Cursus honorum

The cursus honorum (Caphiric Latin for 'course of honors', or more colloquially 'path of offices') is unique to Caphirian culture and is a tenet of its society. It is the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in Caphiria. Historically, The cursus honorum is comprised of a mixture of military and political administration posts, but today it is purely political. To hold political office in the Imperium is considered a great honor, and Caphirian political philosophy dictates that the essential members of the government cannot be unskilled in solving moral or economic problems. A senator, consul, or even Imperator must have the theoretical and practical knowledge to adjudicate, legislate and lead. Each office has a minimum age for election, and there are also minimum intervals between holding successive offices and laws forbidding repeating an office. Officially presented as opportunities for public service, the offices often became opportunities for self-aggrandizement and self-serving goals for ambitious politicians.

To have held each office at the youngest possible age (suo anno, "in his own year") is considered a great political success. Caphirian society places extreme pride in being a novus homo ("new man"; comparable to a "self-made man"), or someone who manages to succeed through the cursus honorum despite not having any ties to the aristocracy. This emphasis on the self-made man - that success lies within the person himself and not outside conditions - is an archetype and cultural ideal of Caphiria.

Every future Caphirian citizen starts his or her career with physical and musical education in youth. The wealthiest families will have private caretakers for their children though the result is much the same. At the age of 11, most young patricians go into privately-owned schools. Their lessons must abide by the national standards of the imperial education system, but their smaller class sizes allow greater attention from the teachers, and their access to materials, like holographic orreries or virtual reality lessons, provides many rare opportunities for students.