Historiam narrare propositum est

Petrarcas livianische ‹Biographie› des Cato Censorius

Abstract

Thomas Tschögele: Historiam narrare propositum est. Petrarch’s Livian ‹Biography›of Cato Censorius.

Two aspects of Petrarch’s ‹De viris illustribus› will be addressed in the present article. Firstly, a detailed comparison of the chapter on Cato Censorius with the corresponding passages in Livy will provide insight into Petrarch’s method of selecting and transforming his source material. Secondly, it will be argued that the perceived incompleteness of this particular chapter, which most scholars believe to be unfinished, reflects the historical, rather than biographical, intention of Petrarch’s project.