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"Unto Caesar"

by Emmuska Orczy Orczy (1865–1947)

  • Free to read
  • 7 hours to read
  • 37 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"Unto Caesar" by Baroness Emmuska Orczy is a historical novel written in the early 20th century. The story is set in ancient Rome, during the tumultuous reign of Emperor Caligula, and dives into themes of power, greed, and the human condition. The narrative opens with a dramatic backdrop of a public auction where the slaves of a disgraced censor are being sold, introducing readers to a spectrum of characters navigating the complexities of Roman society. The opening portion of the novel presents a vivid scene in the Forum where slaves, including artisans and laborers, are displayed for potential buyers. There is a significant focus on the auctioneer and the praefect, Taurus Antinor, who oversees the sales with an air of authority, juxtaposed against the desperate circumstances of the slaves. One poignant storyline emerges with the character of Nola, the daughter of freedwoman Menecreta, who yearns for freedom while facing the harsh realities of her position. The tension escalates when Dea Flavia, a noblewoman, enters the scene and seeks to bid for Nola, setting off a chain of events that lead to both unexpected compassion and devastating loss. The interplay of personal desires and societal structures weaves a complex emotional tapestry that engages the reader's empathy and curiosity.

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  • Historical fiction
  • Christian life
  • Rome
  • Caligula, Emperor of Rome, 12-41

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Chapter I

"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion...."—PSALM XLVIII. 2.

And it came to pass in Rome after the kalends of September, and when Caius Julius Cæsar Caligula ruled over Imperial Rome.

Arminius Quirinius, the censor, was dead. He had died by his own hand, and thus was a life of extortion and of fraud brought to an ignominious end through the force of public opinion, and by the decree of that same Cæsar who himself had largely benefited by the mal-practices of his minion.

Arminius Quirinius had committed every crime, sunk to every kind of degradation which an inordinate love of luxury and the insatiable desires of jaded senses had suggested as a means to satisfaction, until the treachery of his own accomplices had thrown the glaring light of publicity on a career of turpitude such as even these decadent times had seldom witnessed ere this.

Enough that the end had come at last. A denunciation from the rostrum, a discontented accomplice thirsting for revenge, an angry crowd eager to listen, and within an hour the mighty, much-feared censor was forced to flee from Rome to escape the fury of a populace which would have torn him to pieces, and was ready even to massacre his family and his womenfolk, his clients and his slaves.

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Contents

Show all 37 chapters
  1. Chapter I
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III: "Fairer than the children of men." — Psalm Xlv. 2
  4. Chapter IV: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." — Proverbs Xiii. 12
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." — Psalm Xiv. 1
  8. Chapter VIII
  9. Chapter IX
  10. Chapter X: "That the world through Him might be saved." — St. John Iii. 17
  11. Chapter XI
  12. Chapter XII
  13. Chapter XIII: "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" — St. John I. 46
  14. Chapter XIV
  15. Chapter XV
  16. Chapter XVI
  17. Chapter XVII: "Be thou faithful unto death." — Revelations Ii. 10
  18. Chapter XVIII
  19. Chapter XIX
  20. Chapter XX
  21. Chapter XXI
  22. Chapter XXII
  23. Chapter XXIII: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." — St. Matthew Xxv. 21
  24. Chapter XXIV: "The sorrows of death compassed me." — Psalm Xviii. 4
  25. Chapter XXV: "Watchman, what of the night?" — Isaiah Xxi. 11
  26. Chapter XXVI
  27. Chapter XXVII
  28. Chapter XXVIII
  29. Chapter XXIX
  30. Chapter XXX: "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way...." — St. Matthew Vii. 14
  31. Chapter XXXI
  32. Chapter XXXII
  33. Chapter XXXIII: "Come, take up the cross, and follow me." — St. Mark X. 21
  34. Chapter XXXIV: "Finally my brethren be strong." — Ephesians Vi. 10
  35. Chapter XXXV
  36. Chapter XXXVI
  37. Chapter XXIV was misnumbered as Chapter XXVI

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About this edition

This free edition of "Unto Caesar" by Emmuska Orczy Orczy comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #24789, released 2008-03-09. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Historical Novels.

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