Civil War

An underrated work of the Silver Age. There are some excellent epsiodes that could stand on their own as mini-epics: the suicides of Vulteius and comrades, Appius 'rape' of the Pythia, Caesar's journey by sea, Scaeva's aristeia, Erictho's necromancy, and Cato's journey through Africa to name just a few. The historical insights into the lives of Caesar, Pompey, and Cato are also especially enlightening. Absolutely worth a first and second look!

Lucan, the author of the full-throated but incomplete epic the "Civil War", certainly deserves a spot next to the great Latin poets Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, whose epic works mark the pinnacle eloquence and intelligence of Latin verse. The epic was written during the reign of Nero in the first century AD, and it is characterized by its vehement condemnation of civil war and imperialistic sentiments--this possibly caused Lucan's later fall out of Nero's favor. The primary characters in the epic are Julius Caesar, who is portrayed as a destructive warmonger, and Pompey (Magnus), who is described as ambitious and over his prime. The vivid descriptions of the wars in this work are exciting and at the same time sobering since Lucan's narrative never fails to reveal those attributes of civil war which invoke the most disturbing of feelings. For all this, Lucan's "Civil War" is recommended, and also because the Oxford World Classics always present reliable translations, and this particular edition retains Lucan's charming and long-winded verse that courses so smoothly through the hearts and minds reader's who are fortunate enough to come into contact with it.

If I had known it was another translation of Lucan, I would not have ordered it, BUT I would have made a mistake. This work has a better translation for the modern reader, and lots of good supporting information. Some of the comparisons I made with other versions make me wish I had this ten years ago. The notes are worth the price of the book!