Discourses on Livy vs The Secret History: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ancient, Rome, Early works to 1800, History
Discourses on Livy
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A very different work from his well-known The Prince, and posthumously published a year prior to it, Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy is one of his most debated works. Some critics see it as presenting a counterpoint or…
The Secret History
“BELISARIUS was married to a woman of whom I had something to say in the preceding books.”
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Procopius, the most important of the Byzantine historians, was born at Caesarea in Palestine towards the beginning of the sixth century of the Christian era. After having for some time practised as a Rhetorician, that…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Secret History has the widest readership — 1111437 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Discourses on Livy | The Secret History | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (10036) | 4.2 (1111437) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (4) | 5.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 4.0 (1) |
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Reception
| Discourses on Livy | The Secret History | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 10036 | 1111437 |
| Editions | 81 | 80 |
| Citations | 379 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 22488 | 5928 |
| Reading it now | — | 285 |
| Written reviews | 362 | 403 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4564 | 40317 |
| Pages | — | 149 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Discourses on Livy or The Secret History?
The Secret History has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Secret History 4.1/5, Discourses on Livy 4.1/5).
Which is harder to read: Discourses on Livy or The Secret History?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Discourses on Livy: Demanding; The Secret History: Demanding.