Old Timey Humor and Wisdom
Vespasian had a reputation for wit and amiability. As emperor, he seldom stood on ceremony, but cultivated a blunt and even coarse mannerism, and was given to forthright speech. He never forgot his origins, and resisted the temptation to put on airs to which most Roman emperors succumbed. One of his schemes to raise revenue involved a tax on public urinals, which was widely ridiculed. His son and designated heir took him to task for that, and argued that it was beneath imperial dignity to collect revenue from bodily excreta.
In response, Vespasian held a coin beneath his son’s nose, and asked whether he could smell any urine. He concluded the lesson with the statement: “money does not smell” – which became a Latin proverb. Vespasian’s final words were in line with his character. Ever since Julius Caesar, who was declared a god after his assassination, Roman emperors who passed in good repute were deified after life. When he was on death’s door in 79 AD, Vespasian, in a final illustration of a lifelong penchant to not take himself too seriously, joked just before he drew his last breath: “dear me, I think I am becoming a god“.
