A man who longs for nothing obviously has everything, and even more securely than a man who owns every possession. Maximus, Valerius....

Fabricius Luscinus felt the same way. In his day, he held the highest offices and exercised the greatest influence in the entire state,...

Perhaps it is not the world’s peace that corrupts great natures but much rather the endless warfare which besets our hearts, yes, and...

Crassus, Atticus, and Lucullus typify the three phases of Roman wealth; acquisition, speculation, luxury. Marcus Licinius Crassus was of aristocratic lineage. His father, a famous orator, consul, and censor, had fought for Sulla and had killed himself rather than yield to Marius. Sulla rewarded the son by letting him buy at bargain prices the confiscated properties of proscribed men. As a youth Marcus had studied literature and philosophy and had assiduously practiced law; bu