Review Of Mary Beard's Article 'Why Ancient Rome Matters To The Modern World'
792 Words4 Pages
Calista Houdek
Prof. Recla
History of Western Civilization 101
13 December 2015
Analytical Essay #1-Rewrite
There are many different qualities that our society identifies with, but what is surprising is that the ancient Roman era is not far from the way that we live in today. By analyzing Mary Beard’s article and Clifford Backman’s textbook we are able to identify the comparisons of ancient Roman society and modern society by also analyzing past lessons into today’s history. Mary Beard's article, “Why Ancient Rome Matters to the Modern World” Beard argues that the ancient Roman era and their qualities are similar to the modern qualities that we have in our society today. Beard’s argument in her article, articulates how modern civilization connects to the ancient Roman world, she does this by discussing traits such as…show more content… But we do ourselves a disservice if we fail to take them seriously – and if we close our long and complicated conversation with them.” (Beard). Although an area that remains important to both civilizations is the corruption of people in power and what they will do with their money. Beard then describes, “One rich Roman conservative was once caught standing in line to collect this allowance of which he vehemently disapproved and certainly did not need. When asked why, he replied: “If you’re sharing out the state’s property, I’ll come and take my cut, thank you.” This is not far from the logic of the elderly modern millionaire who claims his free TV licence or bus pass.” (Beard). The issue with extravagance and money often comes from both civilizations whether with politicians, important persons from our society and conservatives, priests, and even politicians then. When studying Roman history, areas that still remain vital are events like protesting. The quote, “Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?” which translates to “How long, Catiline, will you go on abusing our patience,” Beard then identifies this