Matthews, John
Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), 1998 (reprint)
cloth, dj., 427 pp.
Book Number 19838
The central theme of Matthews' study is the relationship between the "public" and "private" lives of those involved in the politics of the western Roman empire in the later 4th and early 5th centuries. Exploring the impact of private social attitudes on the formation of public policies, he treats four themes as especially significant: the diverse backgrounds of power, influence and personal experience from which men approached political life; the role of the imperial court as a cultural as well as social institution; the Christianization of the governing classes and its influence on policy making; and the way in which the government of the western empire during this period progressively falls from public into private hands.