ARGUMENTUM

Accuratius hic quam antea disceptatur de aetate, qua libri De lingua Latina a Varrone scripti ac producti sint. Demonstratur Varronem opus suum in lucem edidisse desinente anno 45 aut ineunte 44 a.C.n., cum fasti a Caesare emendarentur. Praetera docet auctor teste Censorino (De die nat. 22, 9–13) Varronem ea, quae ibi de mensium nominibus disseruisset, in posteriore quodam scripto correxisse.

This article aims to look at the Roman interest in the past beyond the context of traditional historiography, focused on the great politics, events and individuals. It suggests that antiquarian writing was not so much a separate literary genre, but rather an alternative model of historical reflection focused on studying the distant past in all its manifestations: everyday life, culture, religion, language or law.