The Portable Roman Reader (Portable Library)

Basil Davenport

ISBN 10: 0140150560 / ISBN 13: 9780140150568

Published by Penguin Classics, 1977

About this Item

The Romans conquered most of the known world and detailed their conquests in calm, unapologetic histories. They were a supremely urbane people who longed poetically for the farming life. Valuing toughness and practicality in all things, they turned the love poem into a cynical rebuke and wrote tragedies in which the unfathomable actions of gods gave way to the staggering cruelties of man. As the empire slid into decay, Tacitus pulled back the curtain on the perverse intrigues of the emperors, and a Roman-educated Christian named Augustine recounted his spiritual awakening in what may be the world%u2019s first psychological novel. This collection presents the essential writings of the Romans in their finest English translations: the comedies of Terence and Plautus; the histories of Julius Caesar, Livy and Tacitus; the oratory of Cicero; poems by Catullus, Virgil, Horace, and Martial; the philosophy of Lucretius and Boëthius, along with the stylishly narrated and often ribald myths of Ovid and Apuleius. Piece(s) of the spine missing. Ex-Libris and is stamped as such. Moderate shelf wear. Noticable fading due to exposure to sunlight. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item.

Seller Inventory # 123509995

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Portable Roman Reader (Portable Library)
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication Date: 1977
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140150560
• ISBN 13: 9780140150568
• Binding: Softcover
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis

The Romans conquered most of the known world and detailed their conquests in calm, unapologetic histories. They were a supremely urbane people who longed poetically for the farming life. Valuing toughness and practicality in all things, they turned the love poem into a cynical rebuke and wrote tragedies in which the unfathomable actions of gods gave way to the staggering cruelties of man. As the empire slid into decay, Tacitus pulled back the curtain on the perverse intrigues of the emperors, and a Roman-educated Christian named Augustine recounted his spiritual awakening in what may be the world’s first psychological novel.

This collection presents the essential writings of the Romans in their finest English translations: the comedies of Terence and Plautus; the histories of Julius Caesar, Livy and Tacitus; the oratory of Cicero; poems by Catullus, Virgil, Horace, and Martial; the philosophy of Lucretius and Boëthius, along with the stylishly narrated and often ribald myths of Ovid and Apuleius.