Balmaceda highlights a dichotomy between virilis-virtus (manly courage in war) and humana-virtus (moral virtues like justice and clemency). Book Details
Historians served as "promoters of change," using the concept of virtus to help Romans redefine their identity as they moved from citizen-soldiers of a Republic to subjects of an Emperor. Virtus Romana: Politics and Morality in the Rom...
Definitions of political and moral terms are not fixed; they are reinterpreted by historians to fit or challenge contemporary political realities. Views virtus through the lens of decline
Views virtus through the lens of decline. He argues that the loss of external threats ( metus hostilis ) led the Roman nobility to abandon true service to the state, replacing virtus with vices like avarice and ambition. By analyzing the works of four major historians—Sallust,
In her book , Catalina Balmaceda explores how the core Roman concept of virtus (manliness or virtue) evolved as Rome shifted from a Republic to an Empire. By analyzing the works of four major historians—Sallust, Livy, Velleius Paterculus, and Tacitus—she demonstrates that these writers did not just record history, but actively shaped Roman identity and morality through their changing definitions of what it meant to be a "good" Roman. Core Themes & Evolution of Virtus