"The fundamental ideas of this civilization, as Virgil said, were Greek; but later ages knew Greek ideas largely in their Latin form, and the Romans went on to add much of their own. Historians often compare the Romans to the Americans as being solid, hard-headed men, who were weak in forming abstract theories but strong in practical skills."

-- The Ancient Romans; by Chester G. Starr; p.3

"Real history is the slow-crawl study of small changes, from clan loyalties to price ratios -- gradually shifting tectonic plates that suddenly erupt into visible mountains. We see the peaks, but the movement, not the mountain is the story."
-- Slaughterhouse; by Adam Gopnik, New Yorker; Feb, 12 2007, p.82