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Dio's Rome, Vol. 5: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, ... Books 61 76, A. D. 54 211
Excerpt from Dio's Rome, Vol. 5: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus; Extant Books 61 76, A. D. 54 211
The following signs of dominion had been observed in his Career. At his birth just before dawn rays not cast by any beam of sunlight yet visible surrounded his form. And a certain astrologer from this and from the motion of the stars at that time and their relation to one another divined two things in regard to him, that he would rule and that he would murder his mother. Agrippina on hearing this became for the moment so beside herself as actually to cry out: Let him kill me, if only he shall rule. Later she was destined to repent bitterly of her prayer. Some people become so steeped in folly that if they expect to obtain' some blessing mingled with evil, they at once through their anxiety for the advantage pay no heed to the detriment. When the time for the latter also comes, they are cast down and would choose not to have se.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The following signs of dominion had been observed in his Career. At his birth just before dawn rays not cast by any beam of sunlight yet visible surrounded his form. And a certain astrologer from this and from the motion of the stars at that time and their relation to one another divined two things in regard to him, that he would rule and that he would murder his mother. Agrippina on hearing this became for the moment so beside herself as actually to cry out: Let him kill me, if only he shall rule. Later she was destined to repent bitterly of her prayer. Some people become so steeped in folly that if they expect to obtain' some blessing mingled with evil, they at once through their anxiety for the advantage pay no heed to the detriment. When the time for the latter also comes, they are cast down and would choose not to have se.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresRoman HistoryHistory
398 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 230
About the author
Cassius Dio
374 books44 followersCassius Dio or Dio Cassius (c. 155 – c. 235) was a Roman statesman and historian of Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 18, 2020
Grammar isn’t great. Why include text that has more lacunae than text?
Content is worth wading through these issues, especially when Dio starts writing in the first person, events that he witnessed personally.
Content is worth wading through these issues, especially when Dio starts writing in the first person, events that he witnessed personally.
April 26, 2016
This volume was a good read to me, but probably not to anyone who isn't an ardent fan of Roman history.
There are many interesting facts here, and Dio packs a lot of information about a lot of people and events in a fairly short span. Dio covers all the major events, focusing most on the personal character of the Emperors. He clearly shows his reverence for his favorites--Vespasian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius--and his disgust for those he loathes--Nero, Domitian, Commodus. He is also a solid action writer, and gives more life to battle scenes that other ancient writers I've read.
However, this isn't an easy read. A lot of this probably stems from the fact that this is a translation, and also that sections of these books are missing, but its true nevertheless. The prose didn't have much flow, and the chronology makes odd leaps. Dio also doesn't seem to import much style, either, just bland straightforwardness. While this works for a non-fiction book, it just doesn't have the same flavor as Suetonius's gossipy tone or Eusebius's Godly reverence.
There are many interesting facts here, and Dio packs a lot of information about a lot of people and events in a fairly short span. Dio covers all the major events, focusing most on the personal character of the Emperors. He clearly shows his reverence for his favorites--Vespasian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius--and his disgust for those he loathes--Nero, Domitian, Commodus. He is also a solid action writer, and gives more life to battle scenes that other ancient writers I've read.
However, this isn't an easy read. A lot of this probably stems from the fact that this is a translation, and also that sections of these books are missing, but its true nevertheless. The prose didn't have much flow, and the chronology makes odd leaps. Dio also doesn't seem to import much style, either, just bland straightforwardness. While this works for a non-fiction book, it just doesn't have the same flavor as Suetonius's gossipy tone or Eusebius's Godly reverence.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews