Caption: "Livy, History of Rome, 'Livy is instinct with poetry' - Shelly, manuscript written in Italy, 1436. Livy's great work, Ab Urbe Condita Libri, covers the period from the foundation of Rome in 753 B.C. to the year 9 B.C. or up to twenty years before his death. In fine oratorical language, Livy expresses his burning desire to inculcate again, in his decadent era, the virtues and patriotism of the earlier great Romans. His 'pictured page,' with vividness of detail, graphic portrayal of events, 'reporting' of fine speeches of his heroes, was the inspiration for the painters and writers of historical themes in the Renaissance. This work of Livy's is still the chief source of knowledge of the period with which it deals. However, it ignores the origin and development of the Roman constitution and shows little interest in military art. By the middle of the fifteenth century, the universities of Italy and the court schools introduced the study of the humanities. To meet the increased demand for more numerous and cheaper copies of the Greek and Roman writers, the secular scribes developed the semi-cursive character of the revived Carolingian handwriting. Shading of the strokes disappeared for the first time in centuries, and the writing developed a slope. Book-hands of this type became the model for italic types.”
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