Kenneth C. Schellhase
Tacitus in Renaissance Political Thought.
The University of Chicago Press, 1976. First edition. 0226737004 xiii/270 pages.
Volume, measuring approximately 6" x 9", is bound in brick red cloth, with stamped gilt lettering to spine. Previous owner's name appears at top of front flyleaf. Book is otherwise in fine condition. Dust jacket shows light shelfwear. Jacket is preserved in mylar cover.
"The political histories of Tacitus, one of the greatest Roman historians, are the basis of his immortality. In this authoritative book, Kenneth C. Schellhase assesses the vast influence of Tacitus on Renaissance political thought. Although his works were almost completely unknown in the Middle Ages, Renaissance scholars, lawyers, and politicians used Tacitus not only as a guide to the formation of political theory but as a model for contemporary politics.
According to Schellhase, the Renaissance use of Tacitus was grounded in an affinity between philosophy and action, thought and practice, and his book is the first major attempt at unraveling this synthesis. Clearly organized and vividly written, the book focuses on political thought in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and to a lesser extent England, in the age of Renaissance humanism.
Schellhase deals simultaneously with three important subjects: the history of Western political thought from 1400 to 1700; the relation between political thought and contemporary political problems; and the heritage of classical antiquity. The author's remarkable familiarity with Tacitus and an immense number of Renaissance texts and his mastery of recent scholarship permit him to bring these three subjects together by showing the extent to which Tacitus inspired solutions to political problems in this period."