Скорее всего в упомянутой Вами монографии обсуждаются либо гражданские права той эпохи, либо эволюционный аспект проблемы. И то и другое вполне правомочно. Но я не думаю, что что права римлян оцениваются в ней с позиции Human Rights Watch или Amnesty International.
В этой книге центральная проблема - римское понятие humanitas.
Цитата из введения:
What do we mean by ‘human rights’? Given the high profile of the idea
in today’s world, one might look for a contemporary answer. But this is
true to only a limited extent. The modern founding charter, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, does not attempt a comprehensive
definition. As adopted by the United Nations in 1948, the Declaration’s
preamble recognises that ‘The inherent dignity and…equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family [are] the foundation
of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’ This is little more than a
restatement of the doctrine of universalism that came down to Rome
from the Greeks. For specific details we must consult Articles 2–29 of
the Declaration. These may be grouped as follows:
(i) The right to life, liberty, security of person, equality before the
law, fair trial, asylum, and freedom from torture and inhuman
punishment;
(ii) the right to privacy, reputation, opinions, religion, mobility,
nationality;
(iii) the right to marry, own property, take part in government, choose
one’s occupation, receive an education.
A number of these categories can be matched by Roman parallels.
But not all the categories have the same importance—or perhaps the
same sense of urgency. For us, and indeed for the Declaration itself,
the main focus is on the first group. The struggle against brutality driven
assaults on the human person and human dignity is the central
core.
(...)
Our identification of brutality and savagery as the central problem
of human rights is every bit as valid for the modern scene as for the
ancient. But this does not mean that other, non-brutal values are not
important. In ancient times they easily outweigh the brutality group
numerically. But they should be seen as regulators. Values like culture,
education, kindness, clemency are (hopefully) capable of
counteracting the central core.
Естественно, речь не идет о том, чтобы оценить римскую цивилизацию с точки зрения Декларации прав человека, - а о том, чтобы исследовать представления о гуманности и жестокости, существовавшие в Риме, и другие связанные с ними понятия.