We are being tempted afresh to give our allegiance to men who wield great power and wealth in the hope that we will benefit ...

His prospects were bleak: Rome was dangerous, engulfed by civil war between power-hungry factions. One of these was led by his great-uncle, Julius Caesar. Then Augustus got a lucky break.

Born into an aristocratic family in around 100 BC, Julius Caesar grew up in dangerous times. Rome could not yet handle its own size and power. The nobility were widely discredited and order had ...