Trump Has the Wolf by the Ear
“When You Start the Fire, Sometimes You Can’t Put It Out”
The expression about having the wolf by the ear dates back to the Roman Emperor Tiberius (42 BC- 37 AD). Tiberius saw danger around every corner and rightfully so. The Senate was furious with him; Roman legions had not been paid the bonuses promised to them by Augustus and were showing signs of mutiny. His adopted son, Germanicus, died of poisoning, and his other son, Drusus, died in mysterious circumstances. There were real plots against Tiberius, and nobody he could trust. He described his circumstances as having the wolf by the ear, knowing if he ever let go, the wolf would turn on him.
Thomas Jefferson often used the phrase about having the wolf by the ear. Jefferson wrote to John Holmes in 1820about having the wolf by the ears and the ramifications of letting go. The topic in this case was enslavement and the Missouri Compromise.
But, as it is, we have the wolf…
