Humanitas: Ancient Rome Program

Unlike most contemporary approaches to history, which reflect the fashions and biases of the fleeting present, Humanitas offers students something more substantial. Following C.S. Lewis’ stout defense of reading primary sources in “On the Reading of Old Books,” Humanitas will help “persuade the young that firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but it is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire.” Geared towards history, humanities, and humane letters courses, the Humanitas series offers a continuous, unfolding narrative of Western Civilization through a collection of carefully curated primary source documents.

Full program includes:

HUMANITAS: ANCIENT ROME

From the founding of Rome to the sack of the eternal city by Alaric the Goth in AD 410, Ancient Rome Books 1 & 2 cover the rise of the Roman Republic and the slow decline and fall of the Roman empire. These books begin with the founding myths, chart the wars with Carthage and the influence of Hellenism, and cover the establishment and breaking of the Roman empire. Along the way, the documents in these books will illustrate the virtues that defined Roman citizenship, chart the birth and spread of Christianity, and provide insight into Roman education, philosophy, and material culture.

The 50 chapters include: 

• Accounts of historical events and figures such as the Battle of Hastings and Joan of Arc
• The flowering of medieval learning in the writings of figures such as Anselm, Aquinas, and Roger Bacon, and the contribution of Muslim science alongside mystics and polymaths
• Early explorers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Felix Fabri
• The writings of literary masters from across Europe, such as Marie de France, Dante, and Petrarch

HUMANITAS: ANCIENT ROME TEACHER'S GUIDE PDF

The Humanitas: Ancient Rome Teacher's Guide PDF supplies teachers with lesson objectives, contextual information about the source documents, and relevant points of discussion. It includes “Look Ahead” and “Look Back” notes that explain how various source documents relate to each other, as well as the discussion and writing prompts that appear in the student edition.