Politics and Philosophy at Rome
Collected Papers
Published on 23. October 2018
Book
Hardback
792 pages
978-0-19-879312-0 (ISBN)
Description
This volume presents the collected papers of Miriam T. Griffin, an eminent scholar of Roman history and ancient thought whose work has played a central role in forging links between scholarship on the history of the Graeco-Roman world and its philosophies. Spanning a period of over forty years and a distinguished career as Fellow of Somerville College at Oxford, these papers include both published works, many of them now difficult to find in their original printings, and previously unpublished lectures.
The collection covers a range of topics in Roman Republican and Imperial history, Roman historiography, and the interplay of Latin philosophy and Roman politics, as well as featuring a host of key Latin authors, most notably Cicero, Seneca, and Tacitus. The last of these categories, the interplay of philosophy and politics in Rome, is also the most prominent in the volume: though deeply interested in ancient philosophy, and especially Stoicism, Miriam Griffin writes primarily as a historian concerned with how Roman thinking was related to political circumstances and actions. Many of the essays have opened up new areas of discussion and formed the basis of later scholarship dealing with history and philosophy, and although some of them are quite general, serving as useful introductions to the subject area, others are more detailed and technical, inviting discussion and controversy. The style throughout is consistently dynamic and engaging, resulting in a fascinating and formidable collection from a scholar unrivalled as an expert in both the history of the Graeco-Roman world and its philosophies, and a true pioneer in the bridging of these two spheres.
The collection covers a range of topics in Roman Republican and Imperial history, Roman historiography, and the interplay of Latin philosophy and Roman politics, as well as featuring a host of key Latin authors, most notably Cicero, Seneca, and Tacitus. The last of these categories, the interplay of philosophy and politics in Rome, is also the most prominent in the volume: though deeply interested in ancient philosophy, and especially Stoicism, Miriam Griffin writes primarily as a historian concerned with how Roman thinking was related to political circumstances and actions. Many of the essays have opened up new areas of discussion and formed the basis of later scholarship dealing with history and philosophy, and although some of them are quite general, serving as useful introductions to the subject area, others are more detailed and technical, inviting discussion and controversy. The style throughout is consistently dynamic and engaging, resulting in a fascinating and formidable collection from a scholar unrivalled as an expert in both the history of the Graeco-Roman world and its philosophies, and a true pioneer in the bridging of these two spheres.
Reviews / Votes
[a] meticulously edited and skillfully produced volume * Joseph Geiger, Scripta Classica Israelica * The volume...serves as a testament to Griffin's enduring authority and inspiration as a scholar. * Jenny Bryan, University of Manchester * The book is thus a 'must-have' for specialists, who will easily locate key passages concerning key themes in Roman political thoughtspecialists will also find useful supplements to readings in source material for undergraduate and graduate students. * Alex Dresslet, University of Wisconsim-Madison, Polis (AGPT) * What is most striking reading through the collection as a whole is how accessible Griffin consistently is, even when discussing more technical matters, e.g. in 'Un Frammento del Libro XI di Tito Livio?' and 'The Composition of the Academica'. This makes the volume a valuable resource for a wide-ranging readership. * Benjamin Harriman, Edinburgh University, Bryn Mawr Classical Review * It is easy to give this a five-star rating as the work here is the result of many years of peer-reviewed polishing and the finished text is pretty well perfect in scope and in execution. * John Godwin, Classics for all *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
6 black-and-white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 47 mm
Weight
1520 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-879312-0 (9780198793120)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Miriam T. Griffin was born in New York and studied at Barnard College and Radcliffe before receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to Oxford, where she completed her DPhil under the supervision of Sir Ronald Syme. She was initially the Fulford Research Fellow at St. Anne's College, later being appointed to a tutorial fellowship in Ancient History at Somerville College and a CUF Lectureship in the University, as well as holding a post as Langford Eminent scholar at Florida State University in 2008. She was the editor of The Classical Quarterly from 2002 until 2007 and is a long-standing editor of the Clarendon Ancient History series for Oxford University Press. In 2018, Dr Griffin was posthumously awarded a British Academy Medal for her lifetimes contribution to Roman history and ancient thought.
Catalina Balmaceda completed her D.Phil at Brasenose College, Oxford, and is now Associate Professor of Ancient History at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. She is the author of Virtus Romana: Politics and Morality in the Roman Historians (University of North Carolina Press, 2017), Comprender el pasado: una historia de la escritura y el pensamiento historico (with Jaume Aurell, Peter Burke, and Felipe Soza; Akal, 2013), Sallust: The War Against Jugurtha (with Michael Comber; Liverpool University Press, 2009), and several articles on Roman history and historiography.
Catalina Balmaceda completed her D.Phil at Brasenose College, Oxford, and is now Associate Professor of Ancient History at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. She is the author of Virtus Romana: Politics and Morality in the Roman Historians (University of North Carolina Press, 2017), Comprender el pasado: una historia de la escritura y el pensamiento historico (with Jaume Aurell, Peter Burke, and Felipe Soza; Akal, 2013), Sallust: The War Against Jugurtha (with Michael Comber; Liverpool University Press, 2009), and several articles on Roman history and historiography.
Content
Frontmatter
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
PART I: ROMAN HISTORY
Republican History
1: Cicero and Rome
2: The 'Leges Iudiciariae' of the Pre-Sullan Era
3: The Tribune C. Cornelius
4: Introduction to A Companion to Julius Caesar
Imperial History
5: Urbs Roma, Plebs and Princeps
6: The Elder Seneca and Spain
7: Nero's Recall of Suetonius Paullinus
8: Claudius in the Judgement of the Next Half-Century
9: Tacitus, Tiberius and the Principate
10: Nero and the Concept of Imperial Glory
PART II: ROMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
Published Papers
11: Tacitus as a Historian
12: The Lyons Tablet and Tacitean Hindsight
13: Un Frammento del Libro XI di Tito Livio?
14: Claudius in Tacitus
15: The Senate's Story
16: Pliny and Tacitus
17: Iure Plectimur: The Roman Critique of Roman Imperialism
Unpublished Lectures
18: Writing History: The Senate vs. Tacitus
19: Pliny s Letters: Between History and E-mail
20: Nero: From Zero to Hero
21: Tacitus and Nero
22: Tiberius on Family Relations
Occasional Pieces
23: Obituary of Sir Ronald Syme, 1903-1989
24: Show Us You Care, Ma'am
25: 'Lifting the Mask': Syme on Fictional History
PART III: PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS
26: Philosophy, Politics, and Politicians at Rome
27: De Brevitate Vitae
28: Seneca on Cato's Politics: Epistle 14.12 13
29: Imago Vitae Suae
30: Philosophy, Cato, and Roman Suicide: I and II
31: Philosophy for Statesmen: Cicero and Seneca
32: The Intellectual Developments of the Ciceronian Age
33: Philosophical Badinage in Cicero's Letters to his Friends
34: Cynicism and the Romans: Attraction and Repulsion
35: When is Thought Political?
36: From Aristotle to Atticus: Cicero and Matius on Friendship
37: The Composition of the Academica: Motives and Versions
38: Seneca and Pliny
39: Piso, Cicero and their Audience
40: Political Thought in the Age of Nero
41: Clementia after Caesar: From Politics to Philosophy
42: De Beneficiis and Roman Society
43: The Younger Pliny's Debt to Moral Philosophy
44: Seneca's Pedagogic Strategy: Letters and De Beneficiis
45: The Elder Pliny on Philosophers
46: The Politics of Virtue: Three Puzzles in Cicero's De Officiis
47: Symptoms and Sympathy in Latin Letter-writing
48: Latin Philosophy and Roman Law
49: The Prince and his Tutor: Candour and Affection
50: Dignity in Roman and Stoic Thought
Endmatter
Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
PART I: ROMAN HISTORY
Republican History
1: Cicero and Rome
2: The 'Leges Iudiciariae' of the Pre-Sullan Era
3: The Tribune C. Cornelius
4: Introduction to A Companion to Julius Caesar
Imperial History
5: Urbs Roma, Plebs and Princeps
6: The Elder Seneca and Spain
7: Nero's Recall of Suetonius Paullinus
8: Claudius in the Judgement of the Next Half-Century
9: Tacitus, Tiberius and the Principate
10: Nero and the Concept of Imperial Glory
PART II: ROMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
Published Papers
11: Tacitus as a Historian
12: The Lyons Tablet and Tacitean Hindsight
13: Un Frammento del Libro XI di Tito Livio?
14: Claudius in Tacitus
15: The Senate's Story
16: Pliny and Tacitus
17: Iure Plectimur: The Roman Critique of Roman Imperialism
Unpublished Lectures
18: Writing History: The Senate vs. Tacitus
19: Pliny s Letters: Between History and E-mail
20: Nero: From Zero to Hero
21: Tacitus and Nero
22: Tiberius on Family Relations
Occasional Pieces
23: Obituary of Sir Ronald Syme, 1903-1989
24: Show Us You Care, Ma'am
25: 'Lifting the Mask': Syme on Fictional History
PART III: PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS
26: Philosophy, Politics, and Politicians at Rome
27: De Brevitate Vitae
28: Seneca on Cato's Politics: Epistle 14.12 13
29: Imago Vitae Suae
30: Philosophy, Cato, and Roman Suicide: I and II
31: Philosophy for Statesmen: Cicero and Seneca
32: The Intellectual Developments of the Ciceronian Age
33: Philosophical Badinage in Cicero's Letters to his Friends
34: Cynicism and the Romans: Attraction and Repulsion
35: When is Thought Political?
36: From Aristotle to Atticus: Cicero and Matius on Friendship
37: The Composition of the Academica: Motives and Versions
38: Seneca and Pliny
39: Piso, Cicero and their Audience
40: Political Thought in the Age of Nero
41: Clementia after Caesar: From Politics to Philosophy
42: De Beneficiis and Roman Society
43: The Younger Pliny's Debt to Moral Philosophy
44: Seneca's Pedagogic Strategy: Letters and De Beneficiis
45: The Elder Pliny on Philosophers
46: The Politics of Virtue: Three Puzzles in Cicero's De Officiis
47: Symptoms and Sympathy in Latin Letter-writing
48: Latin Philosophy and Roman Law
49: The Prince and his Tutor: Candour and Affection
50: Dignity in Roman and Stoic Thought
Endmatter
Bibliography
Index