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hawkwing_lbAccomplished:
Greek, revision of one chapter, new vocabulary; Latin, future active indicative, past perfect, some vocabulary. Four chapters of Averil Cameron's The Later Roman Empire (done now!), started Breeze and Dobson's Hadrian's Wall.
Writing: .8K
Books 2008: 100, non-fiction
100. Averil Cameron, The Later Roman Empire (London, 1993)
Like the Wells book, this is another entry in the Fontana History of the Ancient World series, aimed as much at the general reader as at the student with a background in the period.
Essentially, this book provides a general introduction to the Roman empire of the fourth and fifth centuries CE: i.e., from Diocletian (284-305) to Theodosius II (408-450). It gives a solid introduction to the literary sources available, although it's somewhat less useful as a guide to the archaeological evidence, and also a solid introduction and preliminary discussion to the various trends and topics of interest within this period: the stability/instability of the empire, economic and social development, the place of the military in politics and society, the 'Christianisation' of the empire, the interaction between Christian and pagan 'culture', the decline of central authority in the west.
It's a very sound introduction, and Cameron has fewer annoying quirks than Wells. Her appendices on the sources and on further reading are also clear and useful. Pretty good and nicely compact book.
So, today was mostly a day off from exercise, mainly due to the moan factor when I tried to get up this morning. Yeah. Felt as though I had put staples in my shoulders to hold them to the bed. Ouch.
So I spent a little longer on Latin than I would have otherwise - no, I'm not going to bore you by enthusing about how much fun it is to start learning a dead language: but wait until I start translating Actual Sentences! - and after I did my quota of writing, went with the parent for a swim.
God, it was freezing. Well, not freezing as such, but not as warm as it was the last time I went. The water was green and dark and just after high tide, with a little breezy chop, and chill enough to take your breath away until you got used to it. Only stayed in for about fifteen minutes. Not warm.
Tomorrow, I crawl out of bed at an early hour to go see the pretty horsies.
Greek, revision of one chapter, new vocabulary; Latin, future active indicative, past perfect, some vocabulary. Four chapters of Averil Cameron's The Later Roman Empire (done now!), started Breeze and Dobson's Hadrian's Wall.
Writing: .8K
Books 2008: 100, non-fiction
100. Averil Cameron, The Later Roman Empire (London, 1993)
Like the Wells book, this is another entry in the Fontana History of the Ancient World series, aimed as much at the general reader as at the student with a background in the period.
Essentially, this book provides a general introduction to the Roman empire of the fourth and fifth centuries CE: i.e., from Diocletian (284-305) to Theodosius II (408-450). It gives a solid introduction to the literary sources available, although it's somewhat less useful as a guide to the archaeological evidence, and also a solid introduction and preliminary discussion to the various trends and topics of interest within this period: the stability/instability of the empire, economic and social development, the place of the military in politics and society, the 'Christianisation' of the empire, the interaction between Christian and pagan 'culture', the decline of central authority in the west.
It's a very sound introduction, and Cameron has fewer annoying quirks than Wells. Her appendices on the sources and on further reading are also clear and useful. Pretty good and nicely compact book.
So, today was mostly a day off from exercise, mainly due to the moan factor when I tried to get up this morning. Yeah. Felt as though I had put staples in my shoulders to hold them to the bed. Ouch.
So I spent a little longer on Latin than I would have otherwise - no, I'm not going to bore you by enthusing about how much fun it is to start learning a dead language: but wait until I start translating Actual Sentences! - and after I did my quota of writing, went with the parent for a swim.
God, it was freezing. Well, not freezing as such, but not as warm as it was the last time I went. The water was green and dark and just after high tide, with a little breezy chop, and chill enough to take your breath away until you got used to it. Only stayed in for about fifteen minutes. Not warm.
Tomorrow, I crawl out of bed at an early hour to go see the pretty horsies.
