Who is so feeble-minded or idle?

“Who is there so feeble-minded or idle that he would not wish to know how and with what constitution almost all the inhabited world was conquered and fell under the single dominion of Rome within fifty-three years?”

Polybius

Who indeed! That quote would make a great book jacket endorsement. It’s from the top of the first chapter of The Storm Before the Storm, by Mike Duncan (of History of Rome podcast fame). His prologue is all about the similarities between present day America and the late Roman Republic. He wrote the book to focus on the factors that led to the fall of the Republic, because they are greatly neglected by historians relative to the rise of the Caesars… and because he thinks it’s the period that most resembles America today.

Excellent read. Highly recommended.