Nine Books of Memorable Deeds and Sayings

...is mentioned by Valerius at the beginning of VI, 1, under the consuls Rubellius and Fufius 1, in such a way that it is clear that Livia was still among the living at the time the sixth book was written. Thus, since the Asiatic journey mentioned in II, 6, 8 could not have occurred before the year 780, and the execration of Sejanus (IX, 11, ext. 4) could not have occurred after 785, it is necessarily gathered that the first six books were composed between the years 780 and 782, and the remaining three between 782 and 785.

Regarding what is reported by Baehrius (Röm. litter. gesch. History of Roman Literature II, p. 126, 3rd ed.)—that there were those who thought Valerius lived in the third century A.D. and established him as the same person as the author of this book and the consul of the year 1006 A.U.C. (253 A.D.) 2, colleague of the Emperor Volusianus—G. I. Vossius (de hist. Lat. I, 24) merely touched upon this in passing, stating that the idea could come to someone because the style of this writer hardly tastes of the age of Tiberius, that he belongs to a much later age, and is perhaps that same M. Valerius Maximus whom we mentioned as the colleague of Volusianus. Yet Vossius himself immediately rejected that suspicion, which was never seriously put forth. Nevertheless, there were not lacking those who were deceived by it 3.

Of the rest of the life of Valerius Maximus, of his status, condition, and studies, we have absolutely nothing discovered. If, however, you admit a conjecture made from the character and plan of the work, he himself aspired to the rhetorical art and perhaps taught it to others. For I am persuaded that the books of Memorable Deeds and Sayings were written primarily for the use of those making speeches and declaiming, so that either his students or others studying the same art, if they wished to strengthen some material with arguments and examples sought from history, which were most potent in every kind of case, could supersede the labor of a long search in the works of ancient writers, where the things they were seeking were spread out more widely. I cannot otherwise explain what is read in the preface of the first book, for those wishing to take documents, etc. Thence also the order and disposition of history—as they thought it was—which seemed strange to many 4, by which examples elected from illustrious authors were divided into individual chapters according to certain notions, virtues, vices, and whatever else there is.

1) Cf. Tacitus, Annals V, 1 and Velleius II, 130, 5, who ended his history shortly after this year.
2) For thus it must be read, with two typographical errors corrected.
3) Cf. Revue de philol. Review of Philology I, p. 142.
4) Cf. Glareanus in the preface to his edition.