The History of Rome (Mommsen)

The History of Rome () is a multi-volume history of ancient Rome written by Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903). Originally published by Reimer & Hirzel, Leipzig, as three volumes during 1854–1856, the work dealt with the Roman Republic. A subsequent book was issued which concerned the provinces of the Roman Empire. In 1992, a further book on the Empire, reconstructed from lecture notes, was published. The initial three volumes won widespread acclaim upon publication; indeed, "The Roman History made Mommsen famous in a day."G. P. Gooch, History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century (London: Longmans, Green 1913, 4th impr. 1928) at 456. Still read and qualifiedly cited, it is the prolific Mommsen's most well-known work. The work was specifically cited when Mommsen was awarded the Nobel Prize."Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature: Awarded for a particular literary work:" While the Nobel Prize in Literature is for a writer's life work, there are nine Literature Laureates for whom the Swedish Academy singled out a specific work for particular recognition. "Theodor Mommsen in 1902: 'the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work, A history of Rome'" http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/shortfacts.html.

Genesis

Writing the History followed Mommsen's earlier achievements in the study of ancient Rome. He had not himself designed to write a history, but the opportunity presented itself in 1850 while at the University of Leipzig where Mommsen was a thirty-two-year-old special Professor of Law. "Invited to give a public lecture while at Leipzig, I delivered an address on the Gracchi. Reimer and Hirzel, the publishers, were present, and two days later they asked me to write a Roman History for their series."G. P. Gooch, History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century (1913, 1928) at 456, quoting Mommsen's letter to the novelist Freytag. Having been dismissed from the University for revolutionary activities, Mommsen would accept the publishing proposal "partly for my livelihood, and partly because the work greatly appeals to me."Cf., Alexander Demandt, "Introduction" at 1–35, 1, in Mommsen, A History of Rome under the Emperors (London: Routledge 1996).

The publishers specified that the work focus on events and circumstances, and avoid discussing the scholarly process. While they certainly wanted a well-respected academic work to fit their acclaimed series on history, Karl Reimer and Solomon Hirzel were also seeking one with literary merit that would be accessible and appeal to the educated public. As a scholar Mommsen was an active party in recent advances made in ancient Roman studies. Yet Mommsen also had some experience as a journalist. He might well manage to become a popular academic author.Sauders and Collins, "Introduction" at 1–17, 5–6, to their edition of Mommsen, The History of Rome (New Haven: Meridian Books 1958). "It is high time for such a work", Mommsen wrote to an associate in Roman studies, "it is more than ever necessary to present to a wider audience the results of our researches."Gooch, History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century (1913, 1928) at 456, quoting Mommsen's correspondence to Henzen.On a different note, Mommsen would marry Marie Reimer, the daughter of his Leipzig publisher; together they had sixteen children. T. Wiedemann, "Mommsen, Rome, and the German "Kaiserreich" 36–47, at 44, in Mommsen, A History of Rome under the Emperors (1992; 1996).

Publication

Original

Originally the History was conceived as a five volume work, spanning Roman history from its inception to the emperor Diocletian (284–305). The first three volumes, which covered the origin of Rome through the fall of the Republic, ending with the reforms of Julius Caesar, were published in 1854, 1855, and 1856, as the Römische Geschichte.Mommsen, Römische Geschichte, 3 volumes (Leipzig: Reimer & Hirsel 1854–1856). Although published in three volumes, this part of the History Mommsen organised into five "books".

These three volumes did indeed become very popular. "Their success was immediate." Here "a professional scholar" presented his readers with a prose that was of "such vigor and life, such grasp of detail combined with such vision, such self-confident mastery of a vast field of learning." Especially in Mommsen's third volume, as the narrative told of how the political crisis in the Roman Republic came to its final climax, "he wrote with a fire of imagination and emotion almost unknown in a professional history. Here was scientific learning with the stylistic vigor of a novel."Sauders & Collins, "Introduction" 1–17, at 5–6, to their truncated edition of Mommsen, The History of Rome (New Haven: Meridian Books 1958).

These first three volumes of the Römische Geschichte retained their popularity in Germany, with eight editions being published in Mommsen's lifetime.W. P. Dickson, "Preface by the Translator" (1894) at v–x, viii, to Mommsen's A History of Rome, volume one (1854; 1862; reprint by The Free Press/The Falcon's Wing Press, Glencoe IL, 1957). Following his death in 1903, an additional eight German editions have issued.Alexander Demandt, "Introduction" 1–35, at 1, in Mommsen, A History of Rome under the Emperors (London: Routledge 1996).

Later volumes

A planned fourth volume covering Roman history under the Empire was delayed pending Mommsen's completion of a then 15-volume work on Roman inscriptions. This task required his services as researcher, writer, and editor, which occupied Mommsen for many years. After repeated delays the projected fourth volume was eventually abandoned, or at least not published; an early manuscript may have been lost in a fire.The 1880 fire at Mommsen's home office, due to a gas explosion, has been proposed as the reason for no volume four, but Alexander Demandt dismisses such speculation. A. Demandt, "Introduction" 1–35, at 7, 22–23, in Mommsen, A History of Rome under the Emperors (1992; London: Routledge 1996). There has been much scholarly discussion about the fate of the 'missing' fourth volume. Cf., A. Demandt, "Introduction" at 1–13 ("Why no volume IV?"), in Mommsen (1992; 1996).Cf., "Commentary" section here below.

Despite lacking a "fourth volume", in 1885 Mommsen had ready another volume on ancient Roman history; it described the imperial provinces. In Germany this work was published as volume five of his Römische Geschichte.Mommsen's fifth volume is subtitled Die Provinzen von Caesar bis Diokletian (Berlin: Weidmann 1885). In thirteen chapters Mommsen discusses the different provinces of the Roman Empire, each as a stand-alone subject.Cf., "Review of contents" section below. Here there was no running narrative of political events, often dramatic, as was the case in Mommsen's popular, chronological telling of the Roman Republic in his first three volumes.Published decades earlier, 1854 to 1856. The English translation was entitled The Provinces of the Roman Empire from Caesar to Diocletion.Mommsen (1885; London: Macmillan 1909; reprint New York 1996) at 4–5.

In 1992 a 'reconstructed' edition of what would-have-been Mommsen's missing "fourth volume" on the Empire was issued.Theodore Mommsen, Römische Kaisergeschichte (München: C.H.Beck'sche 1992), edited by B. and A. Demandt; translated as A History of Rome under the Emperors (London: Routledge 1996). It was based on newly discovered lecture notes by two of Mommsen's students: Sebastian Hensel (father) and Paul Hensel (son).The Hensel family was distinguished. The father composed a family history (1879) that included composer Felix Mendelssohn, his mother's brother. The son became a philosophy professor. The paternal grandfather was a Prussian court painter. A. Demandt, "Introduction" 1–35, at 14–15, 17, in Mommsen (1992; 1996). The two Hensels took notes of lectures on the politics of the Roman Empire delivered by Prof. Mommsen at the University of Berlin from 1882 to 1886. Alexander Demandt discovered them in 1980 at a used bookshop in Nuremberg. As edited by Barbara Demandt and Alexander Demandt, the notes yielded the 'reconstructed' German text, Römische Kaisergeschichte.Theodore Mommsen (1992; 1996), the "Introduction" at 1-35 by A. Demandt, pp. 9–10, 13–14.

In English

The contemporary English translations were the work of William Purdie Dickson, then the Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow. The first three German volumes (which contained five 'books') were published during 1862 to 1866 by R. Bentley & Son, London.Dickson's translation of Mommsen's first three volumes were published in four English volumes. Over several decades Prof. Dickson prepared further English editions of this translation, keeping pace with Mommsen's revisions in German.Dickson, "Preface by the Translator" (1894) at viii, as published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1895. All told, close to a hundred editions and reprints of the English translation have been published.E.g., as listed here by earliest date of the following publishers. London: R. Bentley (1862), J. M. Dent (1868), Macmillan (1894), Routledge/Thoemmes (1996). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1866). Glencoe IL: The Free Press (1894).Mommsen's Römische Geschichte has been translated into many languages, following publication into Italian, French, English, Russian, Polish, and Spanish. New York Times obituary, "Prof. Mommsen is Dead" at page one (November 2, 1903). Relatively recently the first volume was translated into Chinese by Li Jianian and published by the Commercial Press, Beijing, 1994. T. Wiedemann and Wang Naixin, "Mommsen's Roman History" in Histos, v.1 (April 1997).

In 1958 selections from the final two 'books' of the three-volume History were prepared by Dero A. Saunders and John H. Collins for a shorter English version.Mommsen, The History of Rome. An account of events and persons from the conquest of Carthage to the end of the Republic (New Haven CN: Meridian/Greenwich 1958), edited by Saunders and Collins. Text chosen from Mommsen's 'Book IV' and 'Book V'. The content was chosen to highlight Mommsen's telling of the social-political struggles over several generations leading to the fall of the Republic.Concerning his writing here, Gooch opines: "Mommsen reaches full stride with Marius and Sulla, and portrays the dying struggles of the Republic with incomparable power and brilliance." Gooch (1913, 1928) at 456. Provided with new annotations and a revised translation, the book presents an abridgment revealing the historical chronology. With rigor Mommsen is shown narrating the grave political drama and illuminating its implications; the book closes with his lengthy description of the new order of government adumbrated by Julius Caesar.Saunders and Collins in their edition of The History of Rome (1958), discuss their abridgement and their revision of the Dickson's translation, in the "Introduction" 1–17, at 12–15 and 15–16.

With regard to Mommsen's 1885 "fifth volume" on the Roman provinces, Prof. Dr. Dickson immediate began to supervise its translation. In 1886 it appeared as The Provinces of the Roman Empire. From Caesar to Diocletian.Also published by R. Bentley & Son, London. The translation later was revised by F. Haverfield, evidently for a 1909 edition by Macmillan, London. See Haverfield's "Prefatory Note", included in the 1995 reprint by Barnes & Noble, New York.

Mommsen's missing fourth volume was reconstructed from student notes and published in 1992 under the title Römische Kaisergeschichte. It was soon translated into English by Clare Krojzl as A History of Rome under the Emperors.Theodore Mommsen, A History of Rome under the Emperors (London: Routledge 1996), edited with an essay by Thomas Wiedemann, from the German edition by B. Demandt and A. Demandt, introduction by A. Demandt, translated by Clare Krojzl.

Review of contents

The Republic