Sidonius and His Times

Extract

The unique interest of Sidonius lies in the fact that he ‘ stands between the old world and the new, and is a witness for both of them ’ (p. 166). His letters are almost the only non-theological documents of the fifteen centuries which have survived; and this fact alone gives them a historical value that cannot be exaggerated. A critical and well-documented biography by one who has made the subject his own is therefore most welcome. In the following pages I do not propose to say more by way of commendation of the admirable biography by Mr C. E. Stevens, but rather to consider certain special points in it which are of current interest, Needless to say, the interpretation of the history of the period is my own, and the author would very probably dissent strongly from it,