Uses virtus as a nostalgic tool, presenting legendary figures from Rome’s past as moral exemplars for his contemporary audience to emulate.
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.
The term virtus is famously difficult to translate, shifting between "military courage" and "ethical virtue". Balmaceda traces this progression across different eras: Virtus Romana: Politics and Morality in the Rom...
Scholars of Roman history, historiography, and intellectual history, as well as advanced undergraduates.
Catalina Balmaceda , Associate Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (2017). Uses virtus as a nostalgic tool, presenting legendary
Balmaceda highlights a dichotomy between virilis-virtus (manly courage in war) and humana-virtus (moral virtues like justice and clemency). Book Details
Reclaims virtus for the new imperial system, manifesting it in the person of the Emperor (Tiberius) himself rather than just the collective Roman people. The term virtus is famously difficult to translate,
Adapts the concept for life under autocracy. Under tyrannical rule, virtus becomes less about public glory and more about "private" qualities like constancy, moderation, and endurance . Key Takeaways
