Variety – The Life of a Roman Concept (Hardcover)

The idea of variety may seem too diffuse, obvious, or nebulous to be worth scrutinizing, but modern usage masks the rich history of the term. This book examines the meaning, value, and practice of variety from the vantage point of Latin literature and its reception and reveals the enduring importance of the concept up to the present day. William Fitzgerald looks at the definition and use of the Latin term varietas and how it has played out in different works and with different authors. He shows that, starting with the Romans, variety has played a key role in our thinking about nature, rhetoric, creativity, pleasure, aesthetics, and empire. From the lyric to elegy and satire, the concept of variety has helped to characterize and distinguish different genres. Arguing that the ancient Roman ideas and controversies about the value of variety have had a significant afterlife up to our own time, Fitzgerald reveals how modern understandings of diversity and choice derive from what is ultimately an ancient concept.

General

Imprint:	University of Chicago Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	April 2016
Authors:	William Fitzgerald
Dimensions:	235 x 161 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	272
ISBN-13:	978-0-226-29949-5
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > General Books > History > General
LSN:	0-226-29949-X
Barcode:	9780226299495

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