Julius Caesar Raised His Own Ransom: Would You Name Your Price at Work?

Around 75 BC, a young Julius Caesar was captured by pirates near Asia Minor. They demanded 20 talents of silver, but he reportedly laughed and told them he was worth 50 talents. During his captivity, Caesar behaved as though he were in charge. He wrote poems, ordered the pirates to keep quiet when he wanted to sleep, and joked that he would return to punish them. After the ransom was paid, he raised ships, captured the pirates and had them executed. Accounts of the episode appear in writings by Plutarch and Suetonius. What stays with me is not the revenge but his first response. Everyone had accepted the pirates' valuation of him, yet he refused it. Many of us do the opposite with salaries, rates and contract fees because negotiating can feel uncomfortable. When last did you name your own price and stand by it? Did you get the offer, negotiate a better deal, or lose the job?

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