Res Gestae Divi Augusti: The Achievements of the Divine Augustus
Rex E. Wallace's textbook,Res Gestae Divi Augusti…presents Latin students with an engaging introduction to the corpus of Latin epigraphy. Wallace's work includes a thorough orientation to the history, content, function, and organization of theRes Gestae, along with relevant historical, grammatical, and vocabulary notes on the page facing the text. Not only are vocabulary items put into context, but the complete noun forms and principal verb parts are listed, so that students can quickly grasp the meaning of the Latin without a great deal of page flipping.This volume also contains illustrations and an index of place names and persons; an alphabetical list of all vocabulary items follows the text. Wallace provides an up-to-date bibliography of resources for additional reading that is especially helpful, since instructors may want to give students some background on Augustus' life and refer them to other sources for further historical commentary. This is a thought-provoking text for intermediate college students and advanced high-school students who wish to increase their proficiency in Latin and gain an understanding of one of the key historical documents of the Augustan Age. --Jennifer A. Rea, Luther College, The Classical Outlook....Rex Wallace's entry into the field is superior in several ways to the two editions (Benario and Damon) intended expressly for Latin students.......Wallace's addition to the available student editions of theRes Gestaeoffers historical and grammatical/syntactic annotation sufficient to the needs of an intermediate-level student and quite comparable to that in Benario and Damon. The lexical assistance, however, is fuller--much fuller--than in any competing work. These features--together with the volume's excellent introduction, maps, and illustrations--make it the best option in a field of fine choices for classroom use. --James P. Holoka, Eastern Michigan UniversityIt is thus the purpose of this essay to advocate the reading and teaching of Augustus'Res Gestae, and especially to demonstrate its value in the teaching of Latin style at the intermediate level, whether high school or college. Before I go any further, let me discuss practical matters, namely how one is to find a teachable edition of the text. Rex Wallace has recently (2000) produced an excellent, student-friendly edition of the inscription complete with introduction, historical notes, running vocabulary on facing pages, maps, photos, an index of names and places, and a complete vocabulary list. It has everything students need to read the text...Moreover, all these topics are surveyed in language that should not be intimidating to the novice Latinist. The relative clarity and simplicity of Augustus' Latin make it possible, especially with the student-friendly features of Wallace's recent edition, for intermediate students to read the text with relative speed and confidence. And sinceRes Gestaeis indeed 'real' Latin, excellent models of Latin grammar and syntax appear throughout and can be used to review fundamental grammatical structures.Thus the study of Augustus' Latin style, valuable in and of itself as a means for students to discover why reading real Latin is rewarding, can also be employed as a counterweight to the persuasive intent of this historical text. Deciphering Augustus' intentions is one excellent way to bring students into the evaluation of his achievements, and thus to continue for another generation the now ancient yet still meaningful debate over the rightful historical legacy of the architect of the Roman Empire. --Rex Stem, The Classical Outlook--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.