The Roman Experience

Many books have been written about what the Romans did, their institutions and their conquests. Here is one about how the Romans felt. The book ranges over both Republic and Empire, concentrating on the central period, the three centuries that separate Scipio Aemilianus and Marcus Aurelius; but it is no chronological survey of events. It is rather an analysis of Roman thought and attitude. The author dwells on people and themes he considers particularly illustrative of the Roman mind - Scipio Africanus, Cato, Cicero, Virgil, Augustus; the impact of Greece and the influence of rhetoric; moral behaviour and attitudes to women, slavery and religion. Behind this analysis is a wealth of information and ideas.