Sallust (87 BC - 35 BC)

Sallust

Sallust, or Gaius Sallustius Crispus, was an ancient Roman historian, a reformer of ancient historiography, who had a significant influence on Tacitus and other historians.

Sallust was one of the first Roman historians to introduce into historical works extended speeches of the main characters to better emphasise the peculiarities of their character and political orientation. He was also one of the first to cast a critical eye on the recent history of Rome. Minor passages of his main work, the Histories, have survived. More famous are two small historical monographs - "On the Conspiracy of Catiline" and "The Jugurthine War". The theoretical basis of the works of Sallust was the doctrine of moral decline, according to which the cause of the crisis of the Roman Republic was the departure from traditional virtues to the domination of ambition and greed.