LIVIUS (Titus), the best of the Roman historians, as he is called by Mr Bayle, was born at Patavium, or Padua. Few particulars of his life have been handed down to us. Coming to Rome, he acquired the notice and favour of Augustus, and there he long resided. Some have supposed, (for there is not any proof of it), that he was known to Augustus before, by certain Philosophical Dialogues which he had dedicated to him. Seneca says nothing of the dedication; but mentions the dialogues, which he calls historical and philosophical; and also some books, written purposely on the subject of philosophy. Be this as it will, it is probable that he began his history as soon as he was settled at Rome; and he seems to have devoted himself so entirely to the great work he had undertaken, as to be perfectly regardless of his own advancement. The tumults and distractions of Rome frequently obliged him to retire to Naples; not only that he might be less interrupted in the pursuit of his destined task, but also enjoy that retirement and tranquillity which he could not have at Rome, and which yet he seems to have much sought after: for he was greatly dissatisfied with the manners of his age, and tells us, that "he should reap this reward of his labour, in composing the Roman history, that it would take his attention from the present numerous evils, at least while he was employed upon the first and earliest ages." He used to read parts of this history, while he was composing it, to Mecenas and Augustus; and the latter conceived so high an opinion of him, that he pitched upon him to superintend the education of his grandson Claudius, who was afterwards emperor. After the death of Augustus, Livy returned to the place of his birth, where he was received with all imaginable honour and respect; and there he died, in the fourth year of the reign of Tiberius, aged above seventy. Some say, he died on the same day with Ovid: it is certain that he died the same year.
Scarce any man was ever more honoured, alive as well as dead, than this historian. Pliny the younger relates, that a native gentleman travelled from Gades, in the extremest parts of Spain, to see Livy; and, though Rome abounded with more stupendous and curious spectacles than any city in the world, yet he immediately returned; as if, after having seen Livy, nothing farther could be worthy of his notice. A monument was erected to this historian in the temple of Juno, where was afterwards founded the monastery of St Justina. There, in 1413, was discovered the following epitaph upon Livy: Offa Titi Livii Patavini, omnium mortalium iudicio digni, cuius prope invito calamo inviti populi Romani res gesta conscriberentur; that is, "The bones of Titus Livius of Patavium, a man worthy to be approved by all mankind, by whose almost invincible pen the acts and exploits of the invincible Romans.
Livius. mans were written." These bones are said to be pre-
served with high reverence to this day, and are shown
by the Paduans as the most precious remains. In
1451, Alphonfus, king of Arragon, sent his ambassa-
dor, Anthony Panormita, to desire of the citizens of
Padua the bone of that arm with which this their fam-
ous countryman had written his history: and, ob-
taining it, caused it to be conveyed to Naples with the
greatest ceremony as a most invaluable relic. He is
said to have recovered from an ill state of health by
the pleasure he found in reading this history: and there-
fore, out of gratitude, put upon doing extraordinary
honours to the memory of the writer. Panormita also,
who was a native of Palermo in Sicily, and one of the
ablest men of the 15th century, sold an estate to pur-
chase this historian.
The history of Livy, like other great works of an-
tiquity, is transmitted down to us exceedingly mutilated
and imperfect. Its books were originally an hundred and
forty-two, of which are extant only thirty-five. The
epitomes of it, from which we learn their number, all
remain, except those of the 136th and 137th books.
Livy's books have been divided into decades, which some
will have to have been done by Livy himself, because
there is a preface to every decade; while others suppose
it to be a modern contrivance, since nothing about it can
be gathered from the ancients. The first decade, begin-
ning with the foundation of Rome, is extant, and treats
of the affairs of 460 years. The second decade is lost;
the years of which are seventy-five. The third decade
is extant, and contains the second Punic war, includ-
ing eighteen years. It is reckoned the most excellent
part of the history, as giving an account of a very long
and sharp war, in which the Romans gained so many
advantages, that no arms could afterwards withstand
them. The fourth decade contains the Macedonian
war against Philip, and the Asiatic war against Antio-
chus, which takes up the space of about 23 years. The
five first books of the fifth decade were found at Worms,
by Simon Grynaeus, in 1431, but are very defective;
and the remainder of Livy's history, which reaches to
the death of Drusus in Germany in 746, together with
the second decade, are supplied by Freinsheimus.
Never man perhaps was furnished with greater ad-
vantages for writing a history than Livy. Besides his
own great genius, which was in every respect admir-
ably formed for the purpose, he was trained as it were
in a city, at that time the empress of the world, and
in the politest reign that ever was; having scarcely had
any other school than the court of Augustus. He had
access to the very best materials, such as the Memoirs
of Sulla, Cæsar, Labienus, Pollio, Augustus, and o-
thers, written by themselves. "What writers of me-
morials (says Lord Bolinbroke), what compilers of the
Materia Historica, were these! What genius was ne-
cessary to finish up the pictures that such masters had
sketched! Rome afforded men that were equal to the
task. Let the remains, the precious remains, of Sal-
lust, of Livy, and of Tacitus, witness this truth.—
What a school of public and private virtue had been
opened to us at the resurrection of learning, if the latter
historians of the Roman commonwealth, and the
first of the succeeding monarchy, had come down to us
entire! The few that are come down, though broken
and imperfect, compose the best body of history that
we have; nay, the only body of ancient history that
deserves to be an object of study. It falls us indeed
most at that remarkable and fatal period, where our
reasonable curiosity is raised the highest. Livy em-
ployed forty-five books to bring his history down to the
end of the sixth century, and the breaking out of the
third Punic war: but he employed ninety-five to bring
it down from thence to the death of Drusus; that is,
through the course of 120 or 130 years. Appian,
Dion Cassius, and others, nay, even Plutarch included,
make us but poor amends for what is lost of Livy."
Speaking then of Tully's orations and letters, as the
best adventitious helps to supply this loss, he says, that
"the age in which Livy flourished, abounded with
such materials as these: they were fresh, they were au-
thentic: it was easy to procure them; it was safe to
employ them. How he did employ them in executing
the second part of his design, we may judge from his
execution of the first; and, I own, I should be glad
to exchange, if it were possible, what we have of this
history for what we have not. Would you not be glad,
my lord, to see, in one stupendous draught, the whole
progress of that government from liberty to servitude;
the whole series of causes and effects, apparent and real,
public and private?" &c.
The encomiums bestowed upon Livy, by both an-
cients and moderns, are great and numerous. He not
only entertains like Herodotus; he also instructs and
interells in the deepest manner. But the great probity,
candour, and impartiality, are what have distinguished
Livy above all historians; for neither complaisance
to the times, nor his particular connections with the
emperor, could restrain him from speaking well of Pom-
pey; so well, as to make Augustus call him a Pom-
petan. This we learn from Cremutius Cordus, in Ta-
citus; who relates also, much to the emperor's ho-
nour, that this gave no interruption to their friend-
ship. But whatever elogies Livy may have received
as an historian, he has not escaped censure as a writer.
In the age wherein he lived, Asinius Pollio charged
him with Patavinity; which Patavinity has been var-
iously explained by various writers, but is generally
supposed to relate to his style. The most common
is, that this noble Roman, accustomed to the delicacy
of the language spoken in the court of Augustus,
could not bear with certain provincial idioms, which
Livy, as a Paduan, used in divers places of his history.
Pignorius is of another mind, and believes that this
Patavinity regarded the orthography of certain words,
wherein Livy used one letter for another, according
to the custom of his country, writing sibe and quase
for sibi and quasi; which he attempts to prove by fe-
veral ancient inscriptions. The expressions, however,
or the orthography of words, are not loaded with ob-
scurity, and the perfect classic is as familiarly acquir-
ed with those supposed provincialisms as with the purest
Latinity.—Livy has been censured too, and perhaps
with justice, for being too credulous, and burdening
his history with vulgar notions and superstitious tales.
He may disgust when he mentions that milk and blood
were rained from heaven, or that an ox spoke or a wo-
man changed her sex; yet he candidly confesses that
he recorded only what made an indelible impression
upon the minds of a credulous age.
Is it worth while to mention here the capricious
and tyrannic humour of the emperor Caligula, who accused Livy of being a negligent and wordy writer, and resolved therefore to remove his works and statues out of all libraries, where he knew they were curiously preserved? Or the same humour in Domitian, another prodigy of nature, who put to death Metius Pompeianus, because he made a collection of some orations of kings and generals out of Livy's history? Pope Gregory the Great, also, would not suffer Livy in any Christian library, because of the Pagan superstition wherewith he abounded: but the same reason held good against all ancient authors; and indeed Gregory's zeal was far from being levelled at Livy in particular, the pontiff having declared war against all human learning.
Though we know nothing of Livy's family, yet we learn from Quintilian, that he had a son, to whom he addressed some excellent precepts in rhetoric. An ancient inscription speaks also of one of his daughters, named Livia Quarta: the same, perhaps, that espoused the orator Lucius Magius, whom Seneca mentions; and observes, that the applause he usually received from the public in his harangues, were not so much on his own account, as for the sake of his father in law.
Our author's history has been often published with and without the supplement of Freinheimius. The best editions are, that of Gronovius, cum notis variorum & suis, Lugd. Bat. 1679, 3 vol. 8vo; that of Le Clerc, at Amsterdam, 1709, 10 vol. 12mo; and that of Crevier, at Paris, 1735, 6 vol. 4to. These have the supplements.—Learning perhaps never sustained a greater loss, in any single author, than by the destruction of the latter and more interesting part of Livy. Several eminent moderns have indulged the pleasing expectation that the entire work of this noble historian might yet be recovered. It has been said to exist in an Arabic version: and even a complete copy of the original is supposed to have been extant as late as the year 1631, and to have perished at that time in the plunder of Magdeburgh. The munificent patron of learning, Leo X. exerted the most generous zeal to rescue from oblivion the valuable treasure, which one of his most bigotted predecessors, above mentioned, had expelled from every Christian library. Bayle has preserved, under the article Leo, two curious original letters of that pontiff, concerning his hopes of recovering Livy; which afford most honourable proofs of his liberality in the cause of letters.—A lately discovered fragment of Livy's history was published in 1773 by Dr. Bruns.