she put columbia avenue city oxford, how did you decide to go to oscar relevant -- >> i got a scholarship. so you were over there and studying something and at some point you have to make a decision -- >> it started when i was an undergraduate at columbia. i had a wonderful professor named mark oswald. he was a great scholar and marvelous human being. i took a course of his as a sophomore and i went into his office because he was very congenial. i said i'm not sure what i should do and he said well you did pretty well in my class. why don't you become an ancient historian. okay. that was that. [ laughter ]and i never looked back. so he is responsible for the in the upon the profession. >> and he -- he is responsible for inflicting me upon the possession. >> and then you got a phd at harvard. what was your dissertation? >> it was on roman politics and the criminal courts. it was a dissertation kind of book when it came out but the important -- it was the first important book about the last generation of the roman republic. >> last generation of the roman republic and here is a small home r