Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME
THE GIFT THE AUTHOR HAS TELLING ME OF HORATIUS IS BEAUTIFUL.THE WORDS THAT HE USES BECOME A SCENICPICTURE THT ENTRANCES MY MIND AND CAPTURES MY SENSES.I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE LAND THAT HE SPEAKS OF AND FEEL AS IF IHAVE BEEN THERE IN MY MIND.HE IS ELOQUANT AND POETIC AND EVEN THEHORRIBLE BATTLES ARE BEAUTIFUL!

LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME
THE GIFT THE AUTHOR HAS TELLING ME OF HORATIUS IS BEAUTIFUL.THE WORDS THAT HE USES BECOME A SCENICPICTURE THT ENTRANCES MY MIND AND CAPTURES MY SENSES.I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE LAND THAT HE SPEAKS OF AND FEEL AS IF IHAVE BEEN THERE IN MY MIND.HE IS ELOQUANT AND POETIC AND EVEN THEHORRIBLE BATTLES ARE BEAUTIFUL!

We need this now: (forget that Pat Buchanan quoted it)
Then out spake brave Horatius,/The Captain of the Gate:/ ``To every man upon this earth/Death cometh soon or late./ And how can man die better/Than facing fearful odds,/ For the ashes of his fathers,/ And the temples of his gods/ ... Then none was for a party;/Then allwere for the state;/ Then the great man helped the poor,/And the poorman loved the great:/ Then lands were fairly portioned;/Then spoilswere fairly sold:/ The Romans were like brothers/In the brave days ofold./Now Roman is to Roman/More hateful than a foe,/ And theTribunes beard the high,/And the Fathers grind the low./ As we waxhot in faction,/In battle we wax cold:/ Wherefore men fight not asthey fought/In the brave days of old./ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

macaulay
this is a superb book edited by thomas pinney.
thomas pinney is an authority on macaulay.
a must buy!!! ... Read more

Book Description
This is the story of one of the great literary rows of the nineteenth century, between one of its greatest historians and one of its sharpest critics. The quarrel began in the House of Commons during the debates of 1831-2 on parliamentary reform and was continued in the quarterly reviews. Even in a political setting, it had a historical dimension. Croker taunted Macaulay for being ignorant of the French Revolution. Macaulay replied by pouring scorn on Croker's accuracy as editor of Boswell's Johnson. The bitterness of the clash made subsequent compromise impossible. Sixteen years later, Croker wrote a long damning review of the first two volumes of Macaulay's History of England. Posterity admires success, and as Macaulay's writings have eclipsed Croker's it has usually been assumed that Croker was moved by mere political spite. In this highly readable study, William Thomas shows that this verdict is unfair, that Croker's political opinions were both less rancorous and more interesting, and that Macaulay's own scholarship was far from faultless. He also considers each man's historical writing alongside his politics and argues that, while Croker's critical method was sharpened by his politics, Macaulay's political opinions were much more independent of party, and that he is not the typical Whig historian of legend.William Thomas illustrates how the two men actually had many ideas in common, and the commentators who have seen only political dislike have missed the real purpose of the History of England and what made it the most successful historical work in English literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Croker and Macaulay
Mr. W.E.S. Thomas, long 'Student' (fellow), of Christ Church College Oxford, has produced a small accademic gem in THE QUARREL OF MACAULAY AND CROKER. Mr. Thomas' credentials as an expert on Macaulay, Mill, and the Philosophic Radicals are extremely impressive and he is also the only man to thoroughly review and analyze Croker's works and papers since Jennings in the 1880's. Mr. Thomas has applied undoubted powers of political and intellectual insight - rarely found in but one historian - to tremendous knowledge and impeccable research to produce what is undoubtedly the finest work yet published on Croker [pace Brightfield] and the most thought provoking and informed view of Macaulay as historian and politician since John Clive.The narrative of the combat, both literary and political, between Macaulay and Croker is of enduring general interest as an excellent tale, for while the combatants are not evenly matched in reputation I would contend that they are indeed in ability. I would hasten to enjoin the general reader to seriously consider a work that would normally be consigned to scholars in a particular field simply for its clear prose, excellent reasoning, and necessarily wide ranging subject matter. As Macaulay and Croker both dealt with the very greatest questions of the modern world - the nature of government, the existence of progress, and the shape of regimes - Mr. Thomas' analysis and discussion naturally touches on almost all the important questions of political philosophy and historiography. I would further urge anyone with an interest in party politics to look into this work for its treatment of Croker. I have long thought that a feasible case could be made for Croker as the first political 'wonk' or modern political advisor. Croker served as the closest advisor to two prime ministers in difficult times (Wellington and Peel), the first secretary (chief civilian bureaucrat) of the admiralty for the later stages of the Napoleonic wars and its aftermath, a leading authority on Irish questions, and effectively political editor of the most influential journalistic organ of his party. Croker has the added distinction of probably coining the term 'Conservative.' Modern politicians and political advisors in my native city would not find Croker too foreign - in fact I believe that Mr. Thomas' book shows how he combined remarkable accume, understanding of his own position, and an excellent knowledge of history and theory to great effect.Specialists in nineteenth century politics will no doubt know Mr. Thomas' previous work by reputation and that alone should be sufficient to urge them to read this work.Students of literature should also take note of the work as Mr. Thomas has here elaborated his article in last year's fetschrift to John Burrow on the management of the Quarterly Review into an intimate portrait of how Lockhart and Croker managed that most influential of Tory literary journals.Those interested in political thought and historiography have a habit of buying anything dealing with Macaulay and I would urge them most seriously to take up this volume not only for the sake of Mr. Thomas' very realistic and sensible insights into that great 'whig' historian (although Thomas is none too comfortable with such a lable) but also for the views of Croker.I must add, by way of disclosure, that I know Mr. Thomas and have the greatest respect for him as a scholar and a tutor, however I think that works own merits will amply support my praise. For those who doubt my word I would heartily recommend they read an excellent review that appeared in the SPECTATOR in early December of 2000 - I believe I am in complete congruence with its sentiments. The Times Literary Supplement aslo had only the very nicest things to say.Quite simply, if you have any interest in political history, thought, or historiography I would most strenously enjoin you to purchase this most learned - and engaging - volume. General readers may find an occasional reference obscure, but they will also profit from and perhaps enjoy this volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A masterful biography, but unfortunately not completed.
John Clive's biography "Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian" is one of the finest biographies of the last 30 years.Although Macaulay is not widely read today, he was a major essayist and influential historian -- Winston Churchill's prose style seems to have been greatly influenced by Macaulay.Clive's book takes Macaulay from his days as infant prodigy, learning foreign languages as a child and writing histories before he was a teenager, and ends as he is beginning to write his enormously popular "History of England."Macaulay was also an important figure in the passage of the First Reform Bill, which was the first major alteration in the British Constitution in hundreds of years, and set the country on the road to a truly democratice form of government.Clive provides a superb description of pre-Victorian England and of Macaulay, one of those amazing people of the 19th Century whose capacity for work seems to have been endless.I don't know if Clive ever intended to write a second volume that would have covered the rest of Macaulay's life, but in any event he died before doing so.However, we should be grateful for what we have here.For me, the book was so interesting that I purchased a copy of Macaulay's Collected Works from a used bookstore, and thoroughly enjoyed them.Clive's biography is a model of the genre; while well-researched, he does not overwhelm the reader with useless facts simply because he knows them, but rather concentrates on the key facts to bring Macaulay to life.You do not have to have read Macaulay to enjoy this book.

An Fine Biography
The many glowing reviews given this book over the years are well-deserved.John Clive gives his readers a deep and rich picture of Macaulay.I agreewith another Amazon.com reviewer of this book that a volume II by Clive --a volume that details Macaulay's life from his return from India to hisdeath -- would have been a fantastic addition to the literature.

My onlyreal reservation about Clive's biography is his attempted psychoanalysis ofMacaulay.I find Freudian explanations to be wholly fanciful.They don'twork, in my view -- and this fact seems especially true in the case ofMacaulay.Fortunately, Clive doesn't resort to psychoanalysis toomuch.

Again, overall this is a truly excellent biography.

THIS is the perfect book
I have never seen a book better done than is this magnificent work.It tells of the earlyier life of Macaulay, from his birth on Oct 25, 1800 till the time he returned from India on June 1, 1838.How I wish there were avolume II!This book won my award for best book read in 1975, and after Iread it I knew that it was a shoo-in winner for that award, even though Iread in July of that year.

THIS is the perfect book
I have never seen a book better done than is this magnificent work.It tells of the earlyier life of Macaulay, from his birth on Oct 25, 1800 till the time he returned from India on June 1, 1838.How I wish there were avolume II!This book won my award for best book read in 1975, and after Iread it I knew that it was a shoo-in winner for that award, even though Iread in July of that year. ... Read more