LIVY.
There is no ancient biography of Livy, and very little light is thrown on his life by his own writings or by allusions in other authors.
Titus Livius was born at Patavium (the modern Padua) B.C. 59: Jerome yr. Abr. 1958, ‘T. Livius Patavinus scriptor historicus nascitur.’ (The Armenian version gives Ol. 180, 4 = B.C. 57.) Near Patavium there was a famous sulphur spring known as Aponus or Aponi fons, whence Martial calls the district Apona tellus (i. 61, 3, ‘Censetur Apona Livio suo tellus’). There is no reason to suppose from this that Livy’s birthplace was not Patavium itself, but a village Aponus, which is nowhere mentioned. Statius (Silv. iv. 7, 55) calls him ‘Timavi alumnus.’ For Livy’s acquaintance with Patavium cf. x. 2, 14 and 15.
From his tone we may infer that he came of a good family, and he must have possessed a fair income. The charge against his style of Patavinitas implies that he spent a considerable part of his life in his native town, but he probably settled at Rome about B.C. 30. That he took no part in public life is clear from his own words: i. praef. 5, ‘Hoc laboris praemium petam, ut me a conspectu malorum, quae nostra tot per annos vidit aetas, tantisper certe, dum prisca illa tota mente repeto, avertam, omnis expers curae, quae scribentis animum etsi non flectere a vero, sollicitum tamen efficere posset.’
He enjoyed the intimacy of Augustus, whom he himself mentions, iv. 20, 7, ‘hoc ego cum Augustum Caesarem ... se ipsum ... legisse audissem.’ Tac. Ann. iv. 34, ‘T. Livius, eloquentiae ac fidei praeclarus in primis, Cn. Pompeium tantis laudibus tulit, ut Pompeianum eum Augustus appellaret; neque id amicitiae eorum offecit.’ It was at Livy’s suggestion that the future emperor, Claudius, started to compose a history: Sueton. Claud. 41, ‘historiam in adulescentia, hortante T. Livio, Sulpicio vero Flavo etiam adiuvante, scribere adgressus est.’ On the other hand, Caligula would have liked to remove Livy’s writings and his bust from all the libraries, calling him ‘verbosum in historia neglegentemque’ (Sueton. Calig. 34).
Nothing more is known of his life, except that he visited Campania, xxxviii. 56, 3, ‘Nam et Literni monumentum monumentoque statua superimposita fuit, quam tempestate disiectam nuper vidimus ipsi.’
He died at his native town, A.D. 17: Jerome yr. Abr. 2033, ‘Livius historicus Patavii moritur.’
He had at least one son (Quint. x. 1, 39, ‘apud Livium in epistula ad filium scripta’), and one daughter (Sen. Contr. x. praef. 2, ‘L. Magius gener T. Livi’).
Livy wrote philosophical works, probably popular treatises like Cicero’s, some of them in the form of dialogues.
Sen. Ep. 100, 9, ‘Nomina adhuc T. Livium. Scripsit enim et dialogos, quos non magis philosophiae adnumerare possis quam historiae, et ex professo philosophiam continentis libros.’
A book on rhetoric was known to Quintilian and Seneca the elder, apparently in the form of a letter addressed to the author’s son (Quint. x. 1, 39, above).
Quint. ii. 5, 20, ‘quemadmodum Livius praecipit’ (on models of style); Sen. Contr. ix. 2, 26, ‘Livius de oratoribus ... aiebat’ (on obscurity of expression); Sen. Contr. ix. 1, 14, ‘T. Livius tam iniquus Sallustio fuit ut hanc ipsam sententiam ... obiceret Sallustio.’
These minor works have perished, and of his great history only a portion survives.
Its title, according to the oldest MSS., the summaries of the lost Books, and the grammarians, was Ab urbe condita libri; and this is corroborated by Livy’s own language: i. praef. 1, ‘si a primordio urbis res populi Romani perscripserim’; and by Pliny, N.H. praef. 16, ‘T. Livium ... in historiarum suarum, quas repetit ab origine urbis, quodam volumine.’ Livy refers to it loosely as meos annales (xliii. 13, 2). Separate parts may have had special titles: thus Books cix-cxvi. were known as Civilis belli libri viii. (Codex Nazarenus of the Periochae).
The number of Books now extant is thirty-five, viz., i.-x., which carry the history down to B.C. 293, and xxi.-xlv., covering the period B.C. 218-167. Of these xli. and xliii. are incomplete. But we possess summaries (Periochae or Argumenta) of Books i.-cxlii., except cxxxvi. and cxxxvii., which show that the narrative was continued to the death of Drusus in B.C. 9. There is no evidence that it actually went further; but as the death of Drusus is hardly an event of sufficient importance to form the conclusion of so great a work, it has been thought that Livy may have intended to finish with the death of Augustus—the point from which Tacitus starts. The total number of Books would then have been probably one hundred and fifty.
The division into Books (libri or volumina) is due to the author: vi. 1, 1, ‘quae ab condita urbe Romani gessere quinque libris exposui.’ The division into decades (i.e. sets of ten Books) is first mentioned towards the end of the fifth century; it is merely a conventional arrangement, the subject-matter falling naturally into sets of fifteen Books, which again sometimes embrace three sub-divisions each a half-decade, or two, a half-decade and a decade.
An epitome was known to Martial, xiv. 190,
‘Pellibus exiguis artatur Livius ingens,
quem mea non totum bibliotheca capit.’
The evidence of the date of composition is as follows:
(a) i. 19, 3, ‘Bis deinde post Numae regnum [Ianus] clausus fuit, semel T. Manlio consule post Punicum primum perfectum bellum, iterum, quod nostrae aetati dei dederunt ut videremus, post bellum Actiacum ab imperatore Caesare Augusto pace terra marique parta.’ Now, as the first closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus was in B.C. 29, and as Livy is silent as to the second closing after the Cantabrian war in 25, it follows that this passage was written B.C. 29-25. The use of the title Augustus, conferred on Octavian in 27, puts the earliest possible date two years later. The history therefore was not begun before B.C. 27.
(b) ix. 36, 1, ‘Silva erat Ciminia magis tum invia atque horrenda quam nuper fuere Germanici saltus.’ In this Niebuhr found an allusion to the campaigns of Drusus, B.C. 12-9, and accordingly assumed that the first decade was not published till B.C. 9. But the passage may equally well refer to earlier campaigns, e.g. of Julius Caesar. Nor can it be shown that the history of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, published B.C. 7, was used by Livy for Books viii.-x. Book ix. must have been written before B.C. 20, or Livy would have mentioned the recovery of the standards from the Parthians in ix. 18, 9.
(c) xxviii. 12, 12, ‘Hispania prima Romanis inita provinciarum, quae quidem continentis sint, postrema omnium nostra demum aetate ductu auspicioque Augusti Caesaris perdomita.’ This was written not earlier than B.C. 19, if it refers to Agrippa’s victory over the Cantabrians.
(d) Book lix. mentioned the lex de maritandis ordinibus, and consequently cannot have been earlier than B.C. 18.
(e) The books in which Pompeius figured were composed in the lifetime of Augustus (Tac. Ann. iv. 34, above).
(f) Book cxxi., according to the oldest MS. of the Periochae, was published after the death of Augustus; so doubtless were the remaining Books (A.D. 14-17).
A work of such compass, and occupying so many years of the author’s life, would naturally be published in sections. This a priori view is corroborated by several considerations: (a) There are separate prefaces to various sections (vi. 1; xxi. 1; xxxi. 1); (b) Livy’s style was censured[70] by Asinius Pollio, who died A.D. 5; (c) Augustus was acquainted with Livy’s sympathetic treatment of Pompeius (see above); (d) Livy had great fame in his lifetime: Pliny, Ep. ii. 3, 8, ‘Numquamne legisti Gaditanum quemdam T. Livi nomine gloriaque commotum ad visendum eum ab ultimo terrarum orbe venisse statimque ut viderat abisse?’
The historians from whom Livy derived his materials, and whom he himself mentions are: Fabius Pictor (i. 44, 2, etc.). Livy refers to him six times, but it may be questioned whether he used him at first-hand. More probably he took his opinions on the authority of later annalists like Macer, Antias, and Tubero. Cincius Alimentus (xxi. 38, 3): the Cincius quoted in vii. 3, 7, may be the same, or an antiquarian of the Ciceronian or Augustan age; Cato (xxxiv. 15, 9); Calpurnius Piso (xxv. 39, 15); Coelius Antipater (xxix. 25, 3); Claudius Quadrigarius (vi. 42, 5, etc.); Valerius Antias, quoted thirty-five times—far more frequently than any other authority; Licinius Macer; Aelius Tubero (iv. 23, 1); Clodius Licinus (xxix. 22, 10); Rutilius (xxxix. 52, 1); Polybius; Silenus (xxvi. 49, 3), a Greek, whose account of the Second Punic War was favourable to the Carthaginians.
A criticism of Livy’s use of these sources is impossible, except in the case of Polybius, all the others having perished. His tone in alluding to the Greek historian is remarkable for its coldness: xxx. 45, 5, ‘Polybius haudquaquam spernendus auctor’; cf. xxxiii. 10, 8. Although Polybius is not mentioned till Book xxx., he was undoubtedly used throughout the third decade, as well as in the fourth and fifth. Livy follows him very closely. Where Livy differs from Polybius he is probably following the account of Coelius Antipater, who is his leading authority for the Second Punic War.
Livy is not careful to reconcile his sources, and so frequently contradicts himself. His way of explaining a discrepancy between his authorities is by striking an average (xxvi. 49, 6, ‘si aliquis adsentiri necesse est, media simillima veris sunt’). His irresolution was noted by Quintilian, ii. 4, 19, ‘saepe quaeri solet de tempore, de loco, quo gesta res dicitur, nonnumquam de persona quoque, sicut Livius frequentissime dubitat.’ This of course has its good side: it saves him from dogmatizing on uncertain points, and he has a hearty appreciation of the confusion in his authorities: xxxvii. 34, 5, ‘is ubi et quando et quo casu captus sit, sicut pleraque alia, parum inter auctores constat.’ He recognizes the value of contemporary evidence: xxii. 7, 4, ‘Fabium aequalem temporibus huiusce belli potissimum auctorem habui’; xxi. 38, 3, ‘L. Cincius Alimentus, qui captum se ab Hannibale scribit, maxime auctor moveret.’ Criticism of his authorities is most conspicuous in the case of Valerius Antias, whom at first he followed in good faith; he condemns him again and again for exaggeration and credulity, e.g. xxxiii. 10, 8, ‘si Valerio qui credat, omnium rerum immodice numerum augenti’; xxxix. 43, 1, ‘Valerius Antias, ut qui nec orationem Catonis legisset et fabulae tantum sine auctore editae credidisset.’ He also recognizes the bias of Licinius Macer: vii. 9, 5, ‘quaesita ea propriae familiae laus leviorem auctorem Licinium facit.’ For the untrustworthiness of family records, cf. viii. 40, 4, ‘vitiatam memoriam funebribus laudibus reor falsisque imaginum titulis, dum familiae ad se quaeque famam rerum gestarum honorumque fallenti mendacio trahunt.’
Livy often refers to authorities whom he does not name: ‘invenio apud quosdam,’ ‘satis constat’; and to tradition: ‘fama est,’ ‘dicitur,’ ‘fertur,’ ‘traditur.’ Tradition was the sole source for events prior to the sack of Rome by the Gauls, cf. vi. 12, 2 sqq.
There is no trace in Livy of any use of original documents.
He constantly resists the temptation to digress from his proper theme: e.g. xxxix. 48, 6, ‘cuius belli et causas et ordinem si expromere velim, immemor sim propositi, quo statui non ultra attingere externa, nisi qua Romanis cohaererent rebus.’
In spite of his love of truth (xxii. 7, 4, ‘nihil haustum ex vano velim, quo nimis inclinant ferme scribentium animi’: cf. Tac. Ann. iv. 34, ‘fidei praeclarus’), partiality blinds him to the faults of his own countrymen, and he fails to do justice to opponents like the Samnites and Carthaginians.
In dealing with the legendary period he admits that his narrative has no trustworthy foundation, and gives it merely for what it is worth: Praef. 6, ‘Quae ante conditam condendamve urbem poeticis magis decora fabulis quam incorruptis rerum gestarum monumentis traduntur, ea nec adfirmare nec refellere in animo est. Datur haec venia antiquitati, ut miscendo humana divinis primordia urbium augustiora faciat.’
The numerous speeches exemplify Livy’s rhetorical tendency, representing what he thought the speaker would have said under the given circumstances: iii. 67, 1, ‘ibi in hanc sententiam locutum accipio.’
His power of describing character is noted by Seneca, Suas. vi. 21, ‘Quoties magni alicuius viri mors ab historicis narrata est, toties fere consummatio totius vitae et quasi funebris laudatio redditur. Hoc ... T. Livius benignius omnibus magnis viris praestitit.’
Religion and morality.—Livy believes in the influence of the gods on human affairs: ix. 1, 11, ‘cum rerum humanarum maximum momentum sit, quam propitiis rem, quam adversis agant dis.’ Superior to the gods is necessitas (ix. 4, 16), and fortuna is also powerful (ix. 17, 3; v. 37, 1). He condemns the irreligion of his own day (x. 40, 10, ‘iuvenis ante doctrinam deos spernentem natus’), cf. iii. 20, 5; viii. 11, 1. He retains the old belief in prodigies and portents, every war being introduced by a list of them, but recognizes that many reported instances were fictitious: xxi. 62, 1, ‘Multa ea hieme prodigia facta, aut, quod evenire solet motis semel in religionem animis, multa nuntiata et temere credita sunt.’
He condemns the vices of his own age, and lauds the old Romans: Praef. 12, ‘Nuper divitiae avaritiam et abundantes voluptates desiderium per luxum atque libidinem pereundi perdendique omnia invexere.’
Politics.—Livy is an aristocrat, with a poor opinion of the lower orders: e.g. xxiv. 25, 8, ‘Ea natura multitudinis est: aut servit humiliter aut superbe dominatur; libertatem, quae media est, nec cupere modice nec habere sciunt.’ His political attitude is influenced to a great extent by the earlier historians, who had mostly been on the aristocratic side. Yet he is not a defender of the aristocratic party through thick and thin; and though he admired the character of some leading republicans, there can be no question of his loyalty to the Empire. Cf. Tac. Ann. iv. 34, ‘Scipionem, Afranium, hunc ipsum Cassium, hunc Brutum nusquam latrones et parricidas, quae nunc vocabula imponuntur, saepe ut insignes viros nominat.’
Livy’s view of Caesar is quoted by Seneca, N.Q. v. 18, 4, ‘in incerto esse utrum illum nasci magis rei publicae profuerit, an non nasci?’
Contemporaries of Livy.—1. Pompeius Trogus, whose history is known to us only through the abridgment made by M. Iunianus Iustinus, probably in the time of the Antonines. Trogus was of Gallic descent. His grandfather had received the Roman civitas from Pompey; his father was one of Caesar’s officers, and is possibly to be identified with the Cn. Pompeius of Caes. B.G. v. 36 (Iustin. xliii. 5, 11). His chief work, Historiae Philippicae, in forty-four Books, was concerned chiefly with the history of Macedonia and the Diadochi; but it embraced also the empires of the East and the history of Greece down to the time of Philip, as well as Parthia, Spain, Carthage, and the early history of Rome.
2. Fenestella, who died, according to Jerome, in A.D. 19 at the age of seventy. Nothing is known of his life, or of the poems which Jerome attributes to him; but he certainly wrote Annales (Nonius, p. 154). He is also quoted as an authority on miscellaneous antiquarian and constitutional points.
3. M. Verrius Flaccus, tutor to the grandsons of Augustus (Sueton. Gramm. 17), was the author of Fasti, fragments of which have been discovered near Praeneste, and which were used by Ovid for his poem of that name. Of Verrius’ grammatical works, the greatest was that entitled De verborum significatu (Gell. v. 17, 1), arranged alphabetically. It is lost, but we possess part of an abridgment (nine out of sixteen Books) made by Sex. Pompeius Festus before the third century A.D. The abridgment of Festus was in turn epitomized by Paulus Diaconus in the time of Charlemagne, and his work is extant in a complete form.
4. C. Iulius Hyginus, a freedman of Augustus and librarian of the Palatine library (Sueton. Gramm. 20), wrote De vita rebusque illustrium virorum (Gell. i. 14, 1); Exempla (Gell. x. 18, 7); De situ urbium Italicarum (Serv. ad Verg. Aen. iii. 553); De familiis Troianis (ibid. v. 389); theological works, e.g. De dis Penatibus (Macrob. Saturn. iii. 4, 13); commentaries on Virgil and Helvius Cinna; and De Agricultura, a treatise to which Virgil was indebted (Colum. i. 1, 13). The Hyginus who wrote Fabulae and De Astrologia probably lived in the second century A.D.