Customer Reviews

Florus: Epitome of Roman History (Loeb Classical Library No. 231)

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This volume of the Loeb Classical Library series (1929) contains Lucius Annaeus Florus' Epitome of Roman history and Cornelius Nepos' The Book on The Great Generals of Foreign Nations and the surviving excerpts from the Book on Latin Historians. The Loeb editions are complete with both the Latin and English text, a brief and somewhat lacking introduction, and important information on the manuscript tradition. Both of these works are important but certainly not masterpieces but are necessary reads for the Historian interested in Rome or the historical genre of Biography and panegyric. The four star rating comes from the lack of suitable introductions, especially on rhetorical devices the authors use (some mention in the introduction to Nepos' works).

Not much is known about Florus except that he lived sometime during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian and he most likely was born somewhere in Africa (there are multiple people named Florus who could have been the Florus who wrote the Epitome). The Epitome is an "abridgement of Roman History with special reference to the wars waged by the Roman people from the foundation of the city down to the age of Augustus." His source material is primary Livy with some "reminiscences of Virgil and Lucan" and perhaps "the Histories of the elder Seneca were also used as a source." The work is a bombastic "panegyric of the Roman people, and interprets events, whereved it is possible, in a sense favorable to the Romans." That said Florus is mostly without bias when it comes to Roman affairs. This is not a source for historical fact but rather it is important because it was read occasionally in the Medieval period and more frequently afterward, tells us something about Roman propaganda and rhetoric, and how people used the one of the greatest historians of Roman, Livy.

Cornelius Nepos was born in Cisalpine Gaul (c. 100-24 B.C) and lived for most of his life at Rome. He most likely did not take part in politics but exchanged letters with Cicero and was an intimate with Atticus (Catullus also dedicated a book of poems to him). Nepos was a prolific author (most of his works are not longer extant) - this volume contains all his surviving works (besides some fragments): the complete Book on the Great Generals of Foreign Nations, and the two books of The Latin Historians. The Book on Great Generals is the "oldest existing biographical work that has come down to us under the name of its author". Nepos' writes in a plain style and has been branded as "not skilled in the art of composition" but considering that the biographical form is so early this makes sense. However, his account of Hannibal and Atticus are enjoyable reads.