The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 10: The Ancient State - The Rulers and the Ruled

This volume consists primarily of scholarly essays first published in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. The tenth book in the collected works of Hugh Nibley, this work deals primarily with issues relating to ancient societies and the political superstructures associated with them.

The foibles of our age are nothing new, repeating what has been done in other eras, which makes these essays highly pertinent to our own time. One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices; social, political, and even economics; have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors.

"Reading Nibley is a constant pleasure, even where the argument is subtle or a page is studded with details. To benefit most fully from reading Nibley, one must be like a cup, ready to be filled to the brim, and then some," writes Stephen D. Ricks, Associate Professor of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, in the forward to The Ancient State: The Rulers and the Ruled.