Livius in Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities

Titus. One of the greatest and certainly the most popular of the Roman writers of history. He was born at Patavium (B.C. 59), of good family, and, after being carefully educated, betook himself early (before B.C. 31) to Rome, where he soon became acquainted with the most distinguished men of the day. Even Augustus entertained friendly relations towards him in spite of his openly expressed republican convictions, for which he called him a partisan of Pompey. He does not seem to have taken public office, but to have lived exclusively for literature. He was esteemed by his contemporaries so highly that a Spaniard is said to have travelled from Gades (Cadiz) to Rome merely to see him (Pliny , Epist. ii. 3). He died in his native town in A.D. 17. He must have begun his great historical work between B.C. 27 and 25; it can only have been completed shortly before his death, as he did not publish the first twenty-one books until after the death of Augustus (A.D. 14). It recounts the history of Rome in 142 books, extending from the foundation of the city (whence the title Ab Urbe Condita Libri) to the death of Drusus (A.D. 9). His own death must have prevented its continuation to the death of Augustus, as he doubtless had proposed. He published the work, called by himself Annales (xliii. 13), from time to time, in separate parts, arranging his material-at least for the first ninety books-as far as possible in decades (portions consisting of ten books), and half-decades; the division into decades was, however, first carried through in the fifth century, probably for convenience of handling so vast a series of books. There still remain only the first decade (to B.C. 293), the third, fourth, and half of the fifth decade (218- 167); and of the remainder, with the exception of a fairly large portion of the ninety-first book, only inconsiderable fragments. We also possess from an unknown pen, epitomes (periochae) of all the books except 136 and 137, and a scanty extract from the account of the portents (prodigia), which appeared in B.C. 249 and following year. This is by a certain Iulius Obsequens, and perhaps dates from the fourth century. Livy 's importance rests more on the magnitude of his patriotic undertaking and the charm of his style than on his acquisitions as a scientific historian. He is, in fact, best regarded as a remarkable story-teller, who possessed a diction almost perfect in its way, and an unusual power of graphic narrative. For writing history, however, he had no special training, and his knowledge of Roman law and of the Roman military system was but slight. In selecting his authorities, also, he showed little discrimination, basing his judgment of them on a priori assumptions. Thus he follows Valerius Antias in the first decade with no mistrust (cf. vii. 36; ix. 27, 37, 43), but later denounces him as a falsifier (xxvi. 49; xxx. 19; xxxiii. 10, etc.). He does, however, use Polybius, besides Licinius Macer , Quadrigarius, and Caelius Antipater, but often draws different portions of his narrative from conflicting accounts, so that there are frequent inconsistencies to be noticed. It is evident that he had never read the Leges Regiae or even many important laws of later times. His purpose, however, was not at all to write a critical history, but rather, by a lively and brilliant narrative, to rekindle the patriotic spirit among his countrymen and to inspire them with a desire to emulate the deeds of their heroic ancestors. From this standpoint, his history deserves the highest praise, and justly won for him the name of "the Roman Herodotus." The only criticism of any account that has come down to us is that of Asinius Pollio recorded by Quintilian (i. 5, 56 and viii. 1, 3), which charges the historian with displaying in his writings a certain Patavinity (Patavinitas, from Patavium, Padua, Livy 's birthplace). Just what this criticism was meant to imply is not clearly known. It may have been intended to characterize the style as being more florid than was consistent with the reserve of a Roman gentleman, or it may refer to the presence of provincialisms, which we are not now able to detect as such. It may, as some think, have marked the enthusiasm of the writer as opposed to the polished and self-contained urbanitas of the metropolis. On this point, see Wiedemann, De Patavinitate Livii (Görlitz, 1848-54); and Moritz Haupt, Opuscula, ii. 69. Of Livy's history, the first decade (books one to ten) is entire. It embraces the period from the foundation of the city to the year B.C. 294, when the subjugation of the Samnites may be said to have been completed. The second decade (books eleven to twenty) is altogether lost. It embraced the period from 294 to 219, comprising an account, among other matters, of the invasion of Pyrrhus and of the First Punic War. The third decade (books twenty-one to thirty) is entire. It embraces the period from 219 to 201, comprehending the whole of the Second Punic War. The fourth decade (books thirty-one to forty) is entire, and also one half of the fifth (books forty-one to forty-five). These fifteen books embrace the period from 201 to 167, and develop the progress of the Roman arms in Cisalpine Gaul, in Macedonia, Greece, and Asia, ending with the triumph of Aemilius Paulus. Of the other books nothing remains except inconsiderable fragments, the most notable being a few chapters of the ninety-first book, concerning the fortunes of Sertorius. The composition of so vast a work necessarily occupied many years; and we find indications which throw some light upon the epochs when different sections were composed. Thus, in the first book (ch. 19), it is stated that the temple of Ianus had been closed twice only since the reign of Numa-for the first time in the consulship of T. Manlius (B.C. 235), a few years after the termination of the First Punic War; for the second time by Augustus Caesar, after the battle of Actium, in 29. But we know that it was shut again by Augustus, after the conquest of the Cantabrians, in 25; and hence it is evident that the first book must have been written between the years 29 and 25. Moreover, since the last book contained an account of the death of Drusus, it is evident that the task must have been spread over seventeen years, and probably occupied a much longer time. The discovery of the lost books of Livy has been a dream of scholars for many centuries, and may yet be realized. In the sixteenth century a complete Livy was reported to be in existence in a monastery in Denmark, where two travellers independently professed to have seen it; but inquiry failed to verify the claim. Among the most famous manuscripts of Livy now in existence are a Codex Mediceus and a Co dex Parisinus, each of the eleventh century. Portions of bks. iii.-vi. are preserved in a very old palimpsest at Verona. The third decade is preserved in a MS. now in Paris (the Codex Puteaneus) of the eighth century, and in a Mediceus of the eleventh century. The fourth decade is known from a Codex Moguntinus (Mayence), now lost, and from a MS. at Bamberg. What is preserved of the fifth decade is in a sixth-century MS. at Vienna. The editio princeps of Livy appeared at Rome about 1469 (bks. xxxiii. and xli.-xlv. omitted). The first critical edition was that of F. Gronovius (Leyden, 1645). Great editions are those of Drakenborch with variorum notes and supplements (7 vols. Amsterdam, 1738-46; reprinted at Stuttgart, 1820-28, and edited by Bekker and Raschig, Berlin, 1829 foll.); Madvig, Ussing, and Luchs, not yet finished (Berlin, 1888 foll.); and Weissenborn and Müller, with German notes (Berlin, 1867- 1888). Good editions of separate portions are the following: Bk. i., by Seeley (Oxford, 1876), Purser (Dublin, 1881), Stephenson (London, 1886); bk. iv., Stephenson (London, 1890); bk. v., Whibley (London, 1890), Prendeville, 13th ed. (London, 1890); bks. v.-vii., Cluer and Matheson (London, 1881); bks. vii.-viii., Luterbacher (Leipzig, 1890); bks. xxi.-xxii., Lord (Boston, 1891); bks. i., xxi.-xxii., Westcott (Boston, 1891); bks. xxi.-xxv., Harant (Paris, 1886); bks. xxvi.-xxx., Riemann (Paris, 1889). On Livy 's language, see Riemann, Études sur la Langue et la Grammaire de Tite Live (Paris, 1884). There is a vast lexicon to Livy , preparing by Fügner, of which in 1894 six parts had appeared. On the sources of Livy 's history, see Lachmann, De Fontibus Historiarum T. Livii (Göttingen, 1821); H. Peter, Hist. Reliquiae, i. 89, 198, 225; and Kieserling, De Rerum Romanarum Scriptoribus Quibus T. Livius Usus Est (Berlin, 1858). There is a translation of the whole of Livy into Elizabethan English by Philemon Holland (London, 1600); of bks. xxi.- xxv., by Church and Brodribb (2d ed. London, 1890); and of the whole into German by Klaiber and Teuffel, in 6 vols. (2d ed. Stuttgart, 1854-56). See Historia.