Heraklia loathes Sulla.

Doesn't that sound almost like grafitti from a Roman urinal?

Here's another one: Save Sullan exiles ... win valuable prizes! (Okay, it's true. I stole that line from Jerry Della Femina, the legendary ad guy who also would have made a great Roman.)

Seriously, though, it is time to reconsider Sulla. And Sertorius.

For it is true as Heraklia says that many of the keys to unlocking understanding of the final years of the Republic are hidden in the time of Sulla's rivalry with Marius.

I actually prefer Sulla to Ceasar, but not because I always oppose Heraklia. She and I actually prefer the same vintage of wine.

So, here is a stimulating question that we might ask about both Caesar and Sulla ...

Had Sulla had the same four decades to oversee his reforms that Augustus had, might the Republic have survived?