Customer Reviews

The Roman Republic in Political Thought (Menahem Stern Jerusalem Lectures)

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Professor Millar's method is somewhat unimaginative: to trace all references to the Roman Republic in the modern classics of Politics and to compare tham to the realities of the actual Roman Republic. Therefore the fact that he is somewhat taken aback by the fact that the Roman Republic described by Machiavelli and others is mostly the mythological Republic of Livy. The problem is that Rome (as well as Greece) relates to modern politics by being an idea, or better a dream of what the ideal political society should be, far more than by its historical actuality, and Professor Millar's lack of interest in recent theoretical discussions in the Social Sciences (e.g. about the concepts of ideology, narrative, etc.) blind him strangely to what could be a far more fruitful enquiry, or something far more better than an useful reference book.