Livy, Augustus, and Exempla

Abstract

Abstract As we saw at the outset, the general tendency to treat lucretia as precisely the kind of historical lesson Livy has in mind in Preface 10 overlooks the fact no one ever profits from Lucretia’s experience. In fact, within a generation she vanishes from everyone’s memory but the narrator’s. But, as we have also seen, Livy’s use of exempla is far more nuanced than the construction of straightforward illustrative episodes, and, while Lucretia may not teach anyone within the text the price of female chastity, she does offer Livy’s external audience a helpful reminder of what history is all about. For with her final words, Lucretia behaves as if she has read the Preface, forecasting (albeit mistakenly) her own value as an example for others. Nor is she alone in doing so; throughout y’s narrative, his characters recognize the power of exempla, whether they are invoking, forging, or anticipating them. Hannibal is a particularly clear illustration.