Welcome to Litsy!

"As he left the forum he said to those who were with him: 'It is certainly sordid to do the wrong thing, and anyone can do the right thing when there is no danger attached; what distinguishes the good man from others is that when danger is involved he still does right."
-Plutarch, "Fall of the Roman Republic"

Interesting premise and I liked reading how ancient Romans lived, the public baths, the smell (omg, the smell - you could practically experience it coming off the pages with the descriptions), disease and war. Too bad the main character was so unlikeable. She had her own morals, like no drinking, no spanking children, etc., but then would give into them, almost like, “Oh well, when in Rome…” Ending felt flat and predictable too.

"A city, like a ship, can gain stability from opposed forces which together prevent it rocking one way or the other; but now these forces were united into one and there was nothing to stop the movement of violent party interest from overthrowing everything."
-Plutarch, "Fall of the Roman Republic"

"The ordinary mind will see in his plight an example of the fickleness of fortune, but to the wise it will seem rather an example of reckless ambition. Because of this he was not content to be first and greatest among many millions; simply from the fact that two men were judged superior to him, he concluded that he had nothing at all."
-Plutarch, "Fall of the Roman Republic"

#Prosperous
#25Alive
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs

I was not expecting to love this like I did.

"However, I should have to write another essay altogether to determine the point whether this is a real change and revolution in a man's nature, brought about by fortune, or whether it is rather the case that when a man is in power the evil that has been latent in him reveals itself openly."
-Plutarch, "Fall of the Roman Republic"

I was enjoying this book up to a point, a Gaulish warrior traveling through Caesar's Rome to Persia. The perspective was interesting. I felt like it was going to be a solid rec for people who love Shogun etc.

Then it got to Greece and the portrayal of two young teens sexuality was deeply horrible. It's a subject that takes a delicate hand, but this went somewhere beyond being clumsy, into territory that I found deeply repulsive.

Next up for reading. Returning to ancient Rome.
#Rome #RomanRepublic

“There is in fact no way of correcting wrongdoing in those who think that the height of virtue consists in the execution of their will.”

"Sovereign power is nothing if it does not care for the welfare of others, and...it is the task of a good ruler to keep his power in check, to resist the passions of unbridled desire and implacable rage."