Remy Rose reviewed The philosopher and the Druids by Freeman, Philip
Review of 'The philosopher and the Druids' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
What an interesting life Posidonius seems to have probably led. He even sat down to a traditional Celtic barbarian feast, perhaps maybe.
It’s just all too unfortunate that we can’t hear much about it from the man himself. How tantalizing it is that he wrote as extensively as Aristotle, and yet barely scraps remain. Anyway, the author does a pretty good job of assembling what we do know into a rousing yarn. There is quite a bit of speculation; the reader will notice heavy reliance on the phrases “he must have been”, “he would have”, etc. I imagine the book would have been too dry if he hadn't, though.
The Celts are apparently another topic we know very little about. However, instead of forgetting about them entirely like with Posidonius, we've turned them into legends. Much of what is said about them today is supposedly nonsense, so yet another book …
What an interesting life Posidonius seems to have probably led. He even sat down to a traditional Celtic barbarian feast, perhaps maybe.
It’s just all too unfortunate that we can’t hear much about it from the man himself. How tantalizing it is that he wrote as extensively as Aristotle, and yet barely scraps remain. Anyway, the author does a pretty good job of assembling what we do know into a rousing yarn. There is quite a bit of speculation; the reader will notice heavy reliance on the phrases “he must have been”, “he would have”, etc. I imagine the book would have been too dry if he hadn't, though.
The Celts are apparently another topic we know very little about. However, instead of forgetting about them entirely like with Posidonius, we've turned them into legends. Much of what is said about them today is supposedly nonsense, so yet another book separating the facts from the supposition is welcome.