Frank Frost Abbott

“ The war was thrust upon Rome, and as Frank has said in his Roman imperialism (p. 125) , "Rome doubtless intended if successful to demand an indemnity and end the affair". The only way in which considerations of trade influenced the Romans was an indirect one. The commerce of Massilia was suffering severely at the hands of the Carthaginians, and she undoubtedly exerted herself to the utmost to bring her Roman ally into the field against Carthage, so that trade interests played some part in bringing on the war, but not in the way in which de Sanctis implies. ”

“ We have set before us the titanic struggle between Rome and Carthage—nothing more. Even Rome's war with Philip of Macedon is treated, and very properly, as an episode in the Second Punic War and is styled "La guerra annibalica in Oriente". We cannot quite sympathize, however, with the author's neglect of the political, social, and economic history of the period for the sake of securing continuity to his military narrative. ”

“ So far as the author's acquaintance with the pertinent ancient and modern literature is concerned, in a somewhat minute study of selected parts of the work the reviewer was unable to find a single important passage in ancient literature or a modern treatise of value which had not been taken into account. Next in importance to the author's reconstruction of the story of the Punic Wars and his critical appendixes are the technical analyses in part II. of the great battles and campaigns of the Second Punic War. ”