Monday, April 3, 2017
What have the Romans ever done for us?
" This Raphael, who from his family carries the name of Hythloday, is not ignorant of the Latin tongue, but is eminently learned in the Greek, having applied himself more particularly to that than to the former, because he had given himself much to philosophy, in which he knew that the Romans have left us nothing that is valuable, except what is to be found in Seneca and Cicero" - I take issue with this statement, partially on principal of sweeping generalities, but also because Rome was the fulfillment of several of the Greek traditions (Hellenism exceeded by Pax Romana, Marcus Aurelius redeeming the Stoics, etc.). Understanding that the Greeks were the foundation of Western culture is one thing, removing the Empire that firmly settled that foundation is another. The Romans may have mostly regurgitated the Greek tradition, but they also brought their own strong points.
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I was bothered by this as well. I think it is pretty ignorant to assume that Rome "left us nothing that is valuable". Without Rome, many Greek texts would have been lost. The translation of many texts from Greek to Latin is really the only way some of them survived. Even in merely preserving the ancient works, Rome had great value.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it is not a new idea to generalize other cultures based on the most well known aspects of a culture. It seems easier than sitting down to learn the richness of a culture, but then it is even easier to miss the essence of the culture.
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