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There is, of course, deep appreciation for Livy‟s literary composition but the statement
that „Livy would want to be judged on his literary style‟ 35 is only partially valid and now
outdated. Livy wrote an annalistic history of Rome with a specific moralistic approach
and would expect judgement on content too (Livy, 1.1). As Tacitus noted, style and
honesty were both required in a historian (Ann. 4.34). Livy wrote in part „to admire and
to enshrine the deeds of the men who made Rome‟ 36 but also in admiration of the city of
Rome itself as indicated by his title ab urbe condita and his first Preface (Livy, 1.1).
This fundamental basis to Livy‟s text explains many of the differences between his
presentation and those of other authors, including Polybius and Silius Italicus, as time
and again Livy‟s presentation of events in the third decad returns the reader‟s focus to
the physical city of Rome.
Luce‟s work on the architectural and symmetrical nature of Livy‟s text highlights the
importance of structure as a „dedication and a reflection of the architectural and
decorative symmetry of the city that had become monumental in Livy‟s own time.‟ 37
Luce argued that Livy‟s narrative is a product of the choices he made from his available
sources which are worked into the symmetry of his structure and these choices are made
not only in terms of which historical record to follow. 38 This broad assessment of Livy‟s
technique also appears in Moore‟s comparison of Livy and Polybius for the
characterisations of certain (Roman) figures through specific Roman virtues. 39 The
comparisons made in the fifth chapter of this thesis indicate that Livy expands
considerably on the various forms and meanings of fides as presented by Polybius in
reference to the story of Capua and other towns in Italy responding to Hannibal after
Cannae. Although not directly related to Hannibal, and hence not discussed in depth in
this thesis, it is a topic that could be explored in future research.
More recently, Livian scholarship has taken other factors into account, such as the
importance of the physical city to the monumental and political nature of the text, and
35 Usher, 1969, 180. Briscoe, 1973, 17 describes Livy 33.45.7 as highly poetical; Livy, 33.48 as written in
a free-flowing almost Herodotean style. „Had he had time to revise the passage, one feels, the inelegancies
would have been removed.‟
36 Marincola, 1997, 29.
37 Luce, 1977, 139. For other discussions on the structure in Livy‟s text, see Mellor 1999, 75; Feldherr,
1998; Miles, 1995; Jaeger, 2000; Kraus and Woodman, 1997, 51-81. In historical terms see Hoyos, 2006,
xxii-xxvi.
38 Luce, 1977, 139; also Wiseman, 1979, 50.
39 Moore, 1989, 149-151 argues that, in some cases, Livy translates Polybius directly but, in other cases,
Livy changes the virtue to a different one, showing that Livy felt no obligation to praise his characters in
the same terms used by his sources.
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