Livy's Exemplary History

"The idea that it is possible to learn from history was a commonplace for the historians of Greece and Rome, but what exactly did they think it meant? Were the lessons moral or practical or both? How might one perceive and apply them? In Livy's History of Rome, people constantly learn or fail to learn from the past, and in many ways his monumental narrative can be read as an extended exploration of these questions." "Dr Chaplin starts from Livy's programmatic claim that history offers examples of good and bad conduct. Where previous studies have focused on the meaning of exemplary episodes and characters in isolation, this treatment traces the way historical figures try to interpret the past to their advantage. In doing so, the book demonstrates Livy's awareness of the shifting relevance of history and argues that a narrative organized around exempla allowed Livy, poised between the collapse of the Republic and the foundation of the Empire, to make the Romans' past meaningful for their future."--Jacket.