Ovid and the Domus Augusta Tiberius,ofthemoralisingdeploymentofexemplafromtheRomanpastin
Augustanhistoriography.TheopeningaddresstoTiberiussetsthetone:
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,
foventur,vitiaseverissimevindicantur.YouthereforedoIinvokeinthisundertaking,Caesar,inwhosepower
thecommonwillofgodsandmankindwishedthegovernmentofsea
andearthtobe,bywhosecelestialprovidencethevirtues,ofwhichI
amabouttospeak,arefostered,andvicesaremostseverelypunished.Butheretoo,asiswellknown,apowerfulnoteofanxietyandofdangernar-
rowlyaverted,makesitselffelt.Forin,,ext.,Valeriuslaunchesintoan
invectiveagainstsomeonewhohadconspiredagainstthecurrentemperor.
TuvidelicetefferataebarbariaeimmanitatetruculentiorhabenasRo-
maniimperii,quasprincepsparensquenostersalutaridexteracontinet,
caperepotuisti?...sedvigilaruntoculideorum...etinprimisauc-
toractutelanostraeincolumitatisneexcellentissimameritasuatotius
orbisruinaconlaberenturdivinoconsilioprovidit.
Couldyouindeed,abeingmoresavagethanthemonstrosityofwild
barbarity,havetakenoverthereinsoftheRomanempire,whichour
princeps and parent holds in his salutary right hand? But the eyes of
the gods werevigilant...andabovealltheauthorand guardian of
oursecuritytookprovisionbyhisdivinecounseltopreventhismost
excellentservicesfromcollapsingintheruinofthewholeglobe.GenerallytakentorefertoSejanus,andhencetodatetheworkafter..,
thisinvectivemaywell,asJaneBellemorehassuggested,refertothecon-
spiracyofLiboDrususin...^21 Ifso,thenthewholetextmaydatetothe
earlieryearsofTiberius;wemightthereforeallthemoreeasilyseeittooas
aworkwhichwas,bothininspirationandinactualdate,‘‘post-Augustan.’’
Preciselybecauseitisintendedtorepresentconventionalwisdom,itsimpor-
tancefortheideologyoftheperiodcanhardlybeexaggerated.
OnelimitingfactorinanyattempttolocatetheDicta et Factawithinthe
exemplaTradition,’’ANRW.. (), , and nowesp.W. Martin Bloomer,Valerius
Maximus and the Rhetoric of the New Nobility().
. J. Bellemore, ‘‘When Did Valerius MaximusWrite theFacta et Dicta Memorabilia?,’’
Antichthon():.