The Res Publica and its Decline. From Sallust to Livy.
Ausonius| N° d'inventaire | 23295 |
| Format | 17 x 24 |
| Détails | 700 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2021 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782356133649 |
This study explores from a comparative perspective the historical presentation and philosophical interpretation of the decadence of the res publica in Sallust and Livy. In the first part, it is shown that Sallust and Livy are the first authors to have chosen the progress and decadence of a city as the central theme of their narrative. Through a detailed examination of the stages of decadence in both authors, it is noted that Livy constantly makes corrections to Sallust's theory. Neither historian's schema conforms to a cyclical or linear vision of time. The biological representation of the city also shows that humans are solely responsible for the disease of decadence. However, the resumption of progress according to a cyclical conception and the healing of the body of the State are mentioned as perspectives only by Livy. The second part is devoted to the causes of the disease of decadence, and the third to the healing of the res publica. Three factors are examined in detail: the "divine" factors, the metas hostilis, and human nature. Livy reverses Sallust's increasingly pessimistic analysis and reintroduces man as the main factor in history and responsible for decadence. In the third part, their different visions of the future of Rome are highlighted, through the study of the political position and the exemplary function of the work of the two historians. It emerges that Livy adopts Sallust's categories of analysis, but designs his own presentation and interpretation of decadence in response to his predecessor, whose theories he reverses.
This study explores from a comparative perspective the historical presentation and philosophical interpretation of the decadence of the res publica in Sallust and Livy. In the first part, it is shown that Sallust and Livy are the first authors to have chosen the progress and decadence of a city as the central theme of their narrative. Through a detailed examination of the stages of decadence in both authors, it is noted that Livy constantly makes corrections to Sallust's theory. Neither historian's schema conforms to a cyclical or linear vision of time. The biological representation of the city also shows that humans are solely responsible for the disease of decadence. However, the resumption of progress according to a cyclical conception and the healing of the body of the State are mentioned as perspectives only by Livy. The second part is devoted to the causes of the disease of decadence, and the third to the healing of the res publica. Three factors are examined in detail: the "divine" factors, the metas hostilis, and human nature. Livy reverses Sallust's increasingly pessimistic analysis and reintroduces man as the main factor in history and responsible for decadence. In the third part, their different visions of the future of Rome are highlighted, through the study of the political position and the exemplary function of the work of the two historians. It emerges that Livy adopts Sallust's categories of analysis, but designs his own presentation and interpretation of decadence in response to his predecessor, whose theories he reverses.