of the people Caligula
believed himself TO be enthroned in such
majesty as is Gods. 1t is the custom of
such princes TO believe In their own right.
10 think they have a special mission. to
oeilrVe they stand In a special relation
toward God--and to claim for themselves
i."se as appertalns 10 the DEITY.
Csligul, olair,ad dI,,,rt,, v ~, ~. tna'
unmasked INSANITY Of empIre '''''P'''
In his youth he associated with an
gurs and priests. he loved 20 masquerade
in the form OF god Minds
SICK Win such fancies lose the faculty of
u,s',rsuis"eu realty rom make believe
sc,nai onr ,hev nn,,aa otntr man their
Identity with ~ the Fol- ,ho ~ Inc, tmelr
and expect others TO adopt the iiusion
The kaiser-manla is not complete until
'in'y'