After Reading Livy’s History of Rome (Books 6-10)

A book covering the period from the recapture of Rome from the Gauls up through the Third Samnite War. Rome fights ceaselessly. It fights the Etruscans and the Samnites, and countless other, weaker tribes besides. The struggle between the patrician class and the plebeian class was no less fierce than the fight against foreign enemies. They fight so relentlessly that even the Romans themselves say as much: that whenever the plebeians assert the rights of their class against the patricians, a war breaks out. That in fact the patricians stir up war precisely to silence the plebeians. This question goes unanswered, not only by the author Livy but by anyone.

In any case, the Romans fight without rest. And the slaughter goes on and on. So extreme was the plunder and destruction the Romans inflicted that even the Samnites, who had once squared off proudly against the Romans, in the end fell into despair and frustration and destroyed themselves. In this way Rome effectively laid waste to all of Italy. Reading through this process, the massacres in the Commentaries on the Gallic War seem almost laughable by comparison. The Gallic War dragged on for a mere ten years. But Rome’s war in Italy went on for centuries.

Having accumulated such enormous resentment, Rome is desperate in every war. Dictators are appointed one after another, and total war, in which every man of the city marches off to battle, is repeated again and again. The reason is simple. Because the Romans had destroyed the cities of defeated tribes countless times, if Rome were to lose, it would mean the destruction of the city itself. And it was not as if the cities and tribes competing with Rome were far away. The home base of the Volsci, who waged what seemed like an endless war against Rome, was located a mere 50 km from the city. All of these were places reachable in a few hours of walking at the nearest, or within a few days at the farthest. In effect, every city waged a struggle against the others with its survival on the line. It is a horrific thing.

Given such circumstances, it is no wonder that other peoples, such as the Greeks, called the Italians barbaric. It is even doubtful whether the Gauls and the Germani, whom the Romans themselves condemned as barbaric, could surpass the Romans when it comes to war and the organized mass slaughter that followed it. I find myself wondering whether the very reason Rome was later able to conquer the Mediterranean world might be found right here.

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Livy. Translated by Lee Jong-in. 2019. Livy’s History of Rome 2. Hyeondaejiseong.