This is the third book
by Livy I’ve read (the others being The War With Hannibal, and The Early History of Rome). The edition I read was published by Penguin,
translated by Betty Radice.
Rome and Italy follows
immediately on from the Early History, and covers the aftermath of
the city’s recovery from the Gauls. After some minor wars, the meat
of the book is concerned with the prolonged and challenging Samnite
Wars (which occurred just before the Pyrrhic and Punic conflicts).
I knew practically
nothing about this period of Roman history. Livy’s style, as ever,
is engaging and easy to read, although it’s worth recalling he
isn’t Captain Objective. The edition I read made good use of
footnotes to explain certain points or remind the reader of minor
inconsistencies in the history.
There’s a fascinating
contrast between the ruthless pragmatism of the Romans, and their
superstitious nature (repeatedly appointing dictators specifically to
hammer in a nail to propitiate the gods). Likewise, asking chickens
their opinion before deciding whether to engage in battle or not.
There are some broad
themes that are actually quite in tune with the modern world,
particularly the conflict (sometimes almost warfare) between the
wealthy, privileged, aristocratic patricians, and the numerous but
poorer plebeians. On an individual level, there’s heroism and
sacrifice, bickering and selfishness, and some intriguing characters
(Titus Manlius Torquatus, Marcus Valerius Corvus, Lucius Papirius
Cursor and the first Quintus Fabius Maximus, to name a few).
The only real downside
was that I found the maps rather iffy. Detail was swallowed by the
spine and they weren’t particularly clear (cluttered, and the fonts
are too small).
If you liked Livy’s
other writing, you’ll enjoy this (NB if you haven’t read anything
by Livy I’d advocate starting with The War With Hannibal, as it’s
about arguably the most interesting war in history).
Thaddeus
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