The Nature of Things

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard My rating: 4 of 5 stars In her excellent history of ancient Rome and her discussion of why it matters to us, Mary Beard makes the point early on that, because of the work of archaeologists and dogged historians, we know more today about the culture of that time and what was happening than those living in the era knew. It's a fascinating thought to consider that so many of the famous acts that we read about were actually taken more or less in the dark and with little certainty of how things would turn out. So, the ancient Romans crossed their Rubicons and cast their die time and again and kept their fingers crossed to see what the outcome would be. Is it any different today? I was finishing up reading this book last night as the voters in Iowa were caucusing and once again they had some surprises for us, even as the murderers of Julius Caesar who expected the populace to approve of their actions were surprised. Indeed, in politics, the ...