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Article: The colossi who battled to rule Rome; Bloody decline, fall of republic.(BOOKS)(ON BOOKS)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- March 28, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Amanda Kolson Hurley, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
In Shakespeare's tragedy "Titus Andronicus," the play's fictional hero - Rome's greatest general, a nobleman and a patriot - suffers his first of many misfortunes when two of his sons are unjustly condemned to execution. Although he tearfully intercedes on their behalf, it is to no avail. A third son, Lucius, proposes to rescue his brothers by force, but the embittered Titus retorts:
Why, foolish Lucius, dost thou not perceive
That Rome is but a wilderness of tigers?
Tigers must prey, and Rome affords no prey
But me and mine.
For Titus, who has spent much of his life ...