A thoughtful review, thanks Andrew. That lady from Brown won't think much of my forthcoming book, then, because I have a whole chapter on Marcus's equestrian statue, and its afterlives. I may need to include her, um, intolerant perspective - thanks for alerting me to it.
This seems so obvious: “As a society, we seem increasingly unable to judge historical people on their merits. Instead, the time they lived in becomes an indelible stain. Marcus doesn’t easily fit into the modern dichotomy of good and bad, or into the progressive/conservative divide.”
It’s easy for me to dismiss people who are so mired in their own incantations they don’t want to learn. But that doesn’t help me or anyone else. I too often revert to quoting Schiller and leaving it there. "against ignorance (or stupidity) the gods themselves contend in vain.” That’s unhelpful too.
Thank you for introducing me to a new book on Marcus.
A thoughtful review, thanks Andrew. That lady from Brown won't think much of my forthcoming book, then, because I have a whole chapter on Marcus's equestrian statue, and its afterlives. I may need to include her, um, intolerant perspective - thanks for alerting me to it.
Good luck with the writing!
This seems so obvious: “As a society, we seem increasingly unable to judge historical people on their merits. Instead, the time they lived in becomes an indelible stain. Marcus doesn’t easily fit into the modern dichotomy of good and bad, or into the progressive/conservative divide.”
It’s easy for me to dismiss people who are so mired in their own incantations they don’t want to learn. But that doesn’t help me or anyone else. I too often revert to quoting Schiller and leaving it there. "against ignorance (or stupidity) the gods themselves contend in vain.” That’s unhelpful too.
Thank you for introducing me to a new book on Marcus.