Peter Brown writes ancient history with verve and colour, bringing to life an era which can sometimes be passed over as dull if not dark, when nothing much happened beyond the implosion of the Roman Empire, followed by the ransacking of its buildings for ready-made masonry.  And I liked how he presented the army:

‘The army was an artesian well of talent.’ 

Source: Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity, AD 150-750 (London: Thames & Hudson, 1971 (1995)), p. 26

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