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History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, all six volumes, with active table of contents, improved 2/1/2011
amazon.com
Before broaching the main theme of his title, Gibbon briefly reflects on the earlier period of one-man rule between Tiberius and Commodus, and he singles out for praise the emperors in the second century CE. His memorable aphorism, crafted with typical eighteenth-century self-confidence, is still much quoted: ‘If a man were called to fix the period
... See moreMary Beard • SPQR
The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome (Illustrated)
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
amazon.com
in 1882—is the most vital and original book to be had relating to the time of Marcus Aurelius. Pater's "Marius the Epicurean" forms another outside commentary, which is of service in the imaginative attempt to create again the period.
Marcus Aurelius • Meditations
“The world sinks into ruin: yes! but shameful to say our sins still live and flourish. The renowned city, the capital of the Roman Empire, is swallowed up in one tremendous fire; and there is no part of the earth where Romans are not in exile. Churches once held sacred are now but heaps of dust and ashes; and yet we have our minds set on the desire
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