William de Burgh (1866–1943)

A worthwhile read but not an easy to read book. The subject covered is immense and therefore in such a brief book , this volume 1 of 2, being 300 pages, the author has to cover a lot in a short space. I found the author achieved his goal splendidly in giving the reader a great view of the “forest rather than the trees” of what aspects of the ancient world have influenced us .
One should be aware this is not a strict history, but rather a book that looks at the ideas the ancient world developed and that have been passed down to us - another word of warning is that the book was written in 1923, so much of what has been passed down is now being ignored, challenged and/or lost to our understanding.
The key elements put forward are that Greece has given use the arts and the desire to treat individuality as important, Rome gave us law, order and the means to organise the state and the Hebrews gave us a religious basis that allows the gifts of Greece and Rome to be applied to a vision ; “where there is no vision the people perish”. This focus on religion is now out of step with modern thinking and may not be to everyone’s taste but I found it illuminating and thought provoking.… (mere)