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The Histories (Paperback)
Cornelius Tacitus; Edited by D.S. Levene; Translated by W.H. Fyfe
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`The story I now commence is rich in vicissitudes, grim with
warfare, torn by civil strife, a tale of horror even during times
of peace.' Edward Gibbon called The Histories an `immortal work,
every sentence of which is pregnant with the deepest observations
and the most lively images'. Its author, Cornelius Tacitus, widely
acknowledged as the greatest of all Roman historians, describes
with cynical power the murderous `Year of the Four Emperors' - AD
69 - when in just a few months the whole of the Roman Empire was
torn apart by civil war. The ultimate triumph of Vespasian and his
sons Titus and Domitian was only the prelude to further conflicts
and disasters, with revolts among the Germans and Jews challenging
the very foundations of Roman authority. W. H. Fyfe's classic
translation has been substantially revised to accord with modern
scholarship, and supplied with extensive historical and literary
notes. The Introduction provides an essential guide to
understanding the subtleties of Tacitus' writing, and sets the
historical scene with a succinct account of the political and
social background to the Imperial Roman state. Maps of the Roman
Empire and a Glossary of Place Names complete this valuable
edition. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's
Classics has made available the widest range of literature from
around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's
commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a
wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions
by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text,
up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Livy's account of the Hannibalic War in his Third Decade (Books
21-30) is our fullest source for one of the most crucial wars of
all time; it is also a narrative history of unparalleled richness,
drama, and depth. D. S. Levene's book, the first large-scale
general study of Livy's Third Decade, explores the things that make
it distinctive not only within Livy's writing, but also within all
ancient historiography. Levene examines such topics as Livy's
construction of his narrative, his source-material and use of
literary allusion, his battle scenes, his sophisticated but
ambivalent attitudes towards non-Romans, and above all his
challenging and revolutionary treatment of such things as
chronology, causation, and indeed human character. Livy portrays a
world in which military calculation and human reason constantly
fail, a world in which events occur beyond normal human
comprehension, but where everything is governed by a hidden moral
structure. Livy's unique and original approach to history has often
been misunderstood; Levene demonstrates the powerful and
independent vision underlying the work, and compels readers to
rethink many of our standard presuppositions about the nature of
history-writing in the ancient world.
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