The Twelve Tables

Please read through this translation of the the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written laws (also available in an abridged version here). How impressed are you with this law code? Cite an example of what you consider to be a particularly good law or a particularly bad law from this code. Explain how the law you cite would have tended to either strengthen or weaken the Roman Republic.

Livy, Book I

Please read the Preface and Book I of Livy's History of Rome (also available here). Read the preface carefully. Skim through Book I, concentrating on stories you find particularly interesting.

Livy believed that the study of history was important because of its application to our own lives. In particular, he notes that history is full of examples of how we ought to behave and how we ought not to behave. Cite a line or summarize a passage from Livy that you think particularly well illustrates the value of history/the lessons history has for us.

Welcome!

Brek-ek-ek-ek-coax-coax... and welcome to Roman Keyline Blog!

You have just crossed the river Styx and are ready to join Aeschylus and Euripides in a great line contest. Fortunately for you, you don't have to invent your own lines. Just pick out a great line from whatever Roman writer we happen to be studying in History 422 this week and explain why this line is key to understanding the whole work or particularly worth remembering and applying to real life.