Hearsay, History, and Heresy : Gorgias Press : 9781593336424 : 159333642X : 14 Jun 2013 : This book features a selection of articles by Richard E. Mitchell concerning the origins and development of the ancient Roman state and the modern historiography that supports our understanding of that history. The introduction and commentary are provided by one of his PhD students, Randall S. Howarth, whose own work is very much concerned with the same topic. The publication of these articles in a single volume provides a comprehensive commentary on the assumptions governing modern reconstructions of the period and the problems informing those assumptions. The social and institutional history of the Roman Republic, especially that of the earliest years, is one of the most problematic and convoluted areas of study in the ancient world. Modern scholars have tended to assume that we should take the broad outlines of the traditions handed to us by the Romans at face value, despite their invention hu