KNOWLEDGE OF SELF

Before the small village of Rome became "Rome"
With a capital R
A brilliant civilization once controlled almost the entire peninsula
We now call Italy this was the Etruscan civilization
A vanished culture whose achievements set the stage
Not only for the development of ancient Roman art
And culture
But for the Italian Renaissance as well

Optimism is discredited not so much
And certainly not only because its tenets
Are shown to be implausible
In the light of the evidence
But essentially because it is a system
As such it is as inhuman
And as dangerous as all the other systems
Which are ruthlessly satirized in history
The military system
The church system
The educational system
The colonial system
The economic models
Political establishments
And indeed the system of logic itself

Mr. Parker say it again? Mr Parker
The man sitting over there is compiling many accusations
You look me in the eye and on your life
You answer me truthfully have you any other name?
Solomon Northup is my name
Sheriff what's all this?
Its official business

The picture is not unrelievedly bleak
There may be some grounds for optimism
First human beings may be admirable
For their will to survive
And their refusal to commit philosophical suicide
Etruscan influence on ancient Roman culture was profound
And it was from the Etruscans
That the Romans inherited many of their own cultural
And artistic traditions
From the spectacle of gladiatorial combat
To hydraulic engineering temple design
And religious ritual
Among many other things

My nigga my business your business waits
Tell me of your family I have a wife two children
What the hell?
What are your children's names? Margaret and Alonzo
What's your wife's name before her marriage?
Anne Hampton I am who I say
Where you going? Didn't authorize you to invade my property
You come back here you come back here boy

Mundanes no longer listen to fairytales
The cause is still the same an interfering church
That thinks it has a monopoly on virtue and truth
A breach in superterrestrial law
People heard these marvelous tales
They believed thrived and built dynasties on them

You will unhand him that is my nigga
He is Mr Solomon Northup
You come here in front of me with claims
Got no doubts the man is Solomon Northup
The hell he is he is my nigga and I'll fight you for him
As is your right as it will be my pleasure
To bankrupt you in the courts
Your decision? Unhand him
I'm gonna get to the bottom of this I paid good money for this nigga
Courthouse got papers to prove it
And we got papers to prove that he's real
I own you you belong to me do you hear me?
Unhand him get you back by sundown