Jeremy Maddux’s Reviews > Constantine and the Christian Empire > Status Update

'Now I am well aware that they who are sincere in the pursuit of the heavenly hope, and have fixed this hope upon heaven itself as the peculiar and predominant principle of their lives, have no need to depend upon human favor, but rather have enjoyed higher honors in proportion as they have separated themselves from the inferior and evil things of this earthly life.'

...Sometimes I just want to read about the emperor himself, not war games or his policies or religious matters. I just want to know what made him tick, his vices, virtues, whom he killed and spared.

One of the most infuriating things about reading Roman emperor biographies is that the author never wants to focus on just the emperor and his life. They always want to use them as a stepping stone to some greater topic. With Caracalla, the author used him to talk about military tactics. Here, the author devotes a large portion to the rise of Christianity, which is great and it's relevant to the material,but...

'He led warships and transports from Boulogne across the channel toward the east coast of Britain near Dover, where Allectus was stationed with the bulk of his forces; and dispatched his Praetorian Prefect Asclepiodotus...'

Where do they get these names!? To pronounce that name right, I'd have to have someone finish it for me.