Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

The end of the past, ancient Rome and the modern West, by Aldo Schiavone ; translated by Margery J. Schneider

eng

Includes chapter notes (pages 215-267) and index

index present

non fiction

The end of the past

bibliography

by Aldo Schiavone ; translated by Margery J. Schneider

Revealing antiquity, 13

ancient Rome and the modern West

This searching interpretation of past and present addresses fundamental questions about the fall of the Roman Empire. Why did ancient culture, once so strong and rich, come to an end? Was it destroyed by weaknesses inherent in its nature? Or were mistakes made that could have been avoided--was there a point at which Greco-Roman society took a wrong turn? And in what ways is modern society different? Western history is split into two discontinuous eras, Aldo Schiavone tells us: the ancient world was fundamentally different from the modern one. He locates the essential difference in a series of economic factors: a slave-based economy, relative lack of mechanization and technology, the dominance of agriculture over urban industry. Also crucial are aspects of the ancient mentality: disdain for manual work, a preference for transcending (rather than transforming) nature, a basic belief in the permanence of limits. Schiavone's lively and provocative examination of the ancient world, "the eternal theater of history and power," offers a stimulating opportunity to view modern society in light of the experience of our forebears. --, Book jacket

Ancient Rome and the modern West