In On Temperaments, Galen of Pergamum sets out his concept of the combination of the four elemental qualities (hot, cold, wet, and dry), which is fundamental to his account of the structure and function of human, animal, and plant bodies. Two related works explore disturbances in this combination and their consequences.
Livy (Titus Livius, 64 or 59 BC–AD 12 or 17), the great Roman historian, presents a vivid narrative of Rome’s rise from the traditional foundation of the city in 753 or 751 BC to 9 BC and illustrates the collective and individual virtues necessary to maintain such greatness. The third decad (21–30) chronicles the Second Punic War of 220–205 BC. This Loeb edition replaces the original (1943) by Frank Gardner Moore.
The Satyrica (Satyricon liber), traditionally attributed to the Neronian courtier Petronius, is a comic-picaresque fiction recalling the narrator’s adventures in the early imperial demimonde, including Trimalchio’s banquet. Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkinification) is a satirical pamphlet lampooning the death and deification of the emperor Claudius.
