LIVY 1. Titus Livius was born in Padua in 59 BC. 2.

He was not a brilliant man, not an expert on politics, economics or military matters, but a great story teller and writer of readable history. 3. The main quality of his writing is its vivid and dramatic quality, especially in the characterisation and speeches. 4. He wrote 142 books of the history of Rome of which 35 survive. 5. He writes to a purpose. He was conservative and saw the glorious past of Rome as an example of how people should be. He believed that the greatness of character of the ancient Romans was what had led to Rome's control of the world. 6. He also believed that the character of Roman society had degenerated in recent times and that this decline in moral standards had led to a general decline in society. 7. So he wanted to entertain and instruct, hoping that the fine example of past greatness would inspire men of his own day to do great things. 8. He is not overly concerned as to whether a story is true or not, if it should be true that is enough. He does not investigate the causes of events with any great analysis. 9. His main interest is in character and emotions, shown best in his speeches. "This is essentially an imaginative skill". (Lintott).