Tenney Frank – författare

Life and Literature in the Roman Republic delves into the dynamic interplay between the societal environment and the literary evolution of early Rome. The text provides a compelling analysis of how Roman writers responded to the social, political, and cultural forces of their era. Unlike their Greek predecessors, whose literary brilliance appeared almost as a natural flowering, Roman literature evolved more deliberately, shaped by the pragmatic and austere spirit of its people. This book emphasizes the Romans’ ability to assimilate and adapt Greek forms while retaining their own distinct voice, reflecting their societal priorities and challenges. From early ballads and dramas rooted in ritualistic traditions to sophisticated epics and tragedies influenced by Greek masters, Roman literature is portrayed as a mirror of its environment—pragmatic, experimental, and deeply entwined with the realities of Roman life.The narrative also examines the profound impact of historical milestones, such as the Punic Wars, on Rome's cultural consciousness. These events not only fostered a newfound sense of identity and self-awareness among Romans but also acted as a catalyst for their engagement with Greek culture. By the time of the Republic, Roman literature began to reflect a unique synthesis of inherited Greek forms and an emerging national character. The text explores the tensions between cultural purists like Cato, who resisted the influx of Hellenistic influence, and those who embraced it, leading to an era of vibrant yet contentious cultural exchange. By placing literary figures within their socio-political contexts, the book underscores how the pragmatic and sometimes rigid Roman spirit found its voice through literature that was both a product of and a response to its time.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1930.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1930.

Life and Literature in the Roman Republic delves into the dynamic interplay between the societal environment and the literary evolution of early Rome. The text provides a compelling analysis of how Roman writers responded to the social, political, and cultural forces of their era. Unlike their Greek predecessors, whose literary brilliance appeared almost as a natural flowering, Roman literature evolved more deliberately, shaped by the pragmatic and austere spirit of its people. This book emphasizes the Romans’ ability to assimilate and adapt Greek forms while retaining their own distinct voice, reflecting their societal priorities and challenges. From early ballads and dramas rooted in ritualistic traditions to sophisticated epics and tragedies influenced by Greek masters, Roman literature is portrayed as a mirror of its environment—pragmatic, experimental, and deeply entwined with the realities of Roman life.The narrative also examines the profound impact of historical milestones, such as the Punic Wars, on Rome's cultural consciousness. These events not only fostered a newfound sense of identity and self-awareness among Romans but also acted as a catalyst for their engagement with Greek culture. By the time of the Republic, Roman literature began to reflect a unique synthesis of inherited Greek forms and an emerging national character. The text explores the tensions between cultural purists like Cato, who resisted the influx of Hellenistic influence, and those who embraced it, leading to an era of vibrant yet contentious cultural exchange. By placing literary figures within their socio-political contexts, the book underscores how the pragmatic and sometimes rigid Roman spirit found its voice through literature that was both a product of and a response to its time.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1930.

Tenney Frank (1876-1939) was a renowned classicist and scholar of the ancient world. Originally published in 1930, this book grew out of a series of lectures given by Frank which attempted to 'visualize a few of the early Roman writers in their response to the desires and demands of their own environment'. An introductory preface and textual notes are also included. This is a highly readable book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in the culture and society of Ancient Rome.

My purpose in the following pages has been to analyze, so far as the fragmentary sources permit, the precise influences that urged the Roman republic toward territorial expansion. Imperialism, as we now use the word, is generally assumed to be the national expression of the individual''s "will to live." If this were always true, a simple axiom would suffice to explain every story of conquest. I venture to believe, however, that such an axiom is too frequently assumed, particularly in historical works that issue from the continent, where the overcrowding of population threatens to deprive the individual of his means of subsistance unless the united nation makes for itself "a place in the sunlight." Old-world political traditions also have taught historians to accept territorial expansion as a matter of course. For hundreds of years the church, claiming universal dominion, proclaimed the doctrine of world-empire; the monarchs of the Holy Roman Empire and of France reached out for the inheritance of ancient Rome; the dynastic families, which could hold their own in a period of such doctrine only by the possession of strong armies, naturally employed those armies in wars of expansion. It is not surprising, therefore, that continental writers, at least, should assume that the desire to possess must somehow have been the mainspring of action whether in the Spanish-American war or the Punic wars of Rome...