In a 1943 article in the Journal of Roman Studies , MP Charlesworth notes that for the Romans pius , felix , and invictus were intimately, even causally, connected: “because the Emperor is pius the gods will render him felix (for felicitas is their gift to their favourites) and his felicitas . . . . Continue Reading »
Hans A. Pohlsander’s The Emperor Constantine is a miracle of concision. In under 100 pages he summarizes the life of his subject, assesses his reign, and provides some pithy summaries of his legacy, real and in legends. He also withholds the title “the Great.” Pohlsander . . . . Continue Reading »
Giovanni Della Casa’s Galateo: Or, The Rules of Polite Behavior was one of the most important Renaissance treatises on civility, written in an age obsessed with civility. As M.F. Rusnak points out in his excellent introduction to his charming new translation, civility and politeness was not a . . . . Continue Reading »
In a discussion of the legends of Constantine ( Constantine the Great and Christianity ), Christopher Bush-Coleman notes how efforts to demythologize the man end up creating new myths: “Many of those writers who discard in largest measure material from earlier writers as legendary have . . . . Continue Reading »
The subtitle to Peter Andreas’s tells it all: Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America . America is a product of its long borders and frequently illicit border crossings. In his TLS review of the book, Eric Rauchway sums up Andreas’s thesis: “Washington made a new nation at . . . . Continue Reading »
What was the Reformation about ? Following David Yeago and others, I argue that it was centrally about idolatry, and that the Reformers’ response to idolatry was centrally about Christology and sacramental theology. . . . . Continue Reading »
The notion that Greek culture is derivative from the East is an ancient one. Eusebius made the claim in his Praeparatio Evangelica . As summarized by Raoul Mortley ( The Idea of Universal History from Hellenistic Philosophy to Early Christian Historiography , 65), Eusebius claimed: “In a . . . . Continue Reading »
In a contribution to Portraits: Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire on Eusebius’s “construction” of Constantine in his Vita Constantini , Averil Cameron draws an illuminating comparison between Eusebius’ intentions and those of . . . . Continue Reading »
In his study of Pietas from Vergil to Dryden (73-5), James Garrison describes how Prudentius depicts the conversion of Rome to Christ while maintaining its fundamental Romanitas . Pietas , that original Roman virtue transferred from Troy, indicates both the continuity and discontinuity. “To . . . . Continue Reading »
Philip Jenkins wonders why “the United States seems so determined to eradicate Christianity in one of its oldest heartlands, at such an agonizingly sensitive historical moment.” Jenkins surveys Syria’s bewildering religious mixture, and notes that “Christians have done very . . . . Continue Reading »
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