Rome in Crisis (Penguin Classics)
Plutarch
Language: English
Pages: 752
ISBN: 0140449167
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Bringing together nine biographies from Plutarch's Parallel Lives series, this edition examines the lives of major figures in Roman history, from Lucullus (118-57 BC), an aristocratic politician and conqueror of Eastern kingdoms, to Otho (32-69 AD), a reckless young noble who consorted with the tyrannical, debauched emperor Nero before briefly becoming a dignified and gracious emperor himself. Ian Scott-Kilvert's and Christopher Pelling's translations are accompanied by a new introduction, and also includes a separate introduction for each biography, comparative essays of the major figures, suggested further reading, notes and maps.
Rome in Crisis joins Penguin Classics' complete revised Plutarch in six volumes. Other titles include On Sparta, Fall of the Roman Republic, The Rise of Rome, and The Rise and Fall of Athens.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
have been allowed to plead his case, if a man had really been intending to put into practice the moderation that his letters had initially promised. Those are the grounds for criticizing these actions, but when the approaching Galba arrived within 25 stades of the city88 he was met by a rowdy demonstration. The rowers – these were the men whom Nero had recruited to be soldiers and organized into a single unit89 – had occupied the road, and pressed around him from all sides. Now that Galba was
not that the charges were untrue, but it was senseless and ridiculous for one to accuse the other of faults which were common to both. Decadence, effeminacy, military inexperience, an abundance of earlier debts contracted in penury – here it was hard to say which of the two outdid the other. Reports kept coming in of omens and apparitions. Many of them were rumours, of uncertain origin and value; but everyone saw what happened to the statue of Victory on the Capitol, when the reins slipped from
gathered around him to prevent any stranger from approaching. 18. However, when Mucius77 began once again to summon the tribes to the vote, it was impossible to carry out the usual procedure because of a disturbance which had arisen on the outskirts of the crowd, where Tiberius’s opponents were trying to force their way in and mingle with the rest, and his supporters were pushing and jostling against them. At this moment Fulvius Flaccus,78 a senator, climbed into a conspicuous position, and,
their children. Sertorius decided that he could no longer tolerate their existence, and he had them surrounded in their camp and killed with javelins. This gang numbered no fewer than four thousand.35 6. Not long after this Marius died, and a little later Cinna was killed.36 The younger Marius succeeded then in making himself consul, even though this was unconstitutional: Sertorius very much disapproved.37 Men such as Carbo, Norbanus and Scipio38 made futile attempts to block Sulla’s advance
time for preparations, but sent Murena to harry and cut off the troops gathering in Tigranes’ support, and Sextilius to prevent a large force of Arabs from linking with the king. Sextilius fell on the Arabs as they were pitching camp and killed most of them, while Murena followed Tigranes, seized his moment and attacked the army as it was threading through a rough and narrow defile in a long column. Tigranes himself fled, abandoning all his baggage-train; many of the Armenians were killed, and