The Dream of Rome
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''The Dream Of Rome'' (2006) is a book by politician, journalist and former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
,
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, in which he discusses how the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
achieved political and cultural unity in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and compares it to what he argues is the failure of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
to do the same. It was aired as a
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television documentary prior to its release as a book in the same year. Johnson centers his writing about the main question of ''The Dream of Rome'': “How did the Romans manage to bring centuries of stability to so much of Europe while the European Union remains an unloved and divided mess?” Johnson’s Euroscepticism and deep analysis of the Roman Empire drew an overall positive reception. Critics praised Johnson’s ability to engage the reader with both entertaining jargon and desired information. Controversy surrounding ''The Dream of Rome'' was related to Johnson’s comparison of early Christian martyrs to 21st century suicide bombers.


Synopsis

In ''The Dream of Rome'', Johnson compares Ancient Rome to the modern-day European Union, showing that Rome was lightly taxed and free of harsh
regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
whereas the EU is bound by bureaucracy and heavily taxed. Johnson explores why such a strong united Roman identity was able to form within the Empire while the EU severely lacks a common identity, opting for strong individual national identities instead. ''
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'' focuses on big ideas such as “Harmonisation without regulation," implying that the Roman Empire had a harmony to it, a firm belief of Johnson. One similarity between the Roman Empire and the EU is the existence of “freeloaders,” states Johnson. They are “unlikely to bite the hand that feeds them.” In Rome, these freeloaders were the
elites In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
of a newly overpowered society - those that were “seduced” by promises of wealth and glory. Johnson compares this group of people to today’s EU freeloaders and writes that the difference lies within the charisma of the European leader in command. Roman
emperors An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, especially
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, formed cult-like followings that galvanized and rallied a population in contrast to today’s mundane European figureheads. Johnson writes of an innate European desire to recreate the ideals and culture of
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. Included within the novel are statements from Johnson describing the success Romans had with assimilating new groups of people (
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and those of a conquered separate nation-state) with Roman culture and values. Johnson emphasizes the difference between Rome and the EU in terms of assimilation. The Roman way was to welcome and provide opportunity to any foreigner who desired to adopt the Roman lifestyle. The EU meanwhile, has had, in the eyes of Johnson, no real success in united Europeans. He cites the lack of a common language, literature, and general inclination from many citizens to form closer ties to their neighbors of differing nationalities. The 2021 French journal, ''French Victorian and Edwardian Journal (Cahiers Victoriens et Édouardiens)'', highlights Johnson's opinion of the current EU. Johnson writes emphatically for the implementation of a powerful central force to lead the continent of Europe and unite its nation states. Repeatedly he harkens back to the days of the Empire under the hand of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, the historical leader who assumes the role of Johnson’s hero as the book progresses. In 2020, Dr. Abelardo Rodriguez of the Universidad Iberoamericana and the San Jose ''
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'' came to the conclusion that Johnson’s biggest gripe about the current EU at the time of writing was the absence of a strong head of state. A harsh contrast to Roman figureheads.


Background

The book, ''The Dream of Rome'' was preceded by a BBC television documentary. The documentary was a fast-paced, two-part series officially named “''Boris Johnson and The Dream of Rome''.” The documentary featured several interviews conducted by Johnson, including a personal one-on-one with
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
professor,
Charlotte Roueché Charlotte Roueché (born 1946) is a British academic who specialises in the analysis of texts, inscribed or in manuscripts, from the Roman, Late Antique, and Byzantine periods. She is particularly interested in those from the Asia Minor cities o ...
. Following the airing of the documentary on television, the book was released by Johnson and
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shortly thereafter.


Reception

The overall reception of ''The Dream of Rome'' was positive.
Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of ''The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at ''Quillette.'' A graduate of ...
of the ''
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'' pronounced that, “As an introduction to the history of the Roman empire, this book is hugely stimulating. I read it in two sittings, completely gripped.” Similarly, Craig Brown of '' The Mail on Sunday'' described Johnson’s writing style in a passionate manner: “History comes alive only when written from the heart and Johnson’s is full of swashbuckling japes, bloodthirsty yells and energetic sideswipes.” In a 2006 issue of ''The Daily Telegraph'', Tom Holland commented on Johnson's gift of producing invigorating writing: "Johnson has not been intimidated by dry classics masters: his style is bright, breezy, populist and pacy." More praise for ''The Dream of Rome'' came from Helen Macdonald of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'': "Described with his special combination of sharp-eyed intelligence and golly-gosh exclamation…the sublime and the bizarre are richly represented in this portrayal of ancient Rome…a splendid romp through the Roman world." Recent scholars have begun connecting the book to the United Kingdom's 2020 withdrawal from the European Union. In hindsight, Johnson's assertive role in
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
makes complete sense given the many complaints present within his 2006 writing of ''The Dream of Rome.'' Controversy Johnson made highly controversial comparisons of early Christians willing to die for their beliefs and today’s suicide bombers, creating dissension within Christian communities. Seen within his writing, Johnson frequently constructs convincing arguments for
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to join the EU, in aspiration of recreating the idealistic vision of a united Euro-centric empire and including the “Rome of the East.” According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', this argument became problematic when juxtaposed with Johnson’s more recent stance in favor of the British leaving the EU due to the inabilities and limitations of big bureaucracy.


References


External links


Review
by Denis MacShane MP in ''The Independent''
Review by Tom Holland in ''The Daily Telegraph''
Boris Johnson 2006 non-fiction books British books Political books History books about ancient Rome 21st-century history books HarperCollins books Books by Boris Johnson Books written by prime ministers of the United Kingdom {{AncientRome-book-stub