A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 4 1. Question Why did the boundaries between law, violence, custom, and emergency power keep shifting in early Republican Rome? The Roman Republic shown in Book 4 of Livy is not a finished constitutional state.It is an unfinished operating system that survives by adding institutions, … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why did the introduction of written law fail to completely resolve the conflict between the patricians and the plebeians? This question does not ask whether the Twelve Tables were a failure. In the early Roman Republic, the content of law and the … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why did Rome send a delegation to Athens to investigate its laws? This question cannot be answered simply by saying that Rome wanted to import the advanced laws of Athens. In the early Roman Republic, law and public authority still depended heavily … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why did the Roman army regain its power to fight after freedom was restored? This question cannot be answered only by saying that the soldiers became more motivated after gaining freedom. Even under the despotism of the Decemvirs, the Roman army still … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why was the Verginia incident not merely an individual crime, but evidence of the collapse of the governing OS? This question is not limited to the private desire or criminal nature of Appius Claudius. The deeper question is this: Why was the … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why was Roman freedom protected by the right of appeal and the power of the tribunes of the plebs? This question is not only about the historical fact that the right of appeal and the tribunes protected the plebeians. The deeper question … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why does a reform body become a despotic institution when it loses the controls over its authority? This question is not only about why the Decemvirs lost control. The deeper question is this: Why did a temporary body created to change an … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why did written law not guarantee stable rule? This question is not only about why the Twelve Tables alone did not stabilize Rome. The deeper question is this: Even after written law was created as external control, or IC, why did the … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why did Rome need written law? This question is not only about why Rome needed laws. The deeper question is this: Why could the early Roman Republic no longer stabilize its rule only through custom, aristocratic discretion, self restraint of magistrates, and … Read more
A Three-Layer Analysis (TLA) of Livy, History of Rome, Book 3 1. Question Why did Rome almost lose its freedom through the Decemvirs, who were created to write down the law, and yet manage to repair itself? This question is not only about why the Decemvirs failed. The deeper question is this: Why did an … Read more
