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Lives of the Great Commanders
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About Lives Of The Great Commanders
Product Description This new, original translation of Cornelius Nepos's "Lives of the Great Commanders" is the first to appear in many generations. It is also the first completely illustrated and annotated translation of this ageless classic. It contains the following special features that are specifically designed for the general reader or student: 1. Over forty illustrations, including original portrait art and historical illustrations. 2. Over four hundred and forty descriptive footnotes that explain every name, location, and literary point of interest in the text. 3. A fresh, modern English translation that is faithful to the original Latin text. 4. A detailed foreword, descriptive introduction, map, and index for ease of reference. The Roman writer Cornelius Nepos (c. 110 B.C.--c. 25 B.C.) was one of the first biographers in the Western tradition. His "Lives of the Great Commanders" presents memorable and entertaining sketches of some of the most famous military and political leaders of antiquity. Written with a strong moral purpose, his book was taught and studied in schools for many centuries. Through him we learn what character traits made his subjects great, and what shortcomings produced their downfalls. Nepos's instructional biographies have never been more needed or relevant today. His themes--character, moral development, political freedom, and the consequences of corruption--are timeless and universal in their interest. A self-contained unit, this new translation is ideal both for those with no prior background in the subject matter, and also for the serious student. Review "When I heard 'Lives of the Great Commanders' was to be the next translation by the formidable writer, translator, scholar, attorney, and US Marine Quintus Curtius, I was surprised. I have spent quite a long time studying Roman history and classic texts from this era, but I had never once heard of Cornelius Nepos or his writing. I attempted to read a free translation of the volume available online and quickly abandoned the effort. To say it was a challenging read would be putting it mildly. Still, I ordered this volume in hardcover day it became available. I have learned that anything Quintus Curtius publishes is worth an immediate purchase. This volume greatly exceeded my expectations. The translation is, of course, top-notch. Gone are the horrific run-on sentences or terrible word choices that so many translators profane their subjects with. Quintus treats these great works with the utmost care. He is not simply exchanging Latin for English. It is clear his goal is to build a bridge between Rome of ~50 BC and the worldwide English speaking audience of 2019. He succeeds. As Quintus's works have steadily been released, he has continued to refine his publishing craft. In addition to the hundreds of footnotes and dozens of images familiar to anyone who read his translation of 'On Moral Ends', sketched portraits have been introduced in this volume. This takes subjects who are too often just a name in a textbook and transforms them into unique individuals. We need the other major publishing houses to review Quintus's most recent releases and emulate them in all their translations. The only other one that comes close is The Landmark Ancient Histories series. Nepos did not create the kind of overwhelming biography we so often see today, where every detail of a subject's life is carefully cataloged for posterity. In this work, Nepos created a book designed to help the reader develop character and understand moral truths. This book could easily be used as a kind of 'character devotional' for those interested in developing themselves. In fact, for several centuries 'Lives of the Great Commanders' was used by schoolboys for a similar purpose. Each chapter deals with a specific figure and is written in clear, concise language. Nepos isn't trying to overwhelm you with his brilliance, he is focused on ensuring you understand what the core motivatio
