" But the day of the dictator is almost upon us again, not the dictator of old, but the dictator who wishes illimitable power, prolonged power, over Rome. Rome is not what once she was. We are fast approaching the day when Rome will not be swayed by the temperate middle-class but by the rich, who will preside over whining and bottomless bellies, and slaves. Each serves the other, satisfies the other’s appetite, in an evil symbiosis. For the rabble’s votes the powerful man will betray Rome. "

― Taylor Caldwell , A Pillar of Iron