Roman History Books and More

online book chats

This blog is an adjunct to The Roman History Reading Group which meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month except August in our chat room from 9:30 to 11:00 p.m. US EDT.  (This means that in Asia and Australia/Pacific, it's daytime.)  Here is a world time clock as a general assistance for non-USAns.

Chat room location (with instructions) at Google Talk.

2009 Reading Schedule

July 15
Tiberius: The Memoirs of the Emperor
By Allan Massie

August Recess

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update on tiberius biographies: g.p. baker online

An update to modern biographies of tiberius:

Robert found the G.P. Baker one on the Internet Archive

Tiberius Caesar

Enjoy!

another horace biography

Earlier on, I bemoaned the fact that there are so few Horace biographies around.  Well, N.S. Gill found one:

The next Roman history book chat will discuss Horace. On Irene Hahn's blog, she mentions there is a shortage of biographical information on Horace. The Internet Archive provides a wealth of out-of-copyright material, including an old-fashioned biography of Horace: Horace by Wm. Tuckwell (1829-1919). London: G. Bell & sons. 1905. There are others to search for, but this first one I looked at seems to have the info.

read on

Author: Tuckwell, William, 1829-1919
Subject: Horace
Publisher: London : G. Bell & sons

It's  a concise (87 pages) introduction to Horace, nicely illustrated too.  And with a chapter on wine …

The Internet Archive (subscription is free)

modern biographies of tiberius

As we are reading Allan Massie's novel, Tiberius: The Memoirs of the Emperor, it might be worthwhile to look at modern biographies of Tiberius.

These I have in my library:

G.P. Baker: Tiberius Caesar, Emperor of Rome (1929)
Robin Seager: Tiberius (1972, revised edition 2005)
Barbara Levick: Tiberius the Politician (1976, revised edition 1999)

     

More on these later, I'm reading the Baker right now … comments are invited.

And Google Books has this oddity:

The history of that inimitable monarch Tiberius by John Rendle (1813)
WHO, IN THE XIV YEAR OF HIS REIGN,
REQUESTED THE SENATE TO PERMIT THE WORSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST
AND WHO, IN THE XVI AND THREE FOLLOWING YEARS,
Or,
BEFORE THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS BY PETER,
SUPPRESSED ALL OPPOSITION TO IT.
The Rev. JOHN RENDLE, M. A.

the view from my window

… or my terrace rather.  July 3rd, around 7:45 PM, waiting for the sun to set for the fireworks.

click to enlarge

seguing from horace into tiberius (our recent and upcoming book chats)

Horace wrote an Ode to Drusus and Tiberius

(Update July 4:  Oops, wrong Latin one)

Odes, Book 4, XIV

Quae cura patrum quaeue Quiritium
plenis honorum muneribus tuas,
     Auguste, uirtutes in aeuum
     per titulos memoresque fastus

aeternet, o qua sol habitabilis               5
inlustrat oras maxime principum?
     quem legis expertes Latinae
     Vindelici didicere nuper

quid Marte posses. Milite nam tuo
Drusus Genaunos, inplacidum genus,               10
     Breunosque uelocis et arces
     Alpibus impositas tremendis

deiecit acer plus uice simplici.
Maior Neronum mox graue proelium
     commisit immanisque Raetos               15
     auspiciis pepulit secundis,

continue reading Odes, Book 4, XIV, in Latin

What care the Citizens and the Senators
shall take in immortalising your virtues,
granting you full honours, Augustus,
with titles and memorial plaques, O,

greatest of princes, wherever the sun shines
over the countries where people can live, you,
whose power in war the Vindelici
free of our Roman laws, till now, have learnt.

For, with your army, brave Drusus, demolished
the Genauni, that implacable race, in more
direct retaliation, the swift
Breuni, and their defences, established

on the formidable Alpine heights:
and soon Tiberius, the elder Nero, entered
that fierce fight, with his favourable
omens, defeating the wild Rhaetians:

continue reading Odes, Book 4, XIV, in English translation

Original text:  Latin Library:  Q. HORATIVS FLACCVS
Translation:  A.S. Kline, Poetry in Tranlation: Horace

ancient historians on tiberius (a.d. 14-37)

DIR Tiberius says:

The main ancient literary sources for the reign of Tiberius are: Tac. Ann. 1-6; Dio 57-59; Suetonius, Tiberius and Gaius; Josephus BJ 2.204-17 and AJ 18.181-87, 205-25; Velleius Paterculus, esp. 2.94-131. References to Tiberius are also found in Pliny the Elder, Philo, Seneca and others.

Tacitus Annals, Books 1-6
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/tac/index.htm
or Wikisource:

• Book 1: 14-15 C.E.
• Book 2: 16-19 C.E.
• Book 3: 20-22 C.E.
• Book 4: 23-28 C.E.
• Book 5: 29-31 C.E.
• Book 6: 32-37 C.E.

be happy wherever you are (i'm on a roll tonight)

Horace: Epistles, Book 1, XI

Quid tibi uisa Chios, Bullati, notaque Lesbos,
quid concinna Samos, quid Croesi regia Sardis,
Zmyrna quid et Colophon? Maiora minoraue fama,
cunctane prae Campo et Tiberino flumine sordent?
An uenit in uotum Attalicis ex urbibus una?               5
An Lebedum laudas odio maris atque uiarum?
Scis Lebedus quid sit: Gabiis desertior atque
Fidenis uicus; tamen illic uiuere uellem,
oblitusque meorum, obliuiscendus et illis,
Neptunum procul e terra spectare furentem.               10
Sed neque qui Capua Romam petit, imbre lutoque
aspersus uolet in caupona uiuere; nec qui
frigus collegit, furnos et balnea laudat
ut fortunatam plene praestantia uitam;
nec si te ualidus iactauerit Auster in alto,               15
idcirco nauem trans Aegaeum mare uendas.
Incolumi Rhodos et Mytilene pulchra facit quod
paenula solstitio, campestre niualibus auris,
per brumam Tiberis, Sextili mense caminus.
Dum licet ac uoltum seruat Fortuna benignum,               20
Romae laudetur Samos et Chios et Rhodos absens.
Tu quamcumque deus tibi fortunauerit horam
grata sume manu neu dulcia differ in annum,
ut quocumque loco fueris uixisse libenter
te dicas; nam si ratio et prudentia curas,               25
non locus effusi late maris arbiter aufert,
caelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt.
Strenua non exercet inertia; nauibus atque
quadrigis petimus bene uiuere. Quod petis, hic est,
est Vlubris, animus si te non deficit aequus.               30

horace: more carpe diem

Epistles, Book 1, IV

Albi, nostrorum sermonum candide iudex,
quid nunc te dicam facere in regione Pedana?
Scribere quod Cassi Parmensis opuscula uincat,
an tacitum siluas inter reptare salubris,
curantem quicquid dignum sapiente bonoque est?               5
Non tu corpus eras sine pectore; di tibi formam,
di tibi diuitias dederunt artemque fruendi.
Quid uoueat dulci nutricula maius alumno,
qui sapere et fari possit quae sentiat, et cui
gratia, fama, ualetudo contingat abunde,               10
et mundus uictus non deficiente crumina?
Inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras
omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum;
grata superueniet quae non sperabitur hora.
Me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute uises,               15
cum ridere uoles, Epicuri de grege porcum.

back to horace: carpe diem

Odes, Book 1, XI

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. Vt melius quicquid erit pati!
Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare               5
Tyrrhenum, sapias, uina liques et spatio breui
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit inuida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Leuconoë, don’t ask, we never know, what fate the gods grant us,
whether your fate or mine, don’t waste your time on Babylonian,
futile, calculations. How much better to suffer what happens,
whether Jupiter gives us more winters or this is the last one,
one debilitating the Tyrrhenian Sea on opposing cliffs.
Be wise, and mix the wine, since time is short: limit that far-reaching hope.
The envious moment is flying now, now, while we’re speaking:
Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can.

Original text:  Latin Library:  Q. HORATIVS FLACCVS
Translation:  A.S. Kline, Poetry in Tranlation: Horace

upcoming book chat july 15 (and final for the season) 'tiberius' by allan massie

Tiberius: The Memoirs of the Emperor
By Allan Massie

Blogging forthwith … just started re-reading the book.

the view from my window

Little did I know when I tested my SLR last week that I photographed something unusual:

June 29, 2009
(not as distinct though as in the City)

Apocalyptic Sky Over New York Tonight
Mammatus clouds

another online translation of horace

Update:  Robert found the same translation at Wikisource: The Works of Horace, translated by By C. Smart. No date given though either, but looks like it's this Christopher Smart (1722 - 1771).  (Works by Christopher Smart).

• First Book of Satires
• Second Book of Satires

---

At Authorama: 

Horace: The Works of Horace  (no translator name given)

• The First Book of the Satires of Horace
• The Second Book of the Satires of Horace

reading horace satires (ctd.)

Now here is a true satire!

Book II Satire V – Legacy Hunting

BkIISatV:1-22 Ulysses questions Tiresias. 4

BkIISatV:23-44 The path to riches. 4

BkIISatV:45-69 Will-hunting!5

BkIISatV:70-88 Try every trick, but be careful!6

BkIISatV:89-110 Be discrete even after inheriting

reading horace satires (ctd.)

Comparing Horace with Juvenal, I perceive Horace' Satires much less over the top, which when he describes scenes, gives us moderns a pretty good first hand impression of life in the Rome of his times.  A good example, I think, is Satire 1, V – Journey to Brundisium:

BkISatV:1-33 Off to meet Maecenas, going to Brindisi4

BkISatV:34-70 Onward to supper at Cocceius’ villa. 4

BkISatV:71-104 And so by stages to journey’s end

Of course, one has to chuckle quite a bit over Satire 2, VIII – A Dinner Party:

BkIISatVIII:1-19 Nasidienus’ dinner-party. 4

BkIISatVIII:20-41 The guests. 4

BkIISatVIII:42-78 The trials of being a host5

BkIISatVIII:79-95 The guests disperse!

Texts from A.S. Kline (Poetry in Translation)

reading horace satires …

… sitting outside on a nice summer day, with some iced tea by my side, reading Horace.  But a bit unhappy, as most translations of the Satires don't read well … Going back to A.S. Kline (Poetry in Translation) online, still the best (it also has the advantage of a linked glossary).  Somewhere I read that Horace is most difficult to translate.

Anyway, here is what Horace has to say about satire:

gaius maecenas, patron of the arts

Gaius Maecenas, friend and counselor of Augustus (until he fell from grace) was an important friend of Horace, whose Satires we will be discussing next week.  N.S. Gill has more: 

Who Was Maecenas

Definition: A wealthy descendant of Etruscan kings, Gaius Maecenas was a Roman literary patron and writer whose works have not survived except as titles and in fragments.  He was born April 13, c. 70 B.C.

The equestrian Maecenas was an advisor and friend of Augustus. Maecenas as well as Agrippa fought for Augustus during the civil wars;  Agrippa the more so since Maecenas was often in Rome where he served as magistrate. Maecenas is mentioned as having fought at Mutina, Philippi and Perusia, according to Propertius, in the 1911 Encyclopedia.

The name and patronage of Maecenas is associated with Vergil, Horace, Propertius, and Varius.  read on

Here is a typical 19th century Schinken, At Maecenas' Reception by Stepan Bakalovich:

Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
click on image to enlarge

musica romana

The Ensemble Musica Romana

…is bringing sounds of times long past to life again. By research of ancient music and reconstruction of ancient instruments they successfully revive archaic sounds and forgotten melodies.

The group Musica Romana was founded in 2001 and unites archaeologists, historians,ethnologist, musicians and interested technicians sharing an interest in Experimental Archaeology, Living History, museal paedagogics and of course, music and dance. We are having a lot of fun researching, planning and reconstructing our instruments correctly in detail, as well as studying, composing and rehearsing our music. We aim to make the music of times long gone comprehensible to our modern audience, to express our love for unconventional and non-commercial music and to respect scientific correctness towards the ancient sources of musical theory as well as towards contemporary research.

German site

Hat tip: Caroline Lawrence

gaius lucilius, writer of satires, and his influence on horace

Gaius Lucilius (Wikipedia, handle with care), c.160–103/2 BC, is considered the earliest Roman satirist.  (Other sites give his dates a c.180–102.)  Only fragments of his work remain.  He was a Roman citizen of the equestrian class and belonged to the circle of Scipio Aemilianus.  Horace was influenced by him, and Lucilius appears in several of the latter's satires:

BkISatIV:1-25 Horace praises and also criticises him.
BkISatIV:26-62 An example of a great Satirist.
BkISatX:1-30 Horace’s criticism of his style.
BkISatX:50-71 Lucilius’ own criticism of others.
BkIISatI:1-23 He wrote about Scipio Africanus.
BkIISatI:24-46 Horace considers Lucilius a better man than himself.
BkIISatI:47-86 Lucilius’ satires were tolerated.

Jacques Perret in his Horace points out similarities, such as being part of a circle around the patron:  Aemilianus/Maecenas, the independence of being an equestrian, chroniclers of little groups, etc.  He writes, "[Horace found], in Lucilius, the assurance that one could build a literary work around one's own person.  Perhaps no Greek author would have have encouraged him in that direction."

reading about horace

From what I can see, biographies of Horace do not abound – information to the contrary is greatly appreciated – but I found one at a library today when I searched for a print edition of the works of Horace:

Jacques Perret: Horace
with a foreword by Jotham Johnson
translated by Bertha Humez
New York University Press, 1964

AbeBooks.com has a number of inexpensive copies.

A glance through the book indicates that it is very readable.  Perret, a professor of Latin at the Sorbonne, has written about Vergil too.   JSTOR has several reviews indicating that the book is written for a general audience, i.e., us; three out of four reviews are favorable, with some reservations which probably would pass by the general reader.

polyaenus: strategemata, 'on strategems'

When reading Adrienne Mayor's Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological & Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World,  December 2008 paperback edition – a fascinating, gruesome read – I found a very different take from the usual on Caesar and the pirates, and it comes from Polyaenus who wrote Strategemata,

… which was presented to Lucius Verus on the occasion of his war against the Parthian Empire.  According to the author himself, the dedicatees did indeed read the books, and there is some evidence that Marcus Aurelius had the Strategemata with him during his Marcomannic war.

Polyaenus is interested in the technique of war, not in history for its own sake. Therefore, he often carelessly confuses the names of the generals. Yet, there is some structure.

(Polyaenus: Greek-Roman author (second century CE) of a collection of stratagems at livius.org)