Tuesday

Cranky Carcopino





The above is from Jérôme Carcopino's great book about daily life in ancient Rome. This is the concluding paragraph from a section about the fad for recitations, public readings and building auditoria during the Empire. I think he goes a little overboard with the last sentence, but I do think he strikes a strong note (writing in 1940, about the 1st Century) for our times; vis. publishing electronically and shouting online. After detailing the copious noise of Rome, I think his depiction of people badgering for audience and attention has a kind of neat historical circularity about it, something to remember when we talk about the wonders of new technology, blogging, Twitter etc.

Again with the Romans...

Roman civilisation, some poetic thoughts and deliberations