I will begin my story with the second consulate of Servius Galba, when his colleague was Titus Vininius.

Many historians have dealt with the previous eight hundred and twenty years since the founding of Rome and have vividly and freely described the period of the republic. However, after the naval battle of Actium, when it became necessary for the sake of peace to concentrate all power in the hands of one man, great minds of this kind faded away simultaneously.

The historical truth was tested in various ways, on one hand because those who wrote were ignorant of politics, which had become a foreign subject for them, and on the other hand because they were driven either by a strong desire to flatter or, conversely, by aversion to those in power.

Thus, the hatred of one side and the servility of the other resulted in a complete lack of interest in what would be handed down to future generations. However, while people quickly turn away from the flattering historian, calumny and reproach find willing listeners; for flattery always faces the disgraceful accusation of being an expression of servility, while malice appears pretentiously as independence of opinion.