James H. Richardson. The Fabii and the Gauls

The concept of exemplarity, through which past acts are evaluated according to their usefulness as models for present conduct, has become a major focus in the study of Latin literature and, by extension, Roman history after the cultural turn. The centrality of this habit of thought for the structuring of Roman social memory is reflected most famously in Polybius's analysis of the aristocratic funeral, in which the commemoration of deeds performed by the deceased and his ancestors is said to act as an incitement for future generations to strive to accomplish similar things. Its importance is confirmed by texts like Livy's history From the Founding of the City, the preface to which emphasized the benefits of contemplating the past to learn what to emulate and what to avoid, and Valerius Maximus's Memorable Deeds and Sayings, a handbook of exempla excerpted from Greek and Roman sources and grouped under subject headings for easy consultation.

Archaeology · Art · Centrality · Extension (predicate logic) · Focus (optics) · Habit · Historiography · Incitement · Literature · Political science · Roman history · Sociology · Subject (documents) · Chinese history and philosophy · Classics · History · Law · Psychology