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Dark Times?
Feb. 10th, 2026 08:56 am They say (Suetonius says) that the Emperor Tiberius had his own Epstein island. It was called Capri.
There are those who have thought, "No that can't be true. No-one could be as depraved as Suetonius makes out". Among them was the doctor/writer Axel Munthe- who had a home on Capri and wrote a sort of autobiography called The Story of San Michele- which happens to be a favourite book of mine. He presents Tiberius as a philosopher king, too good for the dirty world of politics, who took to his island to think deep thoughts. When I was a kid there was a TV show called The Caesars, later eclipsed by I Claudius, which took the same line. Tiberius was played by Andre Morrell- now best known for his roles in Hammer horrors- and I still fondly remember the aura of kindliness and wisdom he gave off.
But now- after Epstein- what reason can we have for doubting Suetonius? People with unfettered power- emperors and suchlike canaille- will and do behave atrociously. And it serves nobody to be in denial.
Another example from history: In the 15th century there was a French nobleman called Gilles de Rais, who rode with Joan of Arc then retired to his castles in Brittany and- well- never mind. He got caught and made an example of, perhaps because he wasn't quite rich and powerful enough to deter the law. Or perhaps because he was an outlier- and not part of an organisation or brotherhood that knew how to protect its own.
It's become a cliche to say we live in dark times. No we don't. This is the end of the dark times. Light is being beamed into the secret places. And we need to pay attention and say "Enough!"
There are those who have thought, "No that can't be true. No-one could be as depraved as Suetonius makes out". Among them was the doctor/writer Axel Munthe- who had a home on Capri and wrote a sort of autobiography called The Story of San Michele- which happens to be a favourite book of mine. He presents Tiberius as a philosopher king, too good for the dirty world of politics, who took to his island to think deep thoughts. When I was a kid there was a TV show called The Caesars, later eclipsed by I Claudius, which took the same line. Tiberius was played by Andre Morrell- now best known for his roles in Hammer horrors- and I still fondly remember the aura of kindliness and wisdom he gave off.
But now- after Epstein- what reason can we have for doubting Suetonius? People with unfettered power- emperors and suchlike canaille- will and do behave atrociously. And it serves nobody to be in denial.
Another example from history: In the 15th century there was a French nobleman called Gilles de Rais, who rode with Joan of Arc then retired to his castles in Brittany and- well- never mind. He got caught and made an example of, perhaps because he wasn't quite rich and powerful enough to deter the law. Or perhaps because he was an outlier- and not part of an organisation or brotherhood that knew how to protect its own.
It's become a cliche to say we live in dark times. No we don't. This is the end of the dark times. Light is being beamed into the secret places. And we need to pay attention and say "Enough!"
