Aelius Aristides (117–after 180), among the most versatile authors of the Second Sophistic and an important figure in the transmission of Hellenism, produced speeches and lectures, declamations on historical themes, polemical works, prose hymns, and essays on a wide variety of subjects.
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 (1949) by Frank Gardner Moore.