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Livy: Book I
Livy's first book covers the 'mythical' period of Rome, from the arrival of Aeneas in Italy, including the founding of Alba Longa and Rome, the lives of Romulus and Remus, and the period of Kingship up to the banishment of the last of the seven kings, Tarquinus Superbus and the election of the first consuls. The book opens with Livy's important Preface which explains his rationale for writing this history.
This edition, with introduction, commentary notes and vocabulary by H.E. Gould and J.L. Whiteley, was first published in Macmillan's Modern School Classics series. The introduction covers the life and work of Livy, his role as an historian, Livy's writing, style, grammar and syntax, and the historical context of the period. The edition's comprehensive annotation, vocabulary and introduction elucidates essential points of historical content as well as providing all the linguistic support needed to understand the text, including glosses of obscure words, explanations of difficult phrases and grammatical support. A translation of the Preface and maps of Latium and Rome of the Regal Period are also included.
This edition, with introduction, commentary notes and vocabulary by H.E. Gould and J.L. Whiteley, was first published in Macmillan's Modern School Classics series. The introduction covers the life and work of Livy, his role as an historian, Livy's writing, style, grammar and syntax, and the historical context of the period. The edition's comprehensive annotation, vocabulary and introduction elucidates essential points of historical content as well as providing all the linguistic support needed to understand the text, including glosses of obscure words, explanations of difficult phrases and grammatical support. A translation of the Preface and maps of Latium and Rome of the Regal Period are also included.
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1945
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168 people want to read
About the author
Livy
3,112 books275 followersTitus Livius (Patavinus) (64 or 59 BC – AD 17)—known as Livy in English, and Tite-Live in French—was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people – Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) – covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history. Livy and Augustus's wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 19, 2009
Excellent.
July 19, 2022
la historia de la fundación de roma siempre me gustó mucho, pero la verdad es que la monarquía romana, aunque es entretenida, no se compara con el imperio romano :p
de todas formas amo roma y amo a tito livio, siempre me va a gustar leer sobre esta época !
de todas formas amo roma y amo a tito livio, siempre me va a gustar leer sobre esta época !
June 16, 2023
"Kas tasub end ära mulle see vaev, et ma Rooma rahva ajalugu üksikasjalikult linna tekkest alates kirjeldan?" - Jah.
December 5, 2025
I skimmed most of this tbh.
too many battles and too many annoying men.
2/5☆
too many battles and too many annoying men.
2/5☆
November 30, 2019
A nice little piece of history. Well, I don't know how much is accurate, but it made for interesting reading, anyway.
May 3, 2026
That Livy is a poet writing in prose, that he’s a romantic novelist is an old cliche, but it is true and especially so in the first book. The pity we feel at the desertion of Alba,
our outrage at Tullia and her cart bloodied by the guts of her father, and above all his portrait of Lucretia’s final moments are enough to prove that Livy’s command of pathos is equal to that of any poet’s. But Livy’s true genius lies in weaving these colourful episodes into a philosophically coherent narrative of how political power grows and how the constitutions of states evolve. Livy I is after all a philosophical novel. I’ll give a sketch of how it hangs together.
Book one tells the story of how a nation is educated to the point where it can govern itself as a republic. Livy knew that nations don’t spring up fully formed like Athena from the head of Zeus. As Livy says at the beginning of book II, it was as if each king founded a part of the city.
The state begins as a mob of half-feral shepherds and fugitives, brought together under a strong man. Romulus establishes the foundations for empire through raw military might and symbols of power that overawe the multitude (the lictors and fasces). Romulus also establishes the basic distinction between the masses and best citizens, whom he separates out as the senate (the patres).
Numa teaches the arts of peace. He recognizes that the Romans are at this point still a half-feral mob and in order to bring them up to the next stage of development, he instills the fear of the Gods through rituals and an organized priesthood.
Livy then reminds us that Rome is still a nation in its youth with the reign of Tullius Hostilius. The word ferox (wild, bold) characterizes his reign and most important actors in it. Mettius Fufetius is executed in a barbaric fashion that Livy basically calls unRoman. Hostilius starts wars on unjust and hence unRoman pretences. The great hero of his generation, Horatius, loses his self-control and murders his sister.
Ancus Marcius sets Rome on the proper path because he embodies moderation. He learns from the exempla of both Numa and his more warlike predecessors; he attends to the Gods and he wages war successfully when it is necessary. The senate acquires the power of making war, and the best men of the conquered peoples are admitted to its ranks. Tarquinius Priscus, despite his ambition, tempers the exercise of power with the condition of divine approval through introducing the custom of taking the auspices.
The reign of Servius Tullius marks the peak of the monarchical constitution: with the census, he sets in law a distribution of burdens and privileges that accords with justice. The wealthy are to provide their own weapons and armour and fund the state; the poor do not pay anything. In return, honours and political power are restricted to the nobles: the mob can no longer vote for the king. Widows are useless, so they pay for feeding the equite’s horses.
By the end of the reign of Tullius, the Roman nation has been educated. The Romans have gone from a band of rapist fugitives to a nation divided into gradations of rank, experienced in war, obedient to the gods. The senate began as a council of clan heads and has grown into a body of seasoned elder statesmen. But before Tullius can allow Rome to become a republic, as he planned, he is brutally murdered and overthrown.
Under Tarquinius Superbus monarchy degenerates into tyranny. He kills or expels the best men of the state and takes their wealth and the people are treated as slaves, set to work on ambitious projects like the cloaca maxima. Moderation is lost, Lucretia is raped. The nobles, who after Romulus were incapable of even the idea of ruling on their own in a republic, seize power.
our outrage at Tullia and her cart bloodied by the guts of her father, and above all his portrait of Lucretia’s final moments are enough to prove that Livy’s command of pathos is equal to that of any poet’s. But Livy’s true genius lies in weaving these colourful episodes into a philosophically coherent narrative of how political power grows and how the constitutions of states evolve. Livy I is after all a philosophical novel. I’ll give a sketch of how it hangs together.
Book one tells the story of how a nation is educated to the point where it can govern itself as a republic. Livy knew that nations don’t spring up fully formed like Athena from the head of Zeus. As Livy says at the beginning of book II, it was as if each king founded a part of the city.
The state begins as a mob of half-feral shepherds and fugitives, brought together under a strong man. Romulus establishes the foundations for empire through raw military might and symbols of power that overawe the multitude (the lictors and fasces). Romulus also establishes the basic distinction between the masses and best citizens, whom he separates out as the senate (the patres).
Numa teaches the arts of peace. He recognizes that the Romans are at this point still a half-feral mob and in order to bring them up to the next stage of development, he instills the fear of the Gods through rituals and an organized priesthood.
Livy then reminds us that Rome is still a nation in its youth with the reign of Tullius Hostilius. The word ferox (wild, bold) characterizes his reign and most important actors in it. Mettius Fufetius is executed in a barbaric fashion that Livy basically calls unRoman. Hostilius starts wars on unjust and hence unRoman pretences. The great hero of his generation, Horatius, loses his self-control and murders his sister.
Ancus Marcius sets Rome on the proper path because he embodies moderation. He learns from the exempla of both Numa and his more warlike predecessors; he attends to the Gods and he wages war successfully when it is necessary. The senate acquires the power of making war, and the best men of the conquered peoples are admitted to its ranks. Tarquinius Priscus, despite his ambition, tempers the exercise of power with the condition of divine approval through introducing the custom of taking the auspices.
The reign of Servius Tullius marks the peak of the monarchical constitution: with the census, he sets in law a distribution of burdens and privileges that accords with justice. The wealthy are to provide their own weapons and armour and fund the state; the poor do not pay anything. In return, honours and political power are restricted to the nobles: the mob can no longer vote for the king. Widows are useless, so they pay for feeding the equite’s horses.
By the end of the reign of Tullius, the Roman nation has been educated. The Romans have gone from a band of rapist fugitives to a nation divided into gradations of rank, experienced in war, obedient to the gods. The senate began as a council of clan heads and has grown into a body of seasoned elder statesmen. But before Tullius can allow Rome to become a republic, as he planned, he is brutally murdered and overthrown.
Under Tarquinius Superbus monarchy degenerates into tyranny. He kills or expels the best men of the state and takes their wealth and the people are treated as slaves, set to work on ambitious projects like the cloaca maxima. Moderation is lost, Lucretia is raped. The nobles, who after Romulus were incapable of even the idea of ruling on their own in a republic, seize power.
June 16, 2021
"...sueltos los cabellos y rasgadas las vestiduras..."
p. 29
"Un silencio lleno de tristeza y un mudo abatimiento paralizó de tal modo los ánimos de todos que en su angustia no sabían qué dejar o qué llevarse, faltos de decisión, se consultaban unos a otros; tan pronto se quedaban parados a la puerta, como daban vueltas sin rumbo por sus casas para verlo todo por última vez"
p. 57
"...al ir pasando de largo ante los templos venerables ocupados por los soldados y al ir dejando a los dioses como prisioneros."
p. 57-58
"Los habían relegado al olvido, como si, al abandonar la patria, hubiesen también abandonado a los dioses"
p. 60
"El mal encaja muy bien con el mal."
p. 85
"... que es la voluntad la que comete falta, no el cuerpo, y no hay culpa donde no ha habido intencionalidad."
p. 105
p. 29
"Un silencio lleno de tristeza y un mudo abatimiento paralizó de tal modo los ánimos de todos que en su angustia no sabían qué dejar o qué llevarse, faltos de decisión, se consultaban unos a otros; tan pronto se quedaban parados a la puerta, como daban vueltas sin rumbo por sus casas para verlo todo por última vez"
p. 57
"...al ir pasando de largo ante los templos venerables ocupados por los soldados y al ir dejando a los dioses como prisioneros."
p. 57-58
"Los habían relegado al olvido, como si, al abandonar la patria, hubiesen también abandonado a los dioses"
p. 60
"El mal encaja muy bien con el mal."
p. 85
"... que es la voluntad la que comete falta, no el cuerpo, y no hay culpa donde no ha habido intencionalidad."
p. 105
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October 10, 2024it is ok for me to add this to my list because it took me forever to read but i’m not reading all 5 of the first books and given that it’s divided by “books,” this counts as a book and i did not read it in latin like this edition suggests but i wish i did
July 21, 2022
Nuestro querido Tito Livio cuenta cosas mágicas acerca de los fundamentos de la civilización occidental con la cercanía del amigo con quién se comparte unos tragos en la esquina. Brillante.
Read
August 4, 2022segunda vez 😪
November 19, 2022
(Legi a paragrapho prima ad sextam decimam)
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April 15, 2026Lu la moitié pour la fac
November 25, 2012
There's not much that I can say here that hasn't been said a thousand times already and thousand times better than I am able, so this is going to be short. I'm not a fan of Livy. Sure, what's left of his work is invaluable to the study of ancient Rome, but for me, as a reader, he's just no fun. Quintilian can keep his "lactea ubertas," I find his still to be generally uninteresting (not to be confused, by any means, with "easy to read"), and his method of writing history, that is, a dry reportage of facts, does nothing to hold the interest when the action is in a lull. As a collector of information and systhesizer of sources, I am grateful to Livy for his work; but for interesting, intriguing, and challenging history, I'll take Tacitus any day.
October 26, 2016
I read chapters 1-12 in the original Latin, and the rest in English translation. These are all foundation myths of Rome, and it's interesting to see how Livy simultaneously distances himself from the mythic stories while also hinting that perhaps there is some truth to Rome's divine origins. I loved reading the Romulus & Remus story in Latin!
Livy leaves a lot of ambiguity and contradictions in his histories, and many have called him the "inaccurate historian," but we are also judging him on his extant books of the ancient past -- his books on more recent (to him) history have been lost.
The commentary in this edition has a lot of grammatical help -- thank goodness!
Livy leaves a lot of ambiguity and contradictions in his histories, and many have called him the "inaccurate historian," but we are also judging him on his extant books of the ancient past -- his books on more recent (to him) history have been lost.
The commentary in this edition has a lot of grammatical help -- thank goodness!
January 18, 2015
Revisiting this text with a student/friend this summer. Looking forward to rereading the early legends of Rome.
December 31, 2014
Empieza lento pero termina espectacular.
August 7, 2018
A treat to finally get around to reading the original!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews