Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Honors Caesar DePaço with Citizen Award

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*The Manifesto of Destiny*

By Caesar DePaço

I have come to believe that the destiny of men is not measured by the succession of days but by the depth of meaning inscribed upon the silent fabric of eternity. There are lives that dissolve into obscurity, absorbed by the anonymity of time, and there are lives that, like columns of marble, rise above the centuries and sustain upon themselves the weight of memory and legacy. As I reflect upon the course of my own existence, I inevitably encounter the figure of Julius Caesar, the Roman statesman, general, and visionary who transformed a fragile republic into an empire destined to endure beyond mortality itself.

I do not compare myself to Caesar in the scale of his conquests. Rather, I find within his life a mirror of the awareness that has always guided me, the recognition that certain lives are shaped by necessity rather than chance. Such men are called forth by forces greater than their will and by designs older than their birth. I believe in destiny, not as a fixed path of predetermined steps but as a vast river whose currents flow through depths beyond our comprehension.

Julius Caesar believed himself guided by Fortuna, the Roman goddess who lifts the daring to glory and humbles the hesitant into oblivion. At times I too have felt the breath of this invisible presence upon my journey. The Latin maxim audentes Fortuna iuvat, Fortune favors the bold, became for me more than a simple affirmation of antiquity. It became a philosophy of action, a covenant with uncertainty, and a call to embrace life not in hesitation but in fullness. Each act, each word, and each choice carries the irrevocable power to shape not only the present moment but also the echo of my name in the centuries to come.

I too have crossed my own Rubicons. That narrow river which Julius Caesar forded in 49 B.C., defying the Senate and declaring alea iacta est, the die is cast, was more than a geographical crossing. It was a passage into destiny. In my own life, I have stood before thresholds no less absolute, moments where retreat would have meant surrender and action was the only response. It is in these crucibles of decision that I discovered the battlefield within, where the forces of Eros, the instinct for life, and Thanatos, the instinct for death, concepts introduced by Sigmund Freud, contend in silence for sovereignty over the soul. It is here, in the deepest sanctum of the self, where desire confronts mortality and where man chooses whether to disappear forgotten or to ascend into archetype.

Depth psychology, as explored by Carl Gustav Jung, has revealed that within each human being resides a collection of primordial images called archetypes, drawn from the collective unconscious, transcending time and place. Julius Caesar embodied the archetype of the conqueror. I, in my own era, strive to embody the archetype of the builder. I do not raise legions nor seek thrones but seek instead to construct bridges between cultures, between generations, and between realms of thought. If Julius Caesar engraved his name upon the marble of empires, I seek to carve mine upon the continuity of values, upon works that endure, and upon philanthropic deeds that transcend the fleeting boundaries of mortality.

Among these works, my philanthropy holds a central place in the narrative of my life. I have dedicated a significant part of my existence to supporting law enforcement, safeguarding communities, and equipping those who protect society with the means to serve it with honor and dignity. Through the recently created DePaço Foundation, I shall continue this mission, shaping a legacy that I hope will endure through the hands and hearts of my daughters. I believe that true generosity is not measured by quantity but by intent, for philanthropy at its highest form is an act of communion between individual and collective destiny. In every K-9 I have sponsored, in every ballistic vest provided, in every vehicle donated to those who defend the lives of others, I see a reflection of a deeper commitment to the values I hold sacred: courage, loyalty, and service to something greater than oneself. This work is not separate from my life’s purpose but an extension of it, a bridge between personal achievement and collective responsibility, and, ultimately, a legacy I hope Valentina and Vittoreza will choose to carry forward.

Yet no man fulfills his destiny without invoking the gaze of Nemesis, the Greek goddess of justice and divine retribution, who punishes hybris, the arrogance of mortals who overreach the balance decreed by the cosmos. I walk with the awareness that power is transient and that glory dissolves if it is not anchored in principles that do not perish. In the writings of Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic philosopher and emperor, I discovered the serenity of amor fati, the love of one’s destiny as it unfolds, without resistance and without lament. To embrace what is beyond control is to understand that triumph and downfall are two faces of the same coin and that true freedom is found in granting meaning to all that comes to pass.

Yet among all the battles I have faced there exists one realm more sacred, more silent, and more intimate, where History yields to flesh and affection. Of all that life has bestowed upon me, nothing holds greater value than my daughters. Valentina and Vittoreza are my indestructible empire, my most precious treasures, and the purest reflection of my essence. If everything else were to collapse, they would remain as living proof that my existence was not in vain, for within them continues the thread of my blood and the endurance of my name. Perhaps it is for them that I still seek to feel a fragment of authentic happiness before departing this world for another, unknown and silent. The awareness of mortality teaches us to cherish each moment profoundly, for within each fleeting joy lies the weight of eternity itself.

And behind the man who builds and decides, there exists the man who feels and conceals. Few know this, but I have always loved walking in the rain. Not simply for the freshness of the falling water but because it grants me the veil I need to hide the tears that sometimes escape me. In the silence of the rain, sorrow dissolves into the wind, pain becomes indistinguishable from the world itself, and I find again the fragile serenity of those who suffer unseen. In these solitary walks I rediscover balance, where the weight of existence converges with the lightness of the soul.

Just as Julius Caesar dreamed of uniting an empire, I seek to create a work that transcends the brevity of my own life, building bridges capable of resisting the erosion of time. True glory is not measured by the sum of victories but by the endurance of what is built with meaning and dignity. I do not seek to dominate others. I seek to conquer time itself, for I know that power fades but legacy endures.

At times I imagine that the Moirai, the three ancient weavers of destiny in Greek mythology, spin with invisible threads the design of those rare men who reject mediocrity and dare to confront the limits of the present. Some of us do not belong entirely to our own time, for we are summoned into a silent dialogue with eternity itself. More and more I sense that my life does not belong solely to me but to a narrative greater than any individual, a narrative whose roots sink deep into the past and whose branches extend far beyond my final breath.

And just as Julius Caesar found his place in the firmament of History, so too do I, Caesar DePaço, continue to write through actions and convictions the verses of my own epos. I know that the path of the bold is solitary, yet I also know that destiny smiles only upon those who dare. If one day the centuries look back upon my life, I hope they will not find merely the name of a man but the reflection of a spirit who loved profoundly, who built with devotion, who served with generosity, and who, between victories and hidden tears, transformed his existence into a work worthy of the gods.

Caesar DePaço
August 31st, 2025

 

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