Anachro
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Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
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On the topic of books, I have always been a bit of a history nerd, particularly ancient history. In the past few years, I've been on a bit of a Roman history kick, reading a number of primary sources and history books, as well as ancient authors, that I have found to be extremely interesting. Forgive me if you don't like such stuff, but if you have even a modicum of interest in Roman history, these are some good recommendations from me:
1. The Letters (Vol 1-4), Cicero, Verlag and Beck, Translated by Shuckburgh: These four volumes encompass the complete collection of private letters of Cicero (as well as a few other statesmen of the late republic), tracing a period from before his consulship in 63 BC to a little while before his death in 43 BC. It is a fascinating first-hand, eyewitness account of the various personalities and events of the late republic, particularly those leading up to and including the civil war, all told from the viewpoint of a man of immense learning, political and oratorical skill. I re-read these letters at least once a year and always find them extremely enthralling. On top of all this, there are extensive footnotes to all the volumes that really go deep into detail on the minutiae of the letters to give great background and context to each.
2. Selected Political Speeches, Cicero, Ed. Betty Radice: A Penguin classic compilation of various famous speeches of Cicero's with a good enough translation, though I'm sure there are better. This gives good detailed context to the letters above and shows Cicero's skills as an orator whereas in his letters he speaks more informally. You'll learn more fully about some events that Cicero might only allude to in his letters. Unfortunately, this doesn't include all his speeches, such as the full number of Philippics he wrote attacking Mark Antony.
3. The Republic and the Laws, Cicero, Trans. Niall Rudd: A work that, in its time, was of immense importance and studied by Roman school children to the end of their empire. It gives a viewpoint on the Roman conception of their republican constitution and why it works, why it's the best (Romans really did feel they had the best governmental system in the world), and how Cicero thought it could be improved made to work again in the era of the late republic when things were coming undone. It was published only a little while before civil war broke out. Unfortunately, only extensive fragments of it remain with a number of portions missing, as it was discovered in the form of a palimpsest in the Vatican archives.
4. The Historians of Ancient Rome, Ronald Mellor: A collection of works by ancient authors, stretching from the republic to the collapse of the western empire and beyond. All are fascinating, particular the excerpts from later authors, but the crown jewel for me is Tacitus' Annals, which not only cover a fascinating period showing the early empire and the transition to autocracy (the emperor's immediately after Augustus), but do so with a provocatively good style. It's not wonder the period in which Tacitus' wrote is called the Silver Age of Latin.
5. Roman Letters: An Anthology, Ed. and Trans. Zeiner-Carmichael: Various primary source letters from different periods of the Roman republic and empire. Probably most interesting here are the letters Pliny the younger, covering his dealing with the emperor Trajan, but also more private letters. One particularly fascinating one is his first-hand account and recollection of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in a letter written to Tacitus, the historian mentioned above.
6. Letters on Ethics, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Trans. Graver and Long: A series of letters written by the famous Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca (during the time of Nero, who eventually forced him to kill himself). Though ostensibly letters to a friend, these are altogether taken as a work of Stoic philosophy, and perhaps the best representation we have of the Roman conception of Stoicism (along with Marcus Aurelius' meditations). Much of the early Greek writings on Stoicism have been lost, unfortunately. That said, even if you don't have an interest in philosophy per say, these letters are a joy to read and full of what I consider to be very good advice on life. For a nice summary of philosophy, the various schools, and more please see Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy.
7. Caesar: Life of a Colossus and Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, Adrian Goldsworthy: Immensely readable biographies of these two giants of Roman history by the noted British historian Adrian Goldsworth. They do a very good job presenting the life and times of these two fascinating figures.
I can go on and on with more, but I'll stop for now. 
< Message edited by Anachro -- 12/14/2019 2:12:35 PM >
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