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OverviewLeisured Resistance examines the varied ways in which cultured Roman aristocrats, of very different periods, used their country estates as a political and literary tool. While for some the villas were retreats in which to compose literature and to escape from politics, others adapted this same tradition of cultured otium (or deliberate retirement from everyday politics) to present radical and competing visions of society and literature alike. Examining in-depth sources from both prose and verse from the time of Cicero to the last centuries of the Roman Empire in the west, the title demonstrates how the traditional image of the Roman aristocrat on his country estate was politically and socially very flexible: allowing authors, as times and circumstances changed, to present themselves or their patrons and friends as being in retreat from politics, or alternatively, as providing a focus for political opposition through the deliberate embracing of cultural values and schools of philosophy that offered resistance to prevailing political orthodoxy. The title ends by exploring how this tradition was adapted in the greatly changed world of the barbarian-ruled kingdoms that replaced direct Roman rule in Gaul in the fifth and sixth centuries. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Michael Dewar (University of Toronto, Canada) , Thomas HarrisonPublisher: Duckworth Overlook Imprint: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd Dimensions: Width: 13.80cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 21.60cm Weight: 0.304kg ISBN: 9780715634899ISBN 10: 0715634895 Pages: 144 Publication Date: 05 December 2013 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsAbbreviations Chronology Acknowledgements 1. Cicero and the Generals: Living the Life of Laertes 2. Martial, Statius and the Epicureans: Marvellous is the Quietness of the Sea 3. Pliny and the Best of Princes: Worn Down by a Thousand Labours 4. Juvenal and the Tyrant: Power Equal to the Gods 5. Romans, Gauls, and Christians: Mine is No Barbarous Land Further Reading NotesReviewsDewar's deep knowledge and appreciation of the literature he discusses shine throughout this elegantly written book on how a Roman should spend his time. - Mouseion Author InformationMichael Dewar is Professor of Classics at the University of Toronto, Canada. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |