The Reading Room

I will try to keep up with what I am reading here.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

#5, Dictator, by Robert Harris

This is a fitting conclusion to the Cicero trilogy. Cicero is dedicated to the Roman republic, and tries against long odds to patch together some kind of a political solution in the face of Julius Caesar's rise to power. Of course, we know how the story ends, but the telling of this tale is enthralling. If history had been told like this when I was in school, I would have paid a lot more attention (and gotten better grades)!

Here is aquote from Cicero that was given in the book, just to give youa taste of the great orator's style:
"If a man ascended into heaven and gazed upon the whole workings of the universe and the beauty of the stars, the marvellous sight would give him no joy if he had to keep it to himself. And yet, if only there had been someone to describe the spectacle to, it would have filled him with delight. Nature abhors solitude."
Cicero, On Friendship