Rome under the Cæsars

"The manners and customs of the Romans at the time of their greatest power and civilisation have naturally been made the subject of much research and many speculative treatises. They have been reconstructed in the minutest details from the evidence of those ancient authorities which time has spared us, and from the relics which excavation has continually been bringing to light. Thanks to the labours of scholars and archæologists we can picture to ourselves many scenes of Roman life with as much clearness and accuracy as those which we see around us. (...) The scheme of arrangement which we have chosen will be easily understood from the headings of the chapters. Religion, Philosophy, and Morality, treated, as far as possible, in their social aspects, occupy the first place. Then follows a short chapter on the social influence of Imperialism in the first century. The Literature and Art of the the period are next considered, after which we have endeavoured to analyse Roman society into its component parts, discussing briefly the various grades into which the community was divided. Then descending more into detail, we have described the life of the individual, first tracing, in outline, the ordinary course of a Roman's career from the cradle to the grave, and then giving some account of the daily habits of the best-known sections of society. Public amusements form the subject of the next chapter, and the last contains a consideration of the luxury of the wealthy classes." - William Ralph Inge

Contents: Religion. Philosophy. Morality. The Government and Society. Literature and Art. Grades of Society. Education, Marriage. Daily Life. Amusements. Luxury.