Continuity and Change in Roman Religion.

Clarendon Press, 1979. 1st ed. 376p. Original blue cloth with dust wrps. Dust wrps to inside front cover creased. 'Liebeschuetz has written a book which all interested in the Roman world should read. It does not quite match its title, since L. is. one the one hand, very selective in what he regards as 'religion'and, on the other, devotes much time to literary criticism (his pages on Lucan, Silius Italicus, and Arnobius are particular original and stimulating) and social development. What he is primarily concerned with is divination: how do you discover the will of the gods or the Will of God? Many other areas of religion, especially prayer and sacrifice, are rather scantily dealt with. He does, however, bring out very clearly the fundamental principle of Roman religion, namely that it is concerned with society and not the individual. (...) L. shows lucidly how Augustus in his reforms attempted (...) to introduce a new tone into society by showing that the 'pax deorum' is basically about the stability of society, and that stability is jeopardized by such things as adultery. (...) But it is discovering the will of the gods which is L.'s chief interest. He opens with an admirable introductory chapter on early Roman practices. He then demonstrates how, with the arrival of Greek philosophy, and the change from a rural to an urban society, the emphasis switched from augurs, haruspices, and such like to astrologers, to oracles, to dreams. And it is in this atmosphere (...) that the curious fusion of Christianity with Roman Religion has to be understood. (...) It is a most important and thoughtful book.' (R.M. OGILVIE in The Classical Review (New Series), 1980, pp.229-231). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux.