Chapter II: Valerius Maximus—a Repertory for Speakers

Valerius Maximus—His date—His nine books and their aim—A
collection for rhetoricians—Method and arrangement—National
subject-matter and spirit—Sources—Survival of his
influence through abridgements—Limitations in historical
outlook—Adulation of the Caesars—Moralizing and sententious
reflections—His style a mirror of the period—The poetic
element—Rhetorical exclamations and declamations—Balanced
structure—Artificial conceits—Language—Abstractions—Vocabulary
and syntax.

Little can be surmised regarding the life of Valerius Maximus,[140] the compiler of a significant repertory for rhetoricians; but that little is enough to settle his period. Vossius,[141] rejecting the suggestion that he belonged to the third century A.D., proved that he must be referred to the age of Tiberius; and there is not much to add to his arguments. Aulus Gellius, in the second century, cites from the eighth book of Valerius.[142] Further, what are almost the only explicit personal reminiscences in Valerius’s work afford evidence of date; for his great friend, the eloquent Sextus Pompeius, with whom he visited Asia and to whose kindly patronage he pays a tribute in his chapter on friendship, is identical with one of the consuls in the last year of Augustus’s and the first year of Tiberius’s reign, A.D. 14.[143] Pompeius was also a friend of Germanicus, and the patron to whom Ovid addressed certain epistles from Pontus:[144] he became proconsul of Asia about A.D. 27. Besides, the tone in which Brutus and Cassius are charged with “parricide” for their share in the assassination of Julius Caesar savours of the repressive times of Tiberius.[145] Confirmatory impressions may be derived from Valerius’s style; and, finally, if more precision in dates be desired for an author not so lavish in their use as Velleius Paterculus was, then two passages may be cited bearing on the time of composition. The prefatory remarks to his treatment of _pudicitia_ must have been written before Livia’s death in A.D. 29; and the denunciation directed against Sejanus (though it does not name him) must have been written after his downfall in A.D. 31.[146] Valerius’s work, then, appeared at latest within a few years after the publication of Paterculus’s history in A.D. 30; for its dedication to Tiberius, who is the Caesar addressed[147] and often flattered, shows that it was not subsequent to the close of his reign in A.D. 37.

His work, _Facta et Dicta Memorabilia_, consists, as we have it, of nine books; and though his epitomator, Julius Paris, implies there were ten, this is most likely an error. The author’s aim will be best understood in the light of a summary of the contents:—

Book I. Religion, auspices, omens, prodigies and marvels
ranging from more to less awe-inspiring instances—from a
mysterious utterance or miraculous intervention of a god, to
such merely curious cases as those of the man who forgot how to
read, or the princess with a double row of teeth, or a heart
stuffed with hairs!

Book II. A _pot-pourri_ of subjects, perhaps in this book
more loosely interrelated than in any—marriage, magistracies,
military regulations and discipline, public games, foreign
customs, censorial strictness, and so on.

Book III. Mental and moral endowments, bravery, endurance, rise
from humble origin to greatness, degeneracy, self-confidence,
etc.

Book IV. Moderation, abstinence, conjugal love, friendship,
generosity, etc.

Book V. Clemency, gratitude, ingratitude, filial duty,
brotherly affection, patriotism, paternal love and severity.

Book VI. Chastity, outspoken retorts, strict punishments,
weighty words and acts, justice, national honour, fidelity of
wives and of slaves (where the comment _quo minus exspectatam
hoc laudabiliorem fidem_ speaks eloquently of the prevailing
distrust felt by masters), and mutability of fortune.

Book VII. Good fortune, wise sayings or acts, smart sayings or
acts, military _ruses_, defeat at elections, the straits of
necessity, wills cancelled or ratified.

Book VIII. A book covering an extensive range, but furnishing
only a few brief examples under some of its headings—Acquittals
and convictions in public trials, famous private law-suits,
women who pleaded cases, testimony borne in court, those who
committed faults which they punished in others, industry,
leisure, eloquence, expression and gesture, striking effects
of the arts, memorable old age, desire of glory, magnificent
honours conferred.