SOURCE: Maslakov, G. “Valerius Maximus and Roman Historiography: A Study of the Exempla Tradition.” Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt (II) 32, no. 1 (1984): 437-96.

In the following excerpt, Maslakov asserts that a complete understanding of Valerius's Memorable Doings and Sayings requires an analysis within the context of the exempla tradition, claiming that such a reading allows the reader to properly recognize Valerius's historical sensibility as well as his use and manipulation of historical material in the collection.

Valerius Maximus' Exempla. Some Problems of Historical Perspective

Valerius Maximus put together his Facta et Dicta at a crucial stage in the development of the Roman state. He dedicated this morally charged collection to Tiberius (te igitur huic coepto, penes quem hominum deorumque consensus maris ac terrae regimen esse voluit, certissima salus patriae, Caesar, invoco, cuius caelesti providentia virtutes, de quibus dicturus sum, benignissime foventur, vitia severissime vindicantur), whose constitutional position...