The Emperor's Club Page #5

Let it go.|What?

Ignore it.

Ignore it?|Ignore it.

Mr. Mehta, into how many administrative|regions did Augustus divide Rome?

Fourteen.

Excuse me?|How many?

Fourteen.|- That is correct.

All right, Deepak! Whoo!

Mr. Bell,...

who was Hamilcar Barca?

Would you repeat|the question, please?

Who was Hamilcar Barca?

I don't know.

Mr. Mehta,|who was Hamilcar Barca?

The Carthaginian general victorious|in the battle of Drepana in 249.

An unequaled commander with the|misfortune of being on the wrong side.

That is correct.

Thank you, Louis.|Thank you.

Mr. Julius Caesar.

Harrison, how's your sister?|You better not speak to her.

Mr. H., good job, man.|Good job, Mr. Hundert.

Hey,Jeremy! How you doin'?

That was quite an interesting performance|this afternoon.

I knew you saw.

Why, Sedgewick?

You knew the material.

Why not?

How come you didn't stand up|and call me out?

It's a complicated matter,|Sedgewick.

It wasn't because|of my father, was it?

It had nothing to do|with your father.

Sure, Mr. Hundert.|Sure.

William!

I came by to congratulate you.|That was terrific!

Sedgewick Bell... quite the surprise.|Yes.

He's come a long way.|You must be very proud of him.

It makes for wonderful theater.

In fact, I was thinking, I might make the|suggestion to you, and to Mr. Woodbridge,

that in the future|more alumni are invited.

Not just the parents of the finalists,|but maybe all of the alumni.

You know? And instead of it happening|just on any old weekday,...

think about making it|a weekend event.

You know, for fund-raising, which would|augurwell for your headmastership.

What's wrong?

Sedgewick cheated.

What?|Come in.

Well, the pressure to succeed|can be oppressive.

And, right or wrong,

Woodbridge felt it was in the best interests|of the school's endowment to let it pass.

Come on. William, you didn't|put the boy up on the stage.

He got there|on his own merit.

All you did was inspire him...

to study and to learn, and for that|you should be commended.

And thus began|an uneasy truce...

between Sedgewick Bell|and myself.

Whatever spark had ignited him|during the previous months...

was now extinguished.

And his brief flirtation|with diligence...

was supplanted by|a renewed appetite for brashness,

contempt and folly.

As for his classmates,|his effect on them was almost hypnotic.

Wherever he went,|they hovered,

Sedgewick for class president. utterly|blind to any deficiencies in his character.

Food fight!

So, his remaining years at|Saint Benedict's passed...

a midst an inexhaustible series|of pranks,

and an avalanche|of C's and D's.

Sedgewick Hyram Bel I.

And though his father's influence|guaranteed him a place at Yale,...

it was with a|profound sense of failure,

that in the spring of 1976,

I handed|Sedgewick Bell his diploma.

According to Heraclitus,

we cannot step into|the same river twice.

"In the flow of time,"|he argued,

"an opportunity lost|is lost forever."

And yet, when Elizabeth 's marriage ended|and she returned home from England,...

the waters in which|we found ourselves swimming...

were precisely as lovely|as those we had earlier only imagined.

But if time had made|concessions for love,...

it made none for death.

And when our headmaster,|Terence Woodbridge, passed away,

I felt profound sadness.

Though the incident with Sedgewick Bell|had tested our friendship,...

he had for half a century,...

devoted himself to St. Benedict's tradition|of academic and moral leadership...

A tradition, I realized,|that was now mine...

to safeguard.

Good luck, Mr. Hundert.

Thank you, Mr. Horner.

Everyone.|Welcome.

Larry, good to see you.

Hi.|Mr. Phillips.

Mr. Hundert.|Good to see you again.

Uh, please take a seat.

Let's get right to it, shall we?

As you wish.

Mr. Hundert, your contributions at Saint|Benedict's have been extraordinary.

Your tenure is unmatched,|and you are loved and revered by all.

The notion of taking you away|from your classroom...

is one to which|we've given great thought.

A headmaster's job|is a rigorous one.

The travel demands and meeting schedules|have become unending.

One must be prepared to do battle|24 hours a day and sometimes longer.

Well, having rowedourlake|every,day, weatherpermitting,

through the last seven|presidential administrations,

I feel more than ready|to do battle.

What we're saying,|Mr. Hundert, is...

Mr. Hundert,|what experience do you have...

with fund-raising|or building endowments?

Mr. Hundert, we can't afford|to lose you as a teacher here.

The reality is this.|Enrollment is down.

People are thinking|of Saint Benedict's as old-fashioned.

We need to look more to the future|and less to the past.

Then who?

Someone from the outside?

James Ellerby.

Excuse me?

You did realize he made|application for the job.

Mr. Ellerby has proposed some very, exciting...|- No.

fund-raising possibilities.

Miss Johnston, I've been|assistant headmaster for 17 years.

I fail to see how Mr. Ellerby's...

qualifications as a fund-raiser--

It's not just|about fund-raising.

James Ellerby is|a forward-thinking man.

He's reached out|to the community.

He's built relationships to some|of the most important alumni.

He is a wonderful communicator,

with impeccable|moral standing...

and an unwavering|commitment to this school.

So...

Then you leave me no choice|but to tender my resignation.

I would ask you not to.

You are a teacher, and|the finest one we've ever had.

Please excuse me.

Please understand, Mr. Hundert, you will be|welcome back here at Saint Benedict's at any time.

The door will forever be open.

I'm still shocked|at James Ellerby.

Oh, I'm not. I'm only shocked|that I didn't see it coming.

I realize now he'd been conducting a|behind-the-scenes campaign for years.

He's godfather to two of the board|members' children, for God's sake.

I have...

so many other things...

that I've always|wanted to do.

I've always wanted to write.

I have an idea for a book on|the early days of the Republic.

Well,...

here's to Saint Benedict's.

I brought you some tea.

Going well?

Oh, it's virtually|writing itself.

Good.|Then I won't interrupt you.

Carry,on, then.|Good writing.

William?

James Ellerby's on the phone.

The merger makes him C.E.O. of one of|the largest corporations in America.

But what does any of this|have to do with me?

Here's the thing. He's informed|us that he would like to make...

a substantial donation|to Saint Benedict's...

with one condition.

He would like to hold a rematch of the|Mr. Julius Caesar contest.

A rematch?

With you|as master of ceremonies.

Why?

He says he would like to|reclaim his intellectual honor.

And he says his secretary,'s already located|Louis Masoudi and Deepak Mehta...

and doesn't really anticipate too much|trouble tracking down the others.

Didn't you tell him|I had retired?

Well, he asked|for you and only you.

He insisted on it|as a condition.

And did Mr. Bell say how much of a donation|he was planning to make to Saint Benedict's?

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