Epitome Rerum Romanarum: Or A Compendious History Of Rome

by Florus

Epitome Rerum Or A Compendious History Of Rome (1739) is a book written by Lucius Annaeus Florus, a Roman historian and poet. The book provides a concise history of Rome, covering the period from its legendary founding by Romulus in 753 BC to the reign of the emperor Augustus. Florus's account of Roman history is divided into two parts. The first part covers the period from the founding of Rome to the end of the Second Punic War in 201 BC. The second part covers the period from the end of the Second Punic War to the reign of Augustus.The book is written in a simple and straightforward style, making it accessible to readers of all levels. It provides a useful introduction to Roman history and is a valuable resource for students and scholars of ancient history.Overall, Epitome Rerum Or A Compendious History Of Rome (1739) is a concise and informative account of Roman history, written by a respected Roman historian and poet. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning more about the history of Rome.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: History, Classics

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epitome of Roman History
By Annaeus Florus (about 70AD – 140AD)
Several authors by the name of Florus are mentioned in Roman History. The author of this work is likely the one who lived at the time of the emperor Hadrian. He was a contemporary of Suetone.
His work, the Epitome of Roman History is a condensed version of Roman History, spanning over seven hundred years, from Romulus to Augustus. From its humble beginning to its greatness and its decline.
Like Seneca, though not using the same divisions, Florus uses as a comparison of the life of a person, from childhood to virile man and the decline of old age.
The work is not a reduced version of Tacitus or Livy’s History of Rome. The style of Florus’ writing is quite different and visibly authentic. He is using a colourful and pleasant vocabulary to describe events precisely in good sequence and never boring. He knows how to recall lively images of actions with intelligent comments of his imagination.
Having said that, it is also true that our author has made a good number of chronological and geographical mistakes. May these serve as proof of authenticity if need be.
Florus is writing his History like an epic poem; the reader will notice how the author is proud of his origins; how often he mentions the Romans as the Royal Nation.
The fact the author wanted a condensed version of history, made him reduce time scales to a minimum and the reader may have the impression that Roman History was just a long list of wars, one after the other. Wars of conquest and in the end civil wars.
But from works of other authors, the reader of Roman History will know how long many of these wars have lasted, how devastating they were and the number of victims just unimaginable, considering that the warriors used only weapons of steel or bronze and no gunpowder.
This relatively short work of History gave A. Florus great celebrity in the middle ages when it was widely used as a textbook in schools.
Editors of the seventeenth century were rivalling to translate the work into French, English, Danish etc. up to twelve languages at the time.
This work can certainly serve as a reference book for readers starting in Roman History.
There will be rich material and suggestions for further reading.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise summary, this is excellent for teaching Roman history.

[Luca Ottavi]

"Ego nolo Florus esse", e iure meritoque, aggiungerei. La carrellata asettica delle guerre combattute da Roma si accompagna a uno stile di pretenziosa brevitas che strizza l'occhio ad autori ben più quotati. Un ottimo bignami per passare l'interrogazione dal grammaticus, in attesa di un più sostanzioso Sallustio.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to read! Goes fast, provides "wikipedia-quality" synopsis of Roman history up to the time of Augustus and Christ.