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Title: The Agricola and the Germania: And the Germania (Penguin Classics) by Cornelius Tacitus, Harold B. Mattingly, S. A. Hanford ISBN: 0-14-044241-3 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: February, 1971 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Captivating Look at Roman Britain and Germany
Comment: In The Agricola, Cornelius Tacitus describes in masterful language the fantastically interesting life of his father-in-law, Agricola. As one of the most militarily successful governors of Roman held Britain, the account of Agricola is packed with fascinating descriptions of important Roman military victories. The battles fought and the characters involved ensure that the interest level stays at an elevated level. The Germania is almost equally as interesting in its description of the Germanic tribes encountered by the Romans. Their seemingly bizarre military and social traditions provide for a very engaging read. Although the Agricola and the Germania were the first historical works of Tacitus, they are in no way inferior in style or interest level to his later works. A definite must for history enthusiasts everywhere!
Rating: 5
Summary: Interesting Roman perspective of Britons and Germans
Comment: Agricola was one of the Roman governor's in Britain. He was also Tacitus' father-in-law. So he set down Agricola's great life down for posterity. With some brief descriptions of Britain that they had recently found was an island, there are accounts of battles that Agricola made to push the edge of the Empire even further. In Germania, Tacitus gives a
fascinating account of the German people, and as far as I know a unique account of their "barbarian" society. As may be
typically Roman, Tacitus speaks with a Romo-centric tone, but these works provide a lot of basic information of the world
at the time, without being as Tacitus' very long (and incomplete) Histories and Annals.
Rating: 4
Summary: Rewarding Even For The Non-Classicist
Comment: A rewarding surprise. Sheer chance dropped this book into my hands. Found it lying in mint condition (with a fair number of other volumes) in the alley behind my building, abandoned and unread by some student who will never recognize his loss. A bit obscure, not being a classicist or an historian, even by my somewhat obscure tastes, but I picked it up, started the introduction, and soon found myself spending an evening intriguingly engaged in a world very different from my own. Whether it be the excellence of the translation or Tacitus' own abilities as a writer, the prose is pleasantly crisp and renders reading the straightforward observations presented here into something not unlike receiving a letter sent a long, long, time ago which has only just finally managed to arrive. While I certainly wouldn't take any of Tacitus' observations of Roman era Britain and Germany for fact; it is the fact of his very attempt to try to describe these foreign peoples and what he sees in them and how they make him reflect on his own people that comes through as honest and true. A great portrait of virtue in the midst of a bankrupt society -- it is hard not to make contemporary parallels, or to try and take away lessons. Technocrats v. tyrants, assimilation v. tribalism, decadent civilization v. noble barbarism, terrorism v. occupation: Tacitus faces all these issues and can still be surprising after 1900 years.
The late Harold Mattingly's introduction is excellent in its own right, providing a clear picture of the Roman Empire of Tacitus' time, and one of the best short overviews of Rome's imperial management and military that I have ever read. After reading it, I had a better understanding of Rome's First Century Legions than I do of the United States' current forces in Iraq. If his monographs on Roman coinage are as good as this, I'd want to read them.
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Title: Histories, The by Cornelius Tacitus, Kenneth Wellesley ISBN: 0140441506 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 16 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, S. A. Hanford ISBN: 0140444335 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: February, 1983 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Civil War (The Penguin Classics) by Julius Caesar, C. Julius Caesar, Jane F. Gardner ISBN: 0140441875 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: November, 1976 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Jugurthine War & The Conspiracy of Catiline by Sallust, S. A. Hanford ISBN: 0140441328 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1982 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Pre-Christian Ireland: From the First Settlers to the Early Celts (Ancient Peoples and Places) by Peter Harbison, Edelgard Soergel-Harbison ISBN: 0500278091 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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