Read The Last Generation of the Roman Republic Erich S Gruen 9780520201538 Books
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Available for the first time in paperback, with a new introduction that reviews related scholarship of the past twenty years, Erich Gruen's classic study of the late Republic examines institutions as well as personalities, social tensions as well as politics, the plebs and the army as well as the aristocracy.
Read The Last Generation of the Roman Republic Erich S Gruen 9780520201538 Books
"Mommsen, Syme, Gruen, and yes, even Tom Holland all wrote from a perspective that reflected their own time in their treatments of Roman Republican History. Mommsen, a German social progressive, was widely influenced by the 1848 upsets in Europe. Syme, a great British gentleman scholar, was facing the looming prospect of World War Two and the dictatorship of Hitler in Germany when he wrote. Tom Holland celebrates the ascendancy of the democratic ideal in Britain and the United States at the dawn of the twenty-first century in his retelling of the fall of the Roman Republic. Gruen in his lengthy introduction to the paperback edition of this work published in 1994, sets it in the framework of the tumult of the Vietnam war era in the United States. Specifically Gruen was in the eye of that storm on the University of California campus at Berkley where he is a classicist and historian. As he suggests, so much changed, but what was striking was how much more did not. It is often been posited with merit that any writing of history mirrors its own time as well as the period written about.
With continuity in mind, Gruen forges forth with his project, the LGRR. And yes, this is a revision of Syme's work, however, for all its majesty Syme's, "Roman Revolution," is flawed. It is a work informed by Syme's own prejudices. Stiff British upper class Victorian morals tend to infect all work associated with the school of British gentleman scholars. Gruen's choice to start his work at the conclusion of the Sullan restoration bifurcates what most scholars see as a much longer process. A detailed picture of the Roman Republic from 125 BCE to 40 BCE would make Gruen's "business as usual" perspective less persuasive. And yes, it was "business as usual" in large measure. That business was the continuity of the domination of the Republic by the consular families of the Nobility. This is persuasively argued by Gruen. But where he sees continuity and reform, others find intractability and co-option to preserve a reactionary status quo. And yes, I will accept his premise that almost all the persons who counted in the last generation of the Roman Republic had no idea a civil war was on the way. Statesmen and politicians rarely intend to burn their own houses down. They just do so with enormous regularity throughout history based on miscalculation and myopia. A lively and exhaustive presentation of the political events of the period under discussion is provided. Nuance and detail combine with painstaking research leading to a fully fleshed out picture of the events and personalities of the "last generation" of the Republic. Unfortunately, more light is shed on the motives of small players rather than the larger figures. This is hardly Gruen's fault as the major players tended to choose opacity as an operational tool.
However exhaustive Gruen's treatment of this period may be, he still finds continuity where others have found "revolution and crisis." Unfortunately, I would suggest that his stress on continuity also obsurces as well as informs. Informative and gripping this book is a relatively easy read. However, it should be read by a reader with a relatively advanced knowledge of Roman Republican history. There is much to be learned here, although, one must be very careful in what they take out of this book. Greun's reliance on shifting familial alliances of the Nobility to explain much of Roman Republican politics has largely been modified by later work. As I see it, David Shotter's short and concise, "Fall of the Roman Republic," second edition, is the current state of the art in late Roman Republican history. Written thirty years after this book, it covers even more ground. Using works from Syme through Gruen and later scholarly materials, Shotter presents a far more volatile picture of the period. Reading both in succession I suggest will make it possible for the reader to weigh the ultimate value of this book. And, in spite of all my caveats, this is an indispensable work of great and enduring value to the discussion of the fall of the Roman Republic."
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The Last Generation of the Roman Republic Erich S Gruen 9780520201538 Books Reviews :
The Last Generation of the Roman Republic Erich S Gruen 9780520201538 Books Reviews
- Gruen's work was originally published in 1974, but this, the first paperback edition, contains a updated Introduction written in 1995. In this seminal work, Gruen used his vast knowledge of Ancient Rome to examine the commonly accepted theories of the collapse of the Republic. He systematically challenges every theory in order to reveal their weaknesses and to validate his own thesis. His thesis states that until 50 B.C.E. there was nothing out of the ordinary in Roman politics, culture, or law that indicated civil war was coming or that the Republic was threatened. Although some of his arguments are convincing, in my opinion he does not make his case. I agree with him that any one of the theories he works to debunk may not have indicated the impending civil war; however, I feel he makes a grave error in not considering that it was the preponderance of stressors that indicated a serious threat to the Republic. In other words, it may very well be a case of "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Also, I cannot agree with him regarding the Roman military and the legions' relationships with their commanders, especially as regards Caesar. In this case and others, recent historical research has supported some of the theories that Gruen challenged. One final word, I applaud him pointing out that all researchers bring their own biases (consciously or otherwise) to their works, and that the time and culture in which they live directly affect their perspectives. The "Last Generation of the Roman Republic" is a must read for serious students of Ancient Rome. Note This book is not really suited for the casual student or those just beginning to learn about Ancient Rome.
- Mommsen, Syme, Gruen, and yes, even Tom Holland all wrote from a perspective that reflected their own time in their treatments of Roman Republican History. Mommsen, a German social progressive, was widely influenced by the 1848 upsets in Europe. Syme, a great British gentleman scholar, was facing the looming prospect of World War Two and the dictatorship of Hitler in Germany when he wrote. Tom Holland celebrates the ascendancy of the democratic ideal in Britain and the United States at the dawn of the twenty-first century in his retelling of the fall of the Roman Republic. Gruen in his lengthy introduction to the paperback edition of this work published in 1994, sets it in the framework of the tumult of the Vietnam war era in the United States. Specifically Gruen was in the eye of that storm on the University of California campus at Berkley where he is a classicist and historian. As he suggests, so much changed, but what was striking was how much more did not. It is often been posited with merit that any writing of history mirrors its own time as well as the period written about.
With continuity in mind, Gruen forges forth with his project, the LGRR. And yes, this is a revision of Syme's work, however, for all its majesty Syme's, "Roman Revolution," is flawed. It is a work informed by Syme's own prejudices. Stiff British upper class Victorian morals tend to infect all work associated with the school of British gentleman scholars. Gruen's choice to start his work at the conclusion of the Sullan restoration bifurcates what most scholars see as a much longer process. A detailed picture of the Roman Republic from 125 BCE to 40 BCE would make Gruen's "business as usual" perspective less persuasive. And yes, it was "business as usual" in large measure. That business was the continuity of the domination of the Republic by the consular families of the Nobility. This is persuasively argued by Gruen. But where he sees continuity and reform, others find intractability and co-option to preserve a reactionary status quo. And yes, I will accept his premise that almost all the persons who counted in the last generation of the Roman Republic had no idea a civil war was on the way. Statesmen and politicians rarely intend to burn their own houses down. They just do so with enormous regularity throughout history based on miscalculation and myopia. A lively and exhaustive presentation of the political events of the period under discussion is provided. Nuance and detail combine with painstaking research leading to a fully fleshed out picture of the events and personalities of the "last generation" of the Republic. Unfortunately, more light is shed on the motives of small players rather than the larger figures. This is hardly Gruen's fault as the major players tended to choose opacity as an operational tool.
However exhaustive Gruen's treatment of this period may be, he still finds continuity where others have found "revolution and crisis." Unfortunately, I would suggest that his stress on continuity also obsurces as well as informs. Informative and gripping this book is a relatively easy read. However, it should be read by a reader with a relatively advanced knowledge of Roman Republican history. There is much to be learned here, although, one must be very careful in what they take out of this book. Greun's reliance on shifting familial alliances of the Nobility to explain much of Roman Republican politics has largely been modified by later work. As I see it, David Shotter's short and concise, "Fall of the Roman Republic," second edition, is the current state of the art in late Roman Republican history. Written thirty years after this book, it covers even more ground. Using works from Syme through Gruen and later scholarly materials, Shotter presents a far more volatile picture of the period. Reading both in succession I suggest will make it possible for the reader to weigh the ultimate value of this book. And, in spite of all my caveats, this is an indispensable work of great and enduring value to the discussion of the fall of the Roman Republic. - It's easy to imagine the author standing at the republican senatorial podium orating in the vernacular Latin to a crowded senate. While the authors writing style and personality take a little getting used to, I have to say that this is probably the finest work on this period of Roman history that has ever been written. With extremely well documented research, his very clear and detailed analysis easily demolishes commonly held beliefs regarding the republics demise, even for die-hards. Many things that most historians of this era ignore as unimportant; such things as Pompey's Lex Pompeia, because they don't appear political enough or don't meet some other predetermined criteria, are actually significant and important events in late republican history that have been ignored for centuries. This book earned it's 5 stars and is highly recommended reading.
