Roman Literature And Society
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
At the crossroads of art and power, Roman Literature and Society by R. M. Ogilvie presents a sweeping and authoritative account of Latin literature as a living, breathing expression of Roman civilization — from the ribald comedies of Plautus to the philosophical meditations of Seneca. Ogilvie, Professor of Humanity at the University of St Andrews, masterfully situates each writer within the social, political, and cultural currents of their age, arguing that Roman literature cannot be fully understood in isolation from the turbulent world that produced it. Rather than treating texts as monuments of a dead language, this work illuminates them as vital documents of a society grappling with war, empire, moral decay, and the nature of power itself. Ogilvie writes with a scholar's precision and a storyteller's instinct, moving fluently across centuries to chronicle the rise and transformation of an entire literary tradition. His prose is lucid and authoritative, making complex historical and literary ideas accessible without sacrificing depth or intellectual rigour. This is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand not just what the Romans wrote, but *why* — and what it reveals about the enduring human condition beneath the marble facade of empire.
Author: R. M. Ogilvie
Format: Hardback
Genre: Classic fiction
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
At the crossroads of art and power, Roman Literature and Society by R. M. Ogilvie presents a sweeping and authoritative account of Latin literature as a living, breathing expression of Roman civilization — from the ribald comedies of Plautus to the philosophical meditations of Seneca. Ogilvie, Professor of Humanity at the University of St Andrews, masterfully situates each writer within the social, political, and cultural currents of their age, arguing that Roman literature cannot be fully understood in isolation from the turbulent world that produced it. Rather than treating texts as monuments of a dead language, this work illuminates them as vital documents of a society grappling with war, empire, moral decay, and the nature of power itself. Ogilvie writes with a scholar's precision and a storyteller's instinct, moving fluently across centuries to chronicle the rise and transformation of an entire literary tradition. His prose is lucid and authoritative, making complex historical and literary ideas accessible without sacrificing depth or intellectual rigour. This is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand not just what the Romans wrote, but *why* — and what it reveals about the enduring human condition beneath the marble facade of empire.