Pliny's Defense of Empire

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book Pliny's Defense of Empire by Thomas R. Laehn, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas R. Laehn ISBN: 9781136676314
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: July 18, 2013
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Thomas R. Laehn
ISBN: 9781136676314
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: July 18, 2013
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Despite perennial interest in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, the world’s first encyclopedia, as a record of the prodigious, the quotidian, and the useful in Rome in the first century AD, for centuries Pliny has been derided as little more than an inept compiler of facts and marvels intellectually incapable of formulating a cogent argument supported through the selective marshaling of his materials.

In Pliny’s Defense of Empire, Laehn offers a radical reinterpretation of the architecture of Pliny’s encyclopedia, exposing fundamental errors in the inherited understanding of the text traceable to its initial reception in ancient Rome. Recognition of the text’s true structure reveals that Pliny’s encyclopedia is in fact a first-rate work of political philosophy constituting an apology for Roman imperial expansionism grounded in a sophisticated account of human nature. Correcting the accreted errors and prejudices of nearly 2,000 years of faulty Plinian scholarship, Laehn critically examines one of the most persuasive apologies for the Roman Empire ever written and succeeds in rehabilitating the Elder Pliny as one of the world’s greatest political thinkers.

An excellent resource and a must read for scholars in political theory, philosophy, and classical studies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Despite perennial interest in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, the world’s first encyclopedia, as a record of the prodigious, the quotidian, and the useful in Rome in the first century AD, for centuries Pliny has been derided as little more than an inept compiler of facts and marvels intellectually incapable of formulating a cogent argument supported through the selective marshaling of his materials.

In Pliny’s Defense of Empire, Laehn offers a radical reinterpretation of the architecture of Pliny’s encyclopedia, exposing fundamental errors in the inherited understanding of the text traceable to its initial reception in ancient Rome. Recognition of the text’s true structure reveals that Pliny’s encyclopedia is in fact a first-rate work of political philosophy constituting an apology for Roman imperial expansionism grounded in a sophisticated account of human nature. Correcting the accreted errors and prejudices of nearly 2,000 years of faulty Plinian scholarship, Laehn critically examines one of the most persuasive apologies for the Roman Empire ever written and succeeds in rehabilitating the Elder Pliny as one of the world’s greatest political thinkers.

An excellent resource and a must read for scholars in political theory, philosophy, and classical studies.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Mainstream and Margins Revisited by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book The People's Congresses and Governance in China by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Planning a Course by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Using Shakespeare's Plays to Explore Education Policy Today by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Technological Diffusion and Industrialisation Before 1914 by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Clinical and Observational Psychoanalytic Research by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Japan and Britain after 1859 by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Heritage by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Public Indecency in England 1857-1960 by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book The Political Life of Urban Streetscapes by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Language in the Negotiation of Justice by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Comparative Planning Cultures by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Mediterranean Identities in the Premodern Era by Thomas R. Laehn
Cover of the book Movie Blockbusters by Thomas R. Laehn
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy