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A History of Rome: Down to the Age of Constantine Paperback – 31 January 1980

by M. Cary (Author), H. H. Scullard (Author)

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Edition: 3^rd

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'...a unique achievement in its genre: a masterly synthesis of a huge mass of material. It deals with the political, military, social and cultural aspects of Roman civilisation, extending over a millennium.' - KLEIO '...we must indeed be grateful for what we have been given, which is immense. It is not often that a new edition of an old book can be hailed as a major event but this is the exception.' - Times Literary Supplement 'Almost nothing has escaped Scullard's attention, including some extremely recent items...it will be an ideal work of reference for students.' - Times Higher Education Supplement

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ISBN-10

0333278305
ISBN-13

978-0333278307
Edition

3rd
Publisher

Red Globe Press
Publication date

31 January 1980
Language

English
Dimensions

18.9 x 3.68 x 24.61 cm
Print length

1 pages
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'...a unique achievement in its genre: a masterly synthesis of a huge mass of material. It deals with the political, military, social and cultural aspects of Roman civilisation, extending over a millennium.' - KLEIO '...we must indeed be grateful for what we have been given, which is immense. It is not often that a new edition of an old book can be hailed as a major event but this is the exception.' - Times Literary Supplement 'Almost nothing has escaped Scullard's attention, including some extremely recent items...it will be an ideal work of reference for students.' - Times Higher Education Supplement

About the Author

M. Cary was co-author of A History of Rome: Down to the Age of Constantine (1980) H.H. Scullard was Reader in Ancient History at King's College London, UK.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Red Globe Press; 3rd edition (31 January 1980)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0333278305
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0333278307
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 18.9 x 3.68 x 24.61 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 81,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 83 in Ancient History Textbooks
- 267 in History of Ancient Rome

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H. H. Scullard
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Max Cary
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C Castleton

Maurice Cary

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 December 2019

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This is a somewhat old-fashioned Roman history but I love the old-fashioned style of the Latinate English of the author and the way he approaches the subject with the old conventions of historical thought and explanation of which I personally still approve. It is as exciting as its subject, packed full of interesting detail and is not disfigured by the strange by-ways and winding paths that modern history writing can take. If you like your history old-fashioned but written with style and verve, then this is the book for you. It is how I prefer mine.

George Moore

Item in very good shape. As expected

Reviewed in Canada on 19 January 2017

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No problems. Item in very good shape. As expected.

john

"I shall not altogether die"

Reviewed in the United States on 2 April 2013

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A History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine, Third Edition, by Max Cary and H.H. Scullard. Hardcover; 694 double-columned, small font pages (557p body + 81pp of endnotes + 56pp of appendices and index.) This third edition was originally published in 1975 and reprinted in 1983. Handpicked by Cary's widow to make a much-needed update to the 1954 second-edition, Scullard was a post-graduate student and eventual colleague of Professor Cary. (See the comments of this review for more detail on what the differences are among the three editions - they are not minor).

This riveting survey of Roman History is one of those big, thick books that feels like it's reading quickly but consumes - very enjoyably - large chunks of clock; you may find yourself pausing after what you perceived to be 15 minutes and 3 pages of reading to find you've spent an hour to move a page and half (I exaggerate but slightly). The authors apply a precise vocabulary and a very economic language style; they not unexpectedly make wide use of Latin terms and phrases (which will drive the typical modern reader to internet search engines), and they make very good decisions regarding when and how much detail is needed to explain a topic. All of these elements conspire to create densely-packed paragraphs that seem to expand in the reader's mind like a dry sponge sopping up water; there are very few wasted words.

Cary and Scullard approach the material chronologically, though there are many places where they do follow a subject thread to its natural conclusion before jumping back to the main narrative; but this is done appropriately and does not interrupt the historical flow. The authors segment the story into 6 parts spread across 44 named chapters:

1. Pre-Roman Italy
2. The Roman Conquest of Italy
3. The Conquest of the Mediterranean
4. The Fall of the Republic
5. Consolidation of the Roman Empire
6. The Decline of the Roman Empire

The 44 chapters are broken down according to the dominant chronological subject matter, usually a war or other event ("The Conflict of the Orders: The First Stage", Ch. 7; "The Second Punic War", Ch. 13), or a personage ("The Rise of Caesar to Supreme Power", Ch. 27). A pattern is followed of placing a summation chapter ("The Roman State in the Third Century B.C.", Ch. 11) at the end of each of the 6 major parts that comments on the state of Roman agriculture, economy, society, architecture, art, literature, science, philosophy, and religion - a very nice way to tie all the events of the era together and put them in perspective.

Each of the 44 chapters is further segmented into named section topics (Ch. 23 section 3, "The Homecoming of Sulla"); then, each section has margin notes to highlight the paragraph contents (p 233 "Sulla recaptures Rome and corners Carbo"). I mention this book's organizational detail in length because it was helpful on two fronts: it greatly facilitated comprehension when moving cover to cover in a linear fashion, but it also provided for drilling-down from 30-thousand foot views to specific detail when back-tracking to re-read certain sections. To the extent that human events can be logically chronicled and arranged, this book greatly succeeds; that it is able to wrap these events in a remarkably compelling story is a triumph.

The final chapter is a short but poignant retrospect and prospect of Roman history. Two lines in particular stood out to this reader. The first can only be appreciated by marching breathlessly with the legions for 500pp (and more than half a millennia) across the width and breadth of the ancient world: after going through a detailed examination of the possible causes of the decline of the empire - and treating all of them evenly - the authors write the following line (end of topic 4) "The Roman army both made and unmade the Empire."

The second line that stands out is a quote the authors use from Horace (Odes iii.30.6) in describing the continuation of Roman civilization in Western culture: "non omnis moriar" - "I shall not altogether die." Indeed. After reading this work, you may come to agree that in one sense it is not wholly incorrect to repeat today the words of The Apostle: "civis romanus sum" - "I am a citizen of Rome."

Lastly, please don't skip the endnotes (though it is cumbersome to continually flip to the back of the book); not only are they a trove of source material and further reading, but they also contain very good critical analysis and elaboration. I highly recommend this History of Rome; it is not a dumbed-down mass consumption type of effort; it expects the reader to work a bit, but the effort is very rewarding, and your knowledge and appreciation for Western civilization's Roman roots will deepen.

18 people found this helpful

Ryan Broadwater

My favorite textbook ever!

Reviewed in the United States on 14 March 2020

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As a student, the best textbook I've ever read. Most textbooks it feels like a chore to read. This book is enthralling. I think that is in one part due to the fascinating subject that it covers, and an equal part due to the clear and engaging style the book is written in. It's not too tough to read, and is giving you great information.

Christopher H.

Unsurpassed

Reviewed in the United States on 29 September 2008

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This massive history, covering a thousand years of Roman history in 558 triple-size pages, is extremely thorough and marvellously rich. Broad in scope and scrupulous in detail, it is also very well written, a true classic of historical prose. Though several decades old the work never feels out of date. My only minute criticisms are for occasional typographical errors (like 'columm'), the rare awkwardness of style (problems with parallelism in particular), and a slightly abrasive attachment to favourite expressions ('pari passu' comes to mind). Nit-picking aside, however, the History is truly awe-inspiring opus. Highly recommended to anyone with a thirst for knowledge (yes, that means you!).

13 people found this helpful

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A History of Rome: Down to the Age of Constantine Paperback – 31 January 1980

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