History of Rome in Latin?

[thesaurus]

Can anyone recommend an all Latin history of Rome? I understand that there are many fine Roman histories written by the Romans themselves, and I mean no disrepect towards Livy and Tacitus. However, what I'm hoping to find is a history text written by someone of the modern era for the contemporary student. I'm picturing a text on Google Books from the 1600s, when having your school texts in Latin was still a thing.

My knowledge of Roman history is woefully inadequate, and I'd love to be able to practice my Latin at the same time rather than read about it in English. While I intend to continue reading the original Roman authors, I could use a modern person's perspective on their era to exlain things that would have been taken for granted by or unknown to the ancient authors.

Any of you neo-latinists have a hunch? If such a text does not exist, oh well! I'm also generally interested in any history and school texts written in Latin that I could use to expand my knowledge of other disciplines.

[cb]

hi, i think one of the most well-known ones is lhomond's de viris illustribus:

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/lhomond.viris.html

this is the one that smith adapted for the reading part of his principia latina course:

http://archive.org/stream/principialati ... 2/mode/2up

here in paris bookmarkets i've seen lots of others from around the 1700s, uni textbooks, i got one called historia romanae: res memorabiles from 1780, it's also good.

there's also this i remember from a while ago: http://www.johnpiazza.net/latin_hist_reader.pdf

if it's more the city of rome itself that you're interested in reading about there's a book i found in a bookstore in rome once which i take with me each time to rome now, it's great - called breviarium urbis romae antiquae. the authors have divided up the city into its sections, given each section an introduction in latin, v readable, and then collect for each monument/area etc. the ancient quotes about it. so you can stand in front of trajan's column and look it up in the index and read all the stuff that the ancients said about it. direct interaction with the past texts. definitely worth tracking down.

these books only go up to ancient times though, i haven't looked for something in latin describing the history from medieval to renaissance times talking about the great papal and cardinal families like the book the families who made rome (in english not latin), if that's what you were looking for in latin i don't know (but i definitely recommend the families who made rome - you get a sense walking around rome which family's old power base you're currently walking through). cheers, chad

[thesaurus]

Brilliant, thank you! I just took a vacation to Paris with my family and I searched in vain for a Latin text to bring home as a souvenir. I came home empty handed. I ought to have consulted this forum beforehand!

I just printed off a Google Books PDF version of De Viris Illustribus and look forward to reading it!

[cb]

ah, next time you go to paris let me know and i can point you in the right direction. e.g. there's an outdoor bookmarket each weekend where you can pick up latin books like e.g. extracts from ovid with latin footnotes from around 1800 for a euro or two, and leather-bound editions of authors from the 1700s in perfect condition and cheaper than the OCT modern equivalent. i've seen a seneca there from the 1500s for about ten or fifteen euros. i'm not sure how it is in the US but this is completely different to how it was in sydney, where the oldest books i could find were usually books on birds, from the 1800s, kept in glass cases.

[thesaurus]

Your description of what I missed makes me want to jump into the Seine and end it all... alas! Heu!

[Bedell]

I have never felt the urge to go to Paris, even when actually in France, but now...well...I think Ineed to go - and bring my jeep too! If I ever do get the chance some summer, would you mind pointing me in the right direction too, please?

[Carolus Raeticus]

Salve Thesaure!

Can anyone recommend an all Latin history of Rome? I understand that there are many fine Roman histories written by the Romans themselves, and I mean no disrepect towards Livy and Tacitus. However, what I'm hoping to find is a history text written by someone of the modern era for the contemporary student. I'm picturing a text on Google Books from the 1600s, when having your school texts in Latin was still a thing.

While exploring Archive.org I stumbled upon a 3-volume work by one Paulus Nagy with the title Historia universalis gentium statistico-geographico politico critica published in 1824 in Buda(pest):

I have not yet found time to have a close look at it, but it seems to fit your bill (actually anyone's interested in reading about history in Latin). It does not deal merely with Roman history but tries to give a comprehensive picture of the history of the world (except as far as I can tell of sub-saharan Africa). There is no section on the Americas, but perhaps that is covered in the sections about England, Spain, etc.

The quality of the scans is good.

Size:

• Vol. 1: 370 pages of actual text (Note: the last few pages of the book are at the beginning of the pdf-file); 25.3 MB (pdf-version)
• Vol. 2: 554 pages; 37.6 MB
• Vol. 3: 416 pages; 28.2 MB

Content:

• Vol. 1: Continens universalem geographiam, item gentium acta sacra et civilia, ante et postdiluviana. Signanter: Hebraeorum, Babylonico - Chaldaico - Medico - Assyriorum, Aegyptiorum, Phoenicum, Carthaginensium, Scytharum, Thracum, Lydorum, Sarmatarum, Trojanorum, Persarum, Chinensium, Indorum, Graecorum, Atheniensium, Spartanorum, Macedonum, et hinc ortorum regnorum.
• Vol. 2: Continens historiam Latinorum, Romanorum sub regibus et consulibus, ac monarchiae Romanae sub imperatoribus ethnicis et christianis tam orientis quam occidentis; Germanorum, Visigothorum, Ostrogothorum, Vandalarum, Burgundorum, Anglosaxonum, Herulorum, Longobardorum, Hunnorum, Avarum, Chazarorum, Bulgarorum, Slavinorum, Croatarum, Servianorum, imprimis autem statum imperii Romano-Germanici, ad nostram usque aetatem.
• Vol. 3: Continens historiam Hispanorum, Portugallorum, Gallorum seu Francorum, Britannorum seu Anglorum, Danorum, Svecorum, Helvetiorum, Belgarum, Borussorum, Polonorum, Russorum, Turcorum, et Hungarorum, aliarumque gentium cum his nexum habentium; inde ab earum origine, usque ad nostram aetatem.

I'll post an index of the contents of all three volumes as a separate posting.

Vale,

Carolus Raeticus

[Carolus Raeticus]

Salvete!

Here is the index to Historia universalis gentium statistico-geographico politico critica by Paulus Nagy (Budapest, 1824). For more information, see my previous posting in this thread.

Nota bene: The page numbers are those in the printed book.

• Vol. 1:
  
  • p. 1: Notiones Praeviae
  • p. 6: Geographia Universalis
  • p. 6: De Europa
  • p. 7: De Asia
  • p. 23: Africa
  • p. 32: Caput I: Exhibens eventus mundi Antediluvianos, ab anno mundi 1. usque annum m. 1656.
  • p. 41: Caput II: Sistens Historiam Generis Humani post diluvium usque Abrahami vocationem. ab a. M. 1656-2079
  • p. 50: Caput III: Historia Hebraeorum. Ab origine gentis, usque ad nostram aetatem facta exponemus quinque paragraphis.
  • p. 103: Caput IV: De Monarchia Prima. Babylonico - Chaldaico - Medico - Assyriaca.
  • p. 124: Caput V: Historia Aegyptiorum.
  • p. 157: Caput VI: De Phoeniciis sive Chanaanaeis.
  • p. 167: Caput VII: Carthaginenses.
  • p. 172: Caput VIII: Historia Scytharum.
  • p. 177: Caput IX: Historia Thracum.
  • p. 184: Caput X: Historia Lydorum.
  • p. 192: Caput XI: Sarmatae alias Sauromatae.
  • p. 195: Caput XII: Phrygia Magna et Parva, alias Troja.
  • p. 202: Caput XIII: Monarchia Persarum.
  • p. 232: Caput XIV: Historia Chinensium.
  • p. 256: Caput XV: Historia Indorum.
  • p. 268: Caput XVI: Historia Graecorum.
  • p. 285: Caput XVII: Historia Atheniensium.
  • p. 313: Caput XVIII: Historia Spartanorum.
  • p. 335: Caput XIX: Historia Thebanorum.
  • p. 338: Caput XX: Historia Macedonum.
  • p. 355: Caput XXI: Divisum Regnum Macedonicum.
  • p. 358: Caput XXII: Regnum Graeco Asiaticum.
  • p. 363: Caput XXIII: Regnum Graeco Syriacum.
  • p. 366: Caput XXIV: Regnum Graeco Aegyptiacum.
• Vol. 2:
  
  • p. 1: Caput I: Exhibens Historiam Latinorum, et Romanorum sub Regibus, et Consulibus, usque Octavianum Augustum Primum Monarcham, seu ab a. M. 2650. usque a. ante Ae. V. 31. seu U. C. 725.
  • p. 78: Caput II: Exhibens Historiam Monarchiae Romanae, sub Imperatoribus; ab Octavio Augusto, usque Constantinum Magnum, prout Status Imperii suberat Imperatoribus Ethnicis, usque annum Christi 306.
  • p. 150: Caput III: Exhibens Historiam Monarchiae Romanae sub Imperatoribus Christianis; signanter omne illud tempus, quo uno solo Imperatore orbis Romanus regebatur, nempe a Constantino M. usque ad obitum Theodosii M. seu Imperii divisionem, ab anno Ch. 306. usque a. 395.
  • p. 182: Caput IV: Exhibens Historiam Occidentalis Monarchiae Romanae post divisionem, usque ad occasum Imperii occidentalis. Seu ab an. Ch. 395. usque an. Ch. 476.
  • p. 203: Caput V: Exhibens brevem Historiam variarum Gentium, quae Romani Imperii Occidentalis Eversores exstiterunt.
  • p. 260: Caput VI: Exhibens Historiam Imperii Romani Graecanici, seu Orientis, inde a divisione Theodosii M. usque ad interitum Imperii Romani occidentalis, ab anno 395 usque an. 476.
  • p. 274: Caput VII: Exhibens Historiam Imperii Romani Orientis, post interitum occidentalis Imperii, seu ab Anastasio Dicoro, usque ad Constantinum Palaeologum ultimum Graecorum Imperatorem, seu an. Ch. 1453. quo Constantinopolis a Turcarum Sultano Mahomete II. expugnata fuit, et Imperium Christianorum orientale exstinctum in potestatem Turcorum transivit.
  • p. 334: Caput VIII: Exhibens Historiam Germanorum, prout eorum status consideratur Antiquus, sub variis Principibus, donec in Francorum Imperium pervenissent per Carolum M.
  • p. 354: Caput IX: Exhibens Historiam Germaniae sub Imperatoribus Restaurati Imperii occidentalis, a Carolo M. usque ad Magnum Interregnum, seu ab an. 800. usque a. 1250. seu Friderici II. obitum.
  • p. 444: Caput X: Exhibens Historiam Germaniae ab Interregno Magno, seu ab anno 1273. quo Imperatores primum e varis [sic] Familiis, demum e Domo Austriaca erant electi usque annum 1804. quo Napoleon Gallorum Rex, Romani Imperatoris Titulum sumsit, cum cujus vita etiam Imperii titulus desiit.
• Vol. 3:
  
  • p. 1: Caput I: Exhibens Historiam Hispanorum.
  • p. 48: Caput II: Exhibens Historiam Portugallorum, ab a. 1139. usque ad nostram aetatem.
  • p. 66: Caput III: Exhibens Historiam Gallicam tribus praecipuis Epochis.
  • p. 139: Caput IV: Exhibens Historiam Britannorum seu Anglorum, inde ab eorum origine, usque in prasens tempus.
  • p. 190: Caput V: Exhibens Historiam Danorum.
  • p. 224: Caput VI: Exhibens Historiam Svecorum.
  • p. 243: Caput VII: Exhibens Historiam Helvetiorum.
  • p. 256: Caput VIII: Exhibens Historiam Belgarum.
  • p. 285: Caput IX: Exhibens Historiam Borussorum.
  • p. 305: Caput X: Exhibens Historiam Polonorum.
  • p. 333: Caput XI: Exhibens Historiam Russorum seu Moscovitarum.
  • p. 351: Caput XII: Exhibens Historiam Turcorum.
  • p. 375: Caput XIII: Exhibens Historiam Hungarorum.

[bedwere]

Hunc de Urbe librum habeo:

Roma aeterna. Praecipua urbis monumenta latine scientibus explanata

In quo multae pulchrae imagines inveniuntur.

Valete!

[LaurentiusH]

a history text written by someone of the modern era for the contemporary student

The second part of Oerberg's textbook (Langua Latina Per Se Illustrata, Pars II, Roma Aeterna) is, basically, a history of Rome made of progressively less simplified extracts from Virgil, Livy, Gellius, Eutropius, etc.

Valete, L

[Nesrad]

Historia Universalis Gentium is a great find. Thanks to those who posted.