Word is around that the destiny of Malta’s beloved Daphne brings to mind the destiny of the great Julius Caesar in that their post-modern periods clearly indicate, indeed accentuate, a remarkable contrast in the way they were looked at by the people before their death and after, in their own field, cheated by their fate.  

The awakening spirit of Caesar after death gave rise to the coined word ‘Caesarism’; while the response in favour of Daphne continues to grow with unabated fury, with scenes unknown in Malta, in contrast with a normal quiet past that destiny had assigned to her in early life.

The Maltese heroine proved right in her work and what she stood for as a trumpet of a prophecy, shocked many friends and families – in fact, the Nation – in such a way that her memory will linger: unforgettable. 

In this light, I am sure her admirers will agree that she can share an epitaph engraved on a wall in an English church for someone who died in the 16th century: “Know Reader, That if Fearlessness, couched in courage and propriety and devotion to duty can rescue from the grave, she had been immortal.”

 

Dr Joe Zammit Tabona

St Julian’s