Acme, Ltd The general manager of the manufacturing division of Acme, Ltd is preparing for an upcoming P&L meeting with her boss and representatives from corporate accounting. She begins by reviewing the date she has collected. Category Last year This Year Sales 25,000,000 30,000,000 CPGS 21,250,000 25,500,000 S,G & A 2,000,000 2,400,000 Net Profit 1,750,000 2,100,000 Prices for the company’s products and cost have remained relatively constant for the past year. As she digs a little deeper, she became concerned about rising quality costs. Total COQ last year was 3,187,500. This year is has gone up to 3,825,000-a 637,500 increase. She is certain that the accountants will see this as an unreasonable increase in quality cost. She is concerned about the best way to present the COQ figures at the meeting to show the true picture. How do you interpret this increase and what advice would you offer her about the best way to present the information? THE LIFE OF ANTONINUS HELIOGABALUS by Aelius Lampridius Translated by David Magie, Ph. D. I. The life of Elagabalus Antoninus, also called Varius, I should never have put in writing, -- hoping that it might not be known that he was emperor of the Romans --, were it not that before him this same imperial office had had a Caligula, a Nero, and a Vitellius. But, just as the selfsame earth bears not only poisons but also grains and other helpful things, not only serpents but flocks as well, so the thoughtful reader may find himself some consolation for these monstrous tyrants by reading of Augustus, Trajan, Vespasian, Hadrian, Pius, Titus and Marcus. At the same time, he will learn of the Romans' discernment, in that these last ruled long and died by natural deaths, whereas the former were murdered, dragged through the streets, officially called tyrants, and no man wishes to mention even their names. II. He was wholly under the control of his mother, Symiamira, although she lived like a harlot and practised all manner of lewdness in the palace. For that matter, her amour with Antoninus Caracalla was so notorious that Varius, or rather Elagabalus, was commonly supposed to be his son. The name Varius, some say, was given him by his school-fellows because he seemed to be sprung from the seed of "various" men, as would be the case with the son of a harlot. . . III. . . .As soon as he entered the city, however, neglecting all the affairs of the provinces, he established Elagabalus as a god on the Palatine Hill close to the imperial palace; and he built him a temple, to which he desired to transfer the emblem of the Great Mother, the fire of Vesta, the Palladium, the shields of the Salii, and all that the Romans held sacred, purposing that no god might be worshipped at Rome save only Elagabalus. He declared, furthermore, that the religions of the Jews and the Samaritans and the rites of the Christians must also be transferred to this place, in order that the priesthood of Elagabalus migh.

1. Acme, Ltd
The general manager of the manufacturing division of Acme,
Ltd is preparing for an upcoming P&L meeting with her boss
and representatives from corporate accounting. She begins by
reviewing the date she has collected.
Category Last year This Year
Sales 25,000,000 30,000,000
CPGS 21,250,000 25,500,000
S,G & A 2,000,000 2,400,000
Net Profit 1,750,000 2,100,000
Prices for the company’s products and cost have remained
relatively constant for the past year.
As she digs a little deeper, she became concerned about rising
quality costs. Total COQ last year was 3,187,500. This year is
has gone up to 3,825,000-a 637,500 increase. She is certain that
the accountants will see this as an unreasonable increase in
quality cost. She is concerned about the best way to present the
COQ figures at the meeting to show the true picture. How do
you interpret this increase and what advice would you offer her
about the best way to present the information?
THE LIFE OF ANTONINUS HELIOGABALUS
by Aelius Lampridius
Translated by David Magie, Ph. D.
I. The life of Elagabalus Antoninus, also called Varius, I should
never have put in writing, -- hoping that it might not be known
that he was emperor of the Romans --, were it not that before
him this same imperial office had had a Caligula, a Nero, and a
Vitellius. But, just as the selfsame earth bears not only poisons
but also grains and other helpful things, not only serpents but

2. flocks as well, so the thoughtful reader may find himself some
consolation for these monstrous tyrants by reading of Augustus,
Trajan, Vespasian, Hadrian, Pius, Titus and Marcus. At the
same time, he will learn of the Romans' discernment, in that
these last ruled long and died by natural deaths, whereas the
former were murdered, dragged through the streets, officially
called tyrants, and no man wishes to mention even their names.
II. He was wholly under the control of his mother, Symiamira,
although she lived like a harlot and practised all manner of
lewdness in the palace. For that matter, her amour with
Antoninus Caracalla was so notorious that Varius, or rather
Elagabalus, was commonly supposed to be his son. The name
Varius, some say, was given him by his school-fellows because
he seemed to be sprung from the seed of "various" men, as
would be the case with the son of a harlot. . .
III. . . .As soon as he entered the city, however, neglecting all
the affairs of the provinces, he established Elagabalus as a god
on the Palatine Hill close to the imperial palace; and he built
him a temple, to which he desired to transfer the emblem of the
Great Mother, the fire of Vesta, the Palladium, the shields of
the Salii, and all that the Romans held sacred, purposing that no
god might be worshipped at Rome save only Elagabalus. He
declared, furthermore, that the religions of the Jews and the
Samaritans and the rites of the Christians must also be
transferred to this place, in order that the priesthood of
Elagabalus might include the mysteries of every form of
worship. . .
VI. He took money for honours and distinctions and positions of
power, selling them in person or through his slaves and those
who served his lusts. He made appointments to the senate
without regard to age, property, or rank, and solely at the price
of money, and he sold the positions of captain and tribune,
legate and general, likewise procuratorships and posts in the
Palace. . .

3. He violated the chastity of a Vestal Virgin, and by removing the
holy shrines he profaned the sacred rites of the Roman nation.
He also desired to extinguish the everlasting fire. In fact, it was
his desire to abolish not only the religious ceremonies of the
Romans but also those of the whole world, his one wish being
that the god Elagabalus should be worshipped everywhere. . .
X. As for the soldiers, they could not endure to have such a pest
clothed with the name of emperor. . .
XI. He made his freedmen governors and legates, consuls and
generals, and he brought disgrace on all offices of distinction
by the appointment of base-born profligates. . .
XII. As prefect of the guard he appointed a dancer who had
been on the stage at Rome, as prefect of the watch a chariot-
driver named Cordius, and as prefect of the grain-supply a
barber named Claudius, and to the other posts of distinction he
advanced men whose sole recommendation was the enormous
size of their privates. . .
XV. In the Camp, on the other hand, the soldiers replied to the
entreaties of the prefect that they would spare Elagabalus' life
on the condition that he would send away all his filthy
creatures, his chariot-drivers, and his actors, and return to a
decent mode of living, dismissing particularly those who, to the
general sorrow, possessed the greatest influence over him and
sold all his decisions, actual or pretended. He did, finally,
dismiss Hierocles, Cordius, and Mirissimus and two other base
favourites who were making him even more of a fool than he
was naturally. The soldiers, furthermore, charged the prefects
not to permit him to continue longer his present mode of living.
. .
XVI. . . .The soldiers, however, and particularly the members of
the guard, either because they knew what evils were in store for
Elagabalus, or because they foresaw his hatred for themselves,

4. formed a conspiracy to set the state free. . .
XVII. Next they fell upon Elagabalus himself and slew him in a
latrine in which he had taken refuge. Then his body was dragged
through the streets, and the soldiers further insulted it by
thrusting it into a sewer. But since the sewer chanced to be too
small to admit the corpse, they attached a weight to it to keep it
from floating, and hurled it from the Aemilian Bridge into the
Tiber, in order that it might never be buried. The body was also
dragged around the Circus before it was thrown into the Tiber. .
.
This befell him as the result of the general hatred of all, against
which particularly emperors must be on their guard, since those
who do not win the love of the senate, the people, and the
soldiers do not win the right of burial. . .
Concerning his life many filthy anecdotes have been put in
writing, but since they are not worthy of being recorded, I have
thought I ought to relate only such deeds as illustrate his
extravagance. Some of these, it is said, were done before he
ascended the throne, others after he was made emperor. . .
XX. He often showed contempt for the senate, calling them
slaves in togas, while he treated the Roman people as the tiller
of a single farm and the equestrian order as nothing at all. . .
XXXIII. He invented certain new kinds of vice, even going
beyond the perverts used by the debauchees of old, and he was
well acquainted with all the arrangements of Tiberius, Caligula,
and Nero.
The prophecy had been made to him by some Syrian priests that
he would die a violent death. And so he had prepared cords
entwined with purple and scarlet silk, in order that, if need
arose, he could put an end to his life by the noose. He had gold
swords, too, in readiness, with which to stab himself, should
any violence impend. He also had poisons ready, in ceraunites
and sapphires and emeralds, with which to kill himself if

5. destruction threatened. And he also built a very high tower from
which to throw himself down, constructed of boards gilded and
jeweled in his own presence, for even his death, he declared,
should be costly and marked by luxury, in order that it might be
said that no one had ever died in this fashion. But all these
preparations availed him nothing, for, as we have said, he was
slain by common soldiers, dragged through the streets,
contemptuously thrust into sewers, and finally cast into the
Tiber.
He was the last of those in public life to bear the name
Antoninus, and all knew that in the case of this "Antoninus" his
life was as false as his name. . .
Constantine - The "Edict of Milan " (313 A. D.)
When I, Constantine Augustus, as well as I Licinius Augustus d
fortunately met near Mediolanurn (Milan), and were considering
everything that pertained to the public welfare and security, we
thought -, among other things which we saw would be for the
good of many, those regulations pertaining to the reverence of
the Divinity ought certainly to be made first, so that we might
grant to the Christians and others full authority to observe that
religion which each preferred; whence any Divinity whatsoever
in the seat of the heavens may be propitious and kindly disposed
to us and all who are placed under our rule And thus by this
wholesome counsel and most upright provision we thought to
arrange that no one whatsoever should be denied the
opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian
religion, of that religion which he should think best for himself,
so that the Supreme Deity, to whose worship we freely yield our
hearts) may show in all things His usual favor and benevolence.
Therefore, your Worship should know that it has pleased us to
remove all conditions whatsoever, which were in the rescripts
formerly given to you officially, concerning the Christians and
now any one of these who wishes to observe Christian religion
may do so freely and openly, without molestation. We thought it

6. fit to commend these things most fully to your care that you
may know that we have given to those Christians free and
unrestricted opportunity of religious worship. When you see
that this has been granted to them by us, your Worship will
know that we have also conceded to other religions the right of
open and free observance of their worship for the sake of the
peace of our times, that each one may have the free opportunity
to worship as he pleases ; this regulation is made we that we
may not seem to detract from any dignity or any religion.
Moreover, in the case of the Christians especially we esteemed
it best to order that if it happens anyone heretofore has bought
from our treasury from anyone whatsoever, those places where
they were previously accustomed to assemble, concerning which
a certain decree had been made and a letter sent to you
officially, the same shall be restored to the Christians without
payment or any claim of recompense and without any kind of
fraud or deception, Those, moreover, who have obtained the
same by gift, are likewise to return them at once to the
Christians. Besides, both those who have purchased and those
who have secured them by gift, are to appeal to the vicar if they
seek any recompense from our bounty, that they may be cared
for through our clemency,. All this property ought to be
delivered at once to the community of the Christians through
your intercession, and without delay. And since these Christians
are known to have possessed not only those places in which
they were accustomed to assemble, but also other property,
namely the churches, belonging to them as a corporation and not
as individuals, all these things which we have included under
the above law, you will order to be restored, without any
hesitation or controversy at all, to these Christians, that is to
say to the corporations and their conventicles: providing, of
course, that the above arrangements be followed so that those
who return the same without payment, as we have said, may
hope for an indemnity from our bounty. In all these
circumstances you ought to tender your most efficacious
intervention to the community of the Christians, that our

7. command may be carried into effect as quickly as possible,
whereby, moreover, through our clemency, public order may be
secured. Let this be done so that, as we have said above, Divine
favor towards us, which, under the most important
circumstances we have already experienced, may, for all time,
preserve and prosper our successes together with the good of
the state. Moreover, in order that the statement of this decree of
our good will may come to the notice of all, this rescript,
published by your decree, shall be announced everywhere and
brought to the knowledge of all, so that the decree of this, our
benevolence, cannot be concealed.
from Lactantius, De Mort. Pers., ch. 48. opera, ed. 0. F.
Fritzsche, II, p 288 sq. (Bibl Patr. Ecc. Lat. XI).