The Age of Constantine the Great

by Jacob Burckhardt

Translator's Foreword
Preface to 1st Edition
Preface to 2nd Edition
The Imperial Power in the 3rd Century
Diocletian: His System of Adoptions & His Reign
Individual Provinces & Neighboring Countries: The West
Individual Provinces & Neighboring Countries: The East
Paganism: Intermingling of Gods
Immortality & Its Mysteries: The Daimonization of Paganism
Senescence of Ancient Life & Its Culture
The Persecution of Christians: Constantine & the Succession
Constantine & the Church
Court, Administration & Army: Contantinople, Rome, Athens &
Jerusalem
Addenda et Corrigenda
On the Ancient Sources
Chronology of the Emperors
Index

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion, Ancient History, Christianity, Cultural, Roman History

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1853

About the author

Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt was a historian of art and culture, and an influential figure in the historiography of each field. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history, albeit in a form very different from how cultural history is conceived and studied in academia today. Siegfried Giedion described Burckhardt's achievement in the following terms: "The great discoverer of the age of the Renaissance, he first showed how a period should be treated in its entirety, with regard not only for its painting, sculpture and architecture, but for the social institutions of its daily life as well." Burckhardt's best known work is The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860).

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic history of the later Roman Empire presenting Constantine as a political opportunist exploiting an already ascendant Christian church for his own benefit. Very good on Diocletian as well.

[Steve]

Constantine the Great


The Roman Empire and its neighbors during the third and fourth centuries of our era, with an emphasis on the half century from the rise of Diocletian to the death of Constantine - such is the general topic of Die Zeit Constantins des Grossen (1853), which was the Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt's (1818-1897) first major work and one of the relatively few books he published before renouncing the writing of books for publication altogether.(*) Early though the book was in his career, his inimitable prose style is already present, as is the (then) idiosyncratic view of history Burckhardt had already developed.

Unlike most historians at that time,(**) Burckhardt did not focus on "great men" and "important events," which he saw as exceptional one-offs no science of history could incorporate (only record), but rather on the matters he viewed as amenable to a science of history - culture in the broadest sense, including social and economic relations.

Nonetheless, Burckhardt did not avoid the discussion of great men and important events. Indeed, Diocletian and Constantine the "Great" come in for a lot of attention in this text, though Burckhardt's primary interest in Diocletian is his unique attempt to solve the recurring problem of how to replace an emperor without an empire-convulsing period of warfare between rival pretendants to the throne and musing on how Diocletian was able to keep his co-rulers in line, even convincing his co-emperor Maximian to retire with him after their 20 year co-rule. (Constantine put a quick end to Diocletian's idea, but more about him later.) Otherwise, Diocletian is portrayed as a particularly successful exemplar of a long string of former generals made emperor by their essentially private armies. Burckhardt's real focus is on which structural aspects of third century Roman politics/power centers made this chain of emperor/generals possible.

Alongside this focus on political/social/cultural structures instead of on individuals/events, Burckhardt's discursive style admits extended passages revealing what was then known about social, political, economic and cultural life in the major Roman provinces in the third and fourth centuries (Burckhardt holds that the city of Rome's political, economic and cultural significance was minimal at this time, when the rulers had their residences in York, Trier, Split, Antioch, etc., the Senate was toothless, and the armies were no longer raised on the Italian peninsula but in the provinces, often among the newly re-settled "barbarians"), and even a little of the same about the Empire's neighbors. The sections on Egypt were particularly fascinating.



Model reconstruction of Diocletian's palace in Spalato (now Split, Croatia); portions are still standing today.


Burckhardt examines at length the evidence for the state of Greco-Roman religion and concludes that the life had gone out of the old beliefs, that philosophy had placed the gods to the side to endlessly regard their own perfection or had abstracted them away altogether, that Greco-Roman mythology had been reduced to a conventional ornament for art and literature, that serious drama had disappeared leaving only the crudest kinds of comedies and farces, and that a syncretism consisting primarily of religions and superstitions originally to be found in the North African and Near Eastern provinces, as well as Persia, occupied the spiritual energies of the Roman people. Christianity was just one of these, but Burckhardt argues that it had the advantage of promising a very simple way to eternal bliss, whereas its competitors required more complicated exertions to attain their heavens.(***)

A particularly striking example of this syncretism was provided by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (now better known as Heliogabalus), who was a priest of Elagabalus, an aspect of the Semitic god Baal. He had Jupiter replaced by Elagabalus in the official pantheon, had the huge slab of black stone which was the god's manifestation brought from Emesa, built him an enormous temple in the center of Rome, then brought the corresponding relics of the Isis/Astarte/Venus/Demeter/Urania goddess(4*) from Carthage and married the two gods in an elaborate ceremony. He even moved the Ur-Roman fire of Vesta into the new temple of Baal and Isis. Apparently, this was a bit too syncretic for some - the priestly emperor was murdered and the stone shipped back to Syria.(5*)

But to return to the promise of immortality, Burckhardt argues at length that the Greco-Roman view of an afterlife as joyless shadows in Hades with a few heroic exceptions on the Isle of the Blessed had changed during the crises of the third century into an obsession with "the other side." Increasingly, "real life" was moved from the here and now to a blissful afterlife that was not part of the traditional religion but was an important component of the Eastern religions pouring into Rome. Interestingly, Burckhardt portrays Neo-Platonism as a symptom of this shift in the Zeitgeist. In fact, with the exception of Plotinus and Porphyrius, he sees Neo-Platonists in the third and fourth centuries as fabulists and frauds occupied with magic and demonology.

There is so much else packed into this book, including an insightful overview of all aspects of late imperial art and literature and an examination of what could have brought Diocletian in the eighteenth year of his reign to let loose a terrible scourge against the Christians, but I must try to end this review. So let me say a few words about the eponymous figure, Constantine.

In direct opposition to the picture drawn in hagiographies of Constantine by Eusebius (whom Burckhardt calls der widerlichste aller Lobredner - the most repulsive of all panegyrists; later he calls Eusebius the first throughly dishonest history writer of ancient times) and other Christian propagandists, Burckhardt's Constantine is an unprincipled opportunist with one purpose in mind: sich und seine Herrschaft zu behaupten - to assert/maintain himself and his rule. When his father, who had moved up to Imperator Augustus when Diocletian and Maximian retired, died in York, his army declared Constantine Augustus. This was the beginning of a typically complicated and lengthy civil war out of which Constantine emerged as last man standing, and in the process of which he turned on his ally and brother-in-law, Licinius. All of the contenders and their families were killed, including the widow and daughter of Diocletian, who himself committed suicide rather than respond to a probably fatal summons from Constantine and Licinius. Such was his thanks for giving up the reins of power. A few years after the end of the civil war, Constantine had his own son, Crispus, and his own wife, Fausta, killed. So it could hardly startle that he also had his sister's eleven year old son killed. But do let Burckhardt tell you the story of a ruthless man without any hint of moral conscience. It makes quite a contrast with the received notions.

At Constantine's death another bitter civil war erupted in which the rest of his family killed each other and a significant percentage of the empire's population, leaving one son, the new emperor, Constantius, and the young nephew, Julian, who was the last in Constantine's line. Now he is an emperor who greatly interests me...

This lively and richly detailed picture of the late Roman Empire has replaced Burkhardt's classic on the European Renaissance as my favorite book from his hand. Be sure to read the second, corrected and expanded edition first published in 1880. The large-format, beautifully printed edition I read, published by Phaidon-Verlag (Vienna) in 1935, is particularly generously provided with 200 full-page illustrations. This enrichment is quite likely unique to this edition.


(*) This book has been translated into English under the title The Age of Constantine the Great. I discuss this renunciation in my review of Weltgeschichtliche Betrachtungen, which is one of the posthumous paste-ups Burckhardt's executor put together.

(**) There do seem to be more exceptions now than then - in fact, there are entire schools of such exceptions now - but these seem to be restricted to the academic ghetto.

(***) Burckhardt makes the case that the Romans viewed the monotheisms like Christianity and Judaism or dualisms like Zoroastrianism as too foreign to readily incorporate into their syncretism. Judaism and Zoroastrianism held themselves strictly apart from the melting pot, while Christianity was busy digesting large chunks of Neo-Platonism as it became increasingly sophisticated (and hierarchical).

(4*) The second century Syrian-Greek Lucian of Samosata wrote a biting satire, Of the Syrian Goddess, about the worship of the Syrian version of this goddess. An equal opportunity heretic, Lucian did a number on the entire Greco-Roman pantheon in his satires. Curiously, the Romans (via the Greeks) had much earlier incorporated another version of this goddess - Cybele, magna mater - into their pantheon. The same is true of the worship of Isis, which was known in Rome since the times of Sulla. But the Roman people wanted a version that was not domesticized, that was still surrounded by the trappings of the "mystical East" (which, often enough, included drunken orgies, quite thoroughly excluded in the domesticized Cybele and Isis cults).

(5*) Supposedly the young emperor had a real gift for causing outrage - it is reported that he prostituted himself in the imperial palace, but it is probable that many of the stories told about the young man are slanders used to justify his murder. One cannot be sure exactly why he was murdered at the ripe old age of eighteen.

Rating

http://leopard.booklikes.com/post/110...

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd heard much of Jacob Burckhardt throughout college and seminary, his work being often cited in other, more modern histories. Over the years I picked up titles as they were come across in bookstores. I started with 'Constantine' rather than his more famous 'Renaissance' because I knew more about ancient history to begin with and so would be able to compare his mid-18th century scholarship to the more contemporary material I was familiar with.

To a layperson like myself, Burckhardt held up well, any major revisions in the history of the period having gone underneath my radar.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buckhardt can be plodding, but on subjects like Constantine, he is actually very entertaining. In this book, he delivers a fascinating study of the reign of Diocletian, the Tetrarchy, its dissolution and the reign of Constantine. If you are unfamiliar with this period of about 200-320 AD, then I can highly recommend this classic text. I have not done further research, but I suspect that some of his conclusions might be challenged by recent archeological findings (the book is from the 19c), but as this book is not particularly polemical, it remains factual and interesting.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially good are the two central chapters on the pagan mystery cults, which were a prelude to the rise of Christianity.

[Carlos Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

提到雅各‧布克哈特(Jacob Christoph Burckhardt)，大多數人想起的應該都是他那本經典《義大利文藝復興時期的文化》，那確實是研究該時代不可或缺的作品。不過個人感興趣的是他的這本《君士坦丁大帝時代》。

本書是布克哈特為數不多的作品中的第一部。跟《義大利文藝復興時期的文化》相比，這部作品篇幅相對少，但從中已經可以感受出其大師的水平。雖然書名是《君士坦丁大帝時代》，但請把重點放在“時代”這兩個字上。布克哈特的特色不論是在他的時代還是如今都是與眾不同的-雖然坦白說在當時是“比較新穎跟具有爭議”，現在倒是還好-，他擅長從一個高度上去綜觀某個時代的全局：政治、社會、文化，而不拘泥於非要按部就班的陳述事實，此外，他把自己所吸收的知識信手拈來，不太引用當代人作品也不做太多腳註等等，這些都形成鮮明色彩。簡單來說，本書是一本“論述性”作品，要求讀者本身要自己具備深刻的認知，才能跟上布克哈特的步伐去感受他想呈現的。

這樣的做法讓我想起了前些年剛過世的大師霍布斯邦，他的十九、二十世紀系列也是這樣的寫法，都是對讀者的一大考驗啊(笑)。

我佩服布克哈特的觀察力，他在每個主題中的撰寫總是那樣的敏銳，只陳述“重點跟特徵”，沒必要的話題也毫不猶豫的割捨，不浪費篇幅。而其文筆更是絕妙，當他在說到君士坦丁用人喜怒無常時，寫著：「他的宮廷是非常滑的地板，任何人站在上面，必須謹防跌跤。」這樣的暗喻���人讀來不免發出會心的一笑。不過，同時也有點不得不提，布克哈特也擅長找尋問題，他總是指出一些應該深思的點出來自問自答，讀者當能從中受益，但也必須謹慎思考作者的思路。因為布克哈特最被同行詬病的，大概就是其論述總是太過主觀；不過我得幫他說說話，歷史解釋有誰能客觀呢？總之，不論是去思考作者的答案或者嘗試自己回答，對讀者來說都是最大的收穫。這就是本書值得鼓掌的地方。


假如我們要依循吉朋的思維，把羅馬的歷史結束在1453年，那麼，君士坦丁及其時代確實是一大轉折點。從奧古斯都所奠定的古典文明最高峰經歷了三世紀混戰的折磨後，到君士坦丁的手上已經變的不成模樣，人們總說是這位皇帝改變了一切，但事實上是本來就到了不得不改弦更張的階段，換作是任何一位稍有才具的領導人都必然有所為的。只是君士坦丁的作為涉及到了基督教這個至今仍然影響著1/3以上地球的宗教，免不了極具討論性。“古典晚期”學派的興起，主張這段時期是“轉型”而非“衰落”，想來布克哈特對這樣的話題並不陌生，他也在本書中深刻的指出這樣的轉折，而這正是為了八年後出版的《義大利文藝復興時期的文化》對應，畢竟那是一個結束跟開始。

比起《義大利文藝復興時期的文化》在台灣有一本厚厚的繁體全譯本，本書只有上海三聯推出中譯本，而且已經絕版(其實台北某二手書店倒是很多本)，頗為寂寥。本書翻譯的還算流暢，內容依然能仍激起不少思辨，堪稱經典，仍然是值得向大家推薦的好書。


關於君士坦丁，麥田之前的世界史系列小書有一本介紹性的作品，雖然已絕版，但不少圖書館有收藏，可以參看。
有興趣的朋友同樣可以看看BBC對於這位皇帝的影片，我個人覺得是拍的非常入木三分，用短短的一個小時把他的人生重點都講完了，值得一看。


=======================

前陣子聽說宋立宏老師要修訂《君士坦丁大帝時代》這本書，覺得十分欣喜，舊版本身不差，但有些不通順之處感覺可以再好些，於是等新版一上市，就立刻再買一本來拜讀，說到底這跟我欣賞布克哈特的筆法也有關。可惜，還是讓我失望了。至少，前面一兩章明顯的缺失沒怎麼修正到，第84頁跟之後出現的“龐培大帝”更是令人噴飯的譯法。如果是外行人就算了，老師您還是本科系的，這很難讓人圓場啊。唉，就當作是支持吧。希望宋老師譯的劍橋古史系列不要再出這種包了....

關於本書的其他特色在舊版心得就提過，這次只是再整理布克哈特的論點跟發表點感想吧。

第一章跟讀者回顧了一下三世紀危機後，第二章開始討論戴克理先的政治得失。基本上布克哈特基本上還是對戴克理先給予正面評價，他認為帝國早已千瘡百孔，這位皇帝能做的最多是動點手術幫忙續命，要讓它重新恢復生機是不可能的事情。唯一比較難解釋的是關於戴克理先對於繼承制度的理念，我們都知道在這位老皇帝生前就已經看到他同僚的孩子怎麼樣親手破壞自己精心打造的遊戲規則。就後見之明來看，從人性角度分析之，這似乎是理所當然會發生的情況。那麼，問題就在於戴克理先的才具難道會輸給我們這般平庸之輩嗎？布克哈特嘗試用迷信來解釋，他認為或許戴克理先跟當時的環境都服從於一種“宿命論”，人們或許不敢違背這種意志去妄然篡奪地位，並願意在規定的期限內輪替。但今天的我們是很難相信這種迷信，任何的“預兆”，“宿命”都是一種自欺欺人的假象，在思考的時候還是會覺得不可思議，或許以戴克理先的詐術太過精明，連自己也給繞進去了吧？講明白點，除了民主選舉或家天下外，要正常的禪讓傳承，是違背人性與野心的神話。五賢帝那是羅馬人的氣運使然，碰巧遇上幾個都沒孩子又有能的，此只能歸於神祕的命數，非人力可求。

第三、四章簡介了帝國的各個行省情況後，布克哈特把話題轉到了宗教跟文化的轉變，在他的認知裡，必須先討論此事，才能理解接下來君士坦丁的作為。

對於此，我先引用一段原文：

“...我們不但發現異教之解體總體上有利於基督教，而且發現解體的個別徵兆包括了對基督教的預示以及實現它的途徑。眾神之混合本身就為一種新宗教精心準備了基礎；它解構了神靈的民族特徵，使之具有普世性；它碾碎了希臘羅馬古老的本土膜拜中的自豪。對一切東方事物的偏好，經過在幻想領域內的長期徘徊，也定然不可避免地有利於基督教。此外，晚期異教信仰的基本內容可以與基督教直接比較。生存的目標不再局限於塵世生活及其歡樂和宿命，而是延伸到來世，甚至與神結合。一個團體盼望憑藉神秘儀式獲得不朽；另一團體則希望通過沉浸於深邃事物或通過巫術的強制而逼近神靈。.....基督教注定會在最後勝出，因為它為所有那個動盪時代深切關心和想要解決的問題提供了答案，而這些答案無與倫比地簡單，並明確有力地表達在一個令人難忘和使人信服的完整體系之中。”

讀過 Rodney Stark 的《基督教的興起》，我們知道這個最終結果的原因並非如此單純，但布克哈特明確的指出了一個要點：傳統希臘羅馬宗教已經不堪重任，它不再能慰藉人們心靈，是需要被淘汰的了。就算沒有基督教，也會有其他宗教取而代之。

第七章對於古代文化之衰頹，布克哈特將之歸結於專制體系下的束縛，在詩歌方面，人們不敢討論時政，勇於創新，只能整日沉溺過往，糾結昔日的章句，讓創造力從此扼殺於搖籃之中。不過他最後問了：「難道詩歌和具象藝術的正式衰弱也總是意味著一個民族國運之衰弱？難道這些藝術就不是在果實成熟之前必然會凋謝的花朵？難道真就不能代替美、實用就不能取代愜意？」或許布克哈特對於晚期藝術有其不同的見解吧！

前面的鋪陳結束，接下來接入正題。

戴克理先對於基督教的大迫害是晚期帝國的一大轉折，對此，布克哈特花了不少筆墨討論這件事情的始末，他的觀點是讓人訝異的。作者指出，戴克里先的宮廷、軍隊內，早就已經充斥了基督徒，皇帝對於他們的了解，以及其數量，要產生敵意，必須要有充足的理由。而布克哈特認為，雖然沒有直接證據，極有可能是部分教徒捲入了政爭，甚至密謀控制皇帝跟宮廷，讓基督教一步登天。這個論點讀者能不能接受，就見仁見智了。個人是覺得相當有意思且頗具說服力。不管怎樣，這次“大迫害”並沒有某些教父筆下那樣誇張，其他的幾位共治者的態度也都很曖昧，君士坦丁之父君士坦提烏斯甚至是打發了事，從這些小細節來看，可以反證作者的論點。

不管怎樣，當時基督教都已經在民間是一大勢力，或許可以說君士坦丁慧眼獨具，總之，他選擇了接受此一宗教以換取他們的支持。這是個精明的政治計算還是出於虔誠的信仰，論戰已經持續了千餘年之久，並沒有確切的答案。但布克哈特稱呼君士坦丁是一個“自私自利的政客“，就已經明顯的表態。我個人是認同作者的觀點。君士坦丁無疑是一個政客，一個強人，一位統治者，這樣的人，歷史上，這樣的人在他墮落之前，都只有玩弄宗教的份。或許誠如布克哈特所說，在逼子殺妻之後，出於天良，老邁的皇帝也會軟弱的向宗教屈服，但這跟其早期的政治選擇無疑的沒有連結。

君士坦丁的第二影響後來歷史的事業是他打造了新都君士坦丁堡，若非此處的易守難攻，或許很難想像東部帝國能夠在天下圍攻的情況下再延續千年之久。他的第三個影響則是跟母親海倫娜對耶路撒冷的拜訪，開啟了基督徒前往巴勒斯坦朝聖的慣例。至於其他的改革，那是從戴克理先那邊延續下來的再伸展，不能單純歸功於一人。

宋立宏老師在其譯後記寫道：「如果奧古斯都時代的一個羅馬誤入桃花源，錯食長生藥，待到奧古斯丁時代復返塵世，定然感慨人事皆非。....」當然，我們不該認為歷史進程裡，不會有任何變動，但在經歷三世紀的危機後，戴克理先跟君士坦丁對帝國的改革是用“巨大”也不足以形容。這自然不是一種突如其來的變化，而是順勢而為的舉措，但其間的差異還是足以使人咋舌。不過，有時候我在想，是否當年凱撒想做的，就是這些改革？當然，這沒有答案。而無論如何，這都阻擋不了古代世界走向終結。這讓我想起了曾經對此事情引用過德國史評論家哈夫納，在他的著作中提到威瑪政治家用經濟大崩盤拯救德國從高額賠款中脫身的一句話：



「病是治好了，但患者也死了。」

[Ramon de la Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una obra de bastante contenido histórico y con reflexiones atinadas al respecto. Es bueno resaltar todo el proceso de transición que hubo entre el Paganismo al Cristianismo y como esto nos ayuda a entender un poco más las tradiciones cristianas contemporáneas.

[Yoshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

PopKulturowy Kociołek:

Ramy czasowe publikacji zamykają się w klamrze lat 284-337 (z pewnymi odniesieniami do czasów wcześniejszych). Autor poświęca tu ogrom uwagi Cesarstwu Rzymskiemu i jego najważniejszym sąsiadom (* w trzecim i czwartym wieku naszej ery), począwszy od objęcia władzy przez Dioklecjana aż do śmierci Konstantyna.

Założenie jego pracy jest dosyć proste. Jeśli chce się dobrze poznać Konstantyna i zrozumieć sposób jego myślenia (a co za tym idzie rządzenia), najpierw należy dobrze poznać realia, które ukształtowały jego światopogląd i sposób postrzegania świata.

Naukowo-społeczny wywód twórca rozpoczyna od historii imperium z dużym naciskiem na końcówkę II wieku i panowanie Dioklecjana (z jego specyficznym „systemem adopcji”) i próbami powstrzymania wybuchów kolejnych konfliktów po śmierci panującego władcy.

Dopiero taka podstawowa dawka wiedzy pozwala czytelnikowi zagłębić się w kolejnych rozdziałach i należycie zrozumieć opisywane realia. Tak jak zostało to już wspomniane, Jacob Burckhardt poświęca kilka rozdziałów na dość szczegółowe (na ile pozwala ograniczona ilość miejsca) opisanie poszczególnych prowincji Imperium i jego sąsiadów. Autor skupia się głównie na pokazaniu zróżnicowanych struktur polityczno-społeczno-kulturowych i tego, że Rzym nie zawsze stanowił najważniejszy ośrodek cesarstwa.

Ponadto Burckhardt skupia się na stanie religii w opisywanych czasach. W swoich wywodach dochodzi on do wniosku, że filozofia odsunęła całkowicie na bok Bogów, a dotychczas ważna Mitologia grecko-rzymska miała jedynie przejawy w literaturze i sztuce (której notabene również twórca poświęca pewną ilość miejsca).

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...

[Adolfo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ameno Relato de la transición pagana cristiana.
Escrito a manera de un relato más que de un trabajo académico, el autor nos habla como fué ganando territorio la religión cristiana a expensas de la decadencia de las religiones paganas, además de relatar el contexto histórico de Roma y sus gobernantes, en especial Constantino que llegó a ser campeón del cristianismo sin al parecer llegar a practicarlo sino hasta el final de sus días.

[Artemis Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly exceptional read that has been able to stand up to the strongest critics. Constantine the great, which he in my personal opinion was, did the church a great service, for without him the church would have collapsed and not grown as it did. I enjoyed reading this very much.

[Ronnie Salgado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historiador del siglo XIX después de todo...

[Pavlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Не знаю чому, але в історії мене завжди найбільше ваблять періоди смут, криз і занепаду. Саме тому, я не міг пройти повз книгу, присвячену одному з найскладніших періодів в історії Риму.
Спочатку я гадав, що обмежуся лише першим розділом праці, в якому йдеться про кризу ІІІ ст., коли імператором стати було легко, а втратити трон разом із життя ще легше. Але глибина викладу і його стиль, разюче відмінний від сучасних зразків історичної літератури, спонукали мене продовжити читання, про що я не шкодував й хвилини.

Радше зібрання окремих нарисів, аніж систематичний виклад історії Риму, праця швейцарського культуролог�� Якоба Буркгардта малює перед нами картину морального і духовного занепаду Риму, з якого по десятиліттях смут і міжусобиць постає новий духовний консенсус, а заразом і політичний лад. Автор стверджує, і це доволі неоднозначна теза, що успіху християнства торувала шлях потужна "монотеїстична" тенденція, помітна й в язичницьких культах, і в філософських пошуках неоплатоніків. Детально розглядає автор різноманітні східні релігійні вірування - від культу Ісіди до мітраїзму, - що поширилися у Римі в ІІ-ІІІ ст. і в певному сенсі провістили тріумф християнства (практично нічого Буркгардт не пише про маніхейство, але це й не дивно, оскільки власне маніхейські тексти потрапили до рук істориків лише в XX ст.).
В книзі не дуже багато місця присвячено власне особі Костянтина Великого, і назва книги не повинна вводити читача в облуду: книга не про Костянтина, а про його епоху. Буркгардт, зрештою, далекий від ідеалізованого образу цього імператора, витвореного християнськими апологетами. Автор бачить в ньому лише цинічного політика, який вчасно і з великою для себе користю розгледів грандіозний потенціал співпраці з церквою, заклавши фундамент для того, що згодом назвуть "симфонією влад", або ж (вже не так прихильно) цезарепапізмом.

Ще раз наголошую, що ця праця - не систематичний виклад, не підручник, в ній зовсім не розкрита економічна історія, військова та дипломатична історія також явно не перебувають в центрі уваги автора. Попри це, "Епоха Костянтина Великого" - безумовно заслуговує на увагу кожного читача, який цікавиться історією Давнього Риму.

[Johannes]

Ich gebe es auf, weil ich zum wiederholten Mal auf Stellen wie die folgende stoße (in meiner Ausgabe S.119):
"Unter ihnen selbst [=den Bischöfen] zeigte sich aber schon im dritten Jahrhundert schwere Ausartung; wir finden manche von ihnen in Pomp versunken, als römische Beamte, als Kaufleute, ja als Wucherer; das sehr grelle Beispiel des Paul von Samosate wird mit Recht als keineswegs vereinzeltes betrachtet."
Es folgt kein Wort mehr zu Paul, sondern Fußnote Nr. 260 (zweihundertsechzig! durchnummeriert!). Ah, denke ich mir, wenigstens endlich mal wieder ein krasses, "grelles" Beispiel, wie sie so schön ausgeschmückt sind in der "Kultur der Renaissance", und blättere sensationsgespannt zu den Anmerkungen. Was ist dort zu finden?: "Schlosser, Univ.hist. Übersicht d. alten Welt, III, 2. S. 119." - Ich wüsste schon gern mehr zu Paul von Samosate. Mittels dieses Buchs wird mir das aber wohl nur schwer gelingen.