Butler Books

I read this book for a graduate course in Roman history.

The glory that was Rome came with a price. Some historians have said at too high a price--the fall of the Republic and the reinstitution of a monarchy. This political change came about for two important reasons. The first reason was that the political structure of the Republic could no longer adequately serve Rome's expanding empire in the last century BCE. Secondly, politically ambitious generals facilitated changes in Rome's military structure from a volunteer force to a professional force. This change gave them total control over the military, which they used to usurp the political power of the Senate. This precipitated the bloody political revolution, changing the government from a republic to a dictatorship and eventually a monarchy.

The goal of this book is to examine the importance of the development and the effect that a professional army had on the downfall of the Roman Republic. The focus of this book includes such topics as how the Roman army developed from a volunteer force into a professional, mercenary force, created by generals and politicians who coveted power. Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, Mark Antony, and Augustus are four examples of men drunk with power who plunged Rome into Civil War to wrest power from a weak Senate, which proved to be inadequate in coping with the intricacies of a burgeoning empire. In addition, this book examines how by changing the traditional pay structure, bonuses, and retirement payments made to the legions, these politically ambitious generals changed the traditional allegiance that the legions had to the Republic and essentially not only bought their services, but also brought the legions under their control for their own personal and political gain. This book articles prove that the successful subversion of the Roman Legion's structure for personal gain had a direct correlation in the downfall of the Republic and the rise of a permanent monarchy.

Rome had an army from its earliest beginnings as a small city-state. There is little known of the structure of the military in early Roman history. Judson did a masterful job of compiling the first solid information that has survived through history regarding Rome's military. "At first, military service in the Roman Army entailed a man being away from his home...for a few weeks or months over the summer. The campaign season opened in March and closed in October, as official festivals in the Roman calendar make clear." Judson also did vital work in explaining the military importance for Rome in the Servian Constitution. Servius Tullius was the sixth king of Rome who reigned from about 580-530 BCE. Servius instituted many reforms in both the political and military structures of Rome which were codified in the Sevian Constitution. He conducted the first census of the citizenry and used this information to divide the population into classes based on wealth. The class structure was then used both politically for voting classification and militarily to determine in what portion of the legion a man would serve in to defend Rome. The men were organized into centuries (hundreds) within the class structure. Militarily, the class ranking was based on wealth, which determined where a man would serve in the legion based on his ability to provide his own weapons and equipment. The wealthiest class in Roman society served in the equites or the Roman cavalry, of which there were eighteen centuries. Obviously, these men had the financial ability to provide their own horses. The majority of the population was divided into five classes who served in the infantry. Men who had no property had no military obligation. The military tactics used were similar to the Greek hoplite formation.

"Members of the `first class' were to be armed with a bronze cuirass, spear, sword, shield and greaves to protect the legs; the `second class' with much the same panoply minus the cuirass; the `third', the
same but lacking the greaves; the `fourth; the shield and spear only, and the `fifth' was armed only with slings or stones.

Judson's work on the organization and social change in the Roman army expertly explained how the Roman soldiers' pay and benefits differed between the Republic and the early Empire systems. During the period of the Republic, the structure of the army went through some changes after the enactment of the Servian Constitution. When a Roman citizen volunteered or was drafted, it was to fight in a specific campaign rather than for a specific length of time. Since Rome's empire was expanding in the second century BCE, it might not be uncommon for soldiers to serve in successive campaigns with a length of service reaching six years--the usual maximum length of service. In some very rare instances a soldier could volunteer to serve longer terms of service, mainly for the booty reward available to soldiers. Normally, a soldier would be maintained in a citizen reserve for sixteen years after his initial term of service. If a soldier was mobilized later, it was unlikely he would retain his former rank. This fact made it difficult for a man to make the army a lucrative profession in the Republic era. Even if a citizen showed exceptional aptitude and bravery in combat and rose to the rank of centurion, he would only have received double the pay of an ordinary soldier until Julius Caesar changed the pay and reward structure for his legions. Judson noted one exception to the difficulty of Roman soldiers gaining upward social mobility in the late Republic era. "Between 200 and 177 BC, 15 Roman colonies and 4 Latin colonies were established in Italy with the primary function of providing a Roman presence in areas which had recently been conquered. It seems likely that many of the colonists sent...were ex-soldiers." Rich also noted that after the Second Punic War against the Carthaginians 218-201 BCE, veterans of the war were granted plots of land that were confiscated in southern Italy. Typically, a veteran was given a little over one acre of land for every year served; this formula was increased according to rank as well. Thus, many soldiers received about thirty acres of land in which their families would be able to move to and make a fresh start in life. Finally, it is important to understand, as Rich pointed out in his research, that the army of the Republic was by no means a second rate militia force. "Discipline and training were its hallmarks; the care with which the camp was laid out reveals no ordinary grouping of amateur warriors. The Romans adopted professional attitudes to warfare long before the army had professional institutions."

Judson's work examined Roman pay scales for soldiers, showing how the pay structure ultimately changed. This affected the socio-economic structure of the lower social strata of the Roman population. Judson noted that the potential for a soldier to gain wealth, rank, and upward mobility in society was much greater beginning with the reforms made by Julius Caesar and carried on by his heir Augustus around the beginning of the first century CE. It was not uncommon for a soldier to reach the rank of centurion after fifteen years of service, with the potential for earning an even higher rank. During this period, the rank of centurion garnished him fifteen times that of the ordinary soldier. Judson noted that over one-third of Roman men who entered the army lived until retirement. Almost half of the centurions would succeed to the office of primipilares--the senior centurion of a legion for one year. With this rank came the honor of becoming a member of the Roman equestrian order, which provided a step up the ladder of the Roman social class structure. Upon their retirement, these successful military men would receive a substantial payment of 600,000 sesterces. This payment, coupled with their savings from pay and booty they earned while on campaign could propel a man well beyond his original station in life. Judson's study of the Roman Senate has shown that centurions had the ability to rise to higher office in the towns they retired to and their sons had the ability to become senators. Judson's research into social mobility in the early empire showed that the rewards for service become more astounding when one considers that many of the soldiers in the army during the early imperial era came from Rome's provinces. This meant that upon their retirement they became Roman citizens. One can see from the information that it became lucrative for a man, Roman citizen or not, to join the army. This proved to be especially true in the two centuries leading up to the imperial period and soon after as Rome's empire was expanding.

Recommended reading for those interested in Roman history, military history.

THIS EXCELLENT BOOK WILL MAKE YOU SEE THE USA IN A VERY DIFFERENT LIGHT. YOU WILL WANT TO DO MORE READING AND RESEARCH WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED. AMAZON IS AN EXCELLENT SOURCE FOR INEXPENSIVE BOOKS THAT REALLY DO BELONG IN A THINKING PERSONS LIBRARY...

THE ONLY REVOLUTION THAT WORKS IS THE ONE IN YOUR OWN HEAD.

Irene Butler Engelbert writes a very entertaining children's book full of fun, adventure and moral lessons.

I read this book for the first time shortly after my friend Dolores had died from breast cancer, and I was deeply moved by Barbara's perserverance and courage, and Sandra's love for her. I don't think this is the first time that gay men have read books on lesbian experiences of their epidemic- a number of gay male PLWAs have apparently read Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals for that purpose. Barbara's life was rich and varied, and her loss is a searing one. I hope that anyone who reads it is motivated to fight for a world where neither HIV/AIDS or breast cancer cost us the lives of those we love.

A warrior from the Korean War tries to die in such a manner his young son can collect double indemnity on a life insurance policy. In one day while dying, Jim Crawford tells his story of war, adultery, and shooting out his friends eye in a time of jealousy.

In Celtic Twilight, originally published in 1902, Yeats recites several accounts of encounters with the faerie folk and with the people of Ireland of the time which gives us insight into Irish folklore, myth and legend.

Yeats associates poetry with religious ideas and sentiment. And, I believe that he saw himself as writing for Ireland, but a shadowy Ireland of Celtic mysteries and legends, not the Ireland of the modern day. By modern day, of course, I relate this to the modern day of Yeats in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

In the introduction to Celtic Twilight Yeats states; "I have therefore written down accurately and candidly much that I have heard and seen, and, except by way of commentary, nothing that I have merely imagined. I have, however, been at no pains to separate my own beliefs from those of the peasantry, but have rather let my men and women, dhouls and faeries, go their way unoffended or defended by any argument of mine."

I got the strong impression from reading Celtic Twilight that Yeats actually believed in the existence of the faeries. Not just as some myth or legend, but as actual beings that exist in this world, though perhaps unseen by the common man. He wrote each story as if it was something that actually happened, having been related to him by the storyteller, or perhaps that which he had seen for himself in some past time, now recalled as he set pen to paper.

There is a depth to Yeats' writing that lies just below the surface, something that's perceived more than seen. The idea that perhaps magic and the faerie folk are alive in the world of today, but unseen, or perhaps only seen from time to time as a fleeting shadow until one knows just where to look.

It is interesting to note that Yeats was heavily involved in occult studies and practices as part of the Madame Helene Blavatsky's,Theosophical Society and later, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and finally in 1912 the Ordo Templi Orientis.

This would have certainly influenced his outlook on life and his belief in, and dare we say ability to see the unseen things of this world.

I too ask myself from time to time; just what unseen things exist in this world. Perhaps Yeats has seen that which other men can only hope for, or that which they turn away from in dread given the course of their spirits.

Yeats also makes a profound observation: "The things a man has heard and seen are threads of life, and if he pull them carefully from the confused distaff of memory, any who will can weave them into whatever garments of belief please them best."

I found Yeats' observation of particular interest, especially when it comes to theological or philosophical thought. If it is those things that we hear and see in life that forms the fabric of our beliefs, then surely we must take care that that which we see and hear forms strong enough threads so that the fabric we weave is not shoddy.

Yeats' works help us build those strong threads in our lives. For, he certainly influenced the world at large with his writings. In 1923 Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1934 he shared the Gothenburg Prize for Poetry with Rudyard Kipling.

The author of this book from 1902 to 1916 was the Reporter of Decisions for the United States Supreme Court, and he was a lawyer and the son and grandson of lawyers who practiced before the Supreme Court. This book, published after the author died, tells of many anecdotes and insights into the Supreme Court and the justices thereof. It is full of pictures and even pages of signatures of justices and other prominent folk who attended breakfasts and the like which the author put on. It is a different kind of book and anyone interested in the Supreme Court will enjoy reading it.

Actual title for this isbn number is: Christian Ways to Date, Go Steady and Break Up. This is for the 1978 edition.45 pages.

Cimru is awash with John Butler's wonderful paintings. The colors are blues and greens, with some pink in the skies. One can easily imagine the seals'life at sea. First the cub is battered about in a storm, then after she recovers the next day she is threatened by whales. There is real terror as the whales swarm around the seals' rock. For now, however, they are safe and so their lives go on.

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.