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...and Mrs...

...As a matter °f fact, the girls in question were not even slaves...

...and never found any evidence ^fe^ fiddling, and if he was, it was only to call the fire department...

...But I warned him that even in those days there were vipers and critics Most of the Roman emperors were men df spotless character and tremendous courage^ho built bridges to the first, sec third, and fourth centuries respectively—but you'd never know it to look at the Roman media...

...Now many of you may have read that the Emperor Caligula used the Praetorian Guarrt to procure slave girls whom he then dismembered and ate- I<d like to say straight out that these are very old charges which have been gone over again and again,and nobody has ever been able to prove any wrongdoing on the part of Caligula—or MrsCaitguthe" time, Mr...

...Caligula and their staff turned over nearly 4<000 scrolls of Imperial documents to investigators from the Roman Senate, and thon were er came up with any solid evidence...

...I hope all of you did the reading because the Roman Empire is a very important period in history...

...I remember that once when the lights came up after a screening ^ the movie there were tears in the Presidents eyes—this was during a tough time.in the presidency...

...The fact is, Rome never burned...

...News item The following is a transcript from the third session of the Columbia College class Western Civilization 101, led by professor G. StephanopoulosStephanopoulos: Good morning, class...

...If you go through the history books, ^ii'11 find many leaders are unfairly criticized by small-minded commentators- It happens over and over again...

...be making a brief opening statement and then I'll open up the class for qiie^UonEs...

...And anywaya if Rome burned why is the Coliseum still standing...

...Stuimit: Now, you say that the emperors had spotless character, but I once heard that the emperor Nero fiddled— Stephanopoulos: That story that Nero fiddled while Rome burned is a total lie- Nero's lawyers conducted a thorough investigator...

...The President looked at me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said< «I wish I had been president during the Roman Sipd...

...Student But surely somebody like Britcdn'ss Henry VIII— Stephanopoulos: In fact, Henry VIII had only one wife his entire life- to whom he was completely faithful...

...Transcript breaks off...

...It just a' hot day...

...They were members of the Romanocorps Program, a voluntaryservice project that recruited young people to do things like scrape the sweat off Thery consuls, and in exchange they were granted two years' tuition at Cicero U- Tirls was a provision in the law which granted their families a free villa if the girls allowed themselves to be eaten by the emperor, but it was strictly voluntaryIt saddens me to see a historian of the stature of Edward Gibbon allow himself troe be manipulated by operatives who have always been hostile to Caligula, and a^ out to destroy him because they have no positive agenda of their own- As you_dIired I hate to mention the fact that I once worked in the ^ite House and was consideec-the finest political mind of the age, but let me relate one little Washington_nvite dote- On nights when the First Lady was out of town, the President vro^ some of his top advisers down to the White House screening room, and we'd _ ^V**^ the movie Caligula, which the Presided feels is one of the masterworks in Bob Guccione oeuvre...