ABSTRACT
Valerius has Scipio and Jupiter Optimus Maximus interact again in his chapter on moderation. Scipio refuses a statue of himself in the cella of Jupiter Optimus Maximus’ temple (4.1.6). Livy told this story too, and in his version Valerius repeats many of Livy’s words verbatim (38.56). He also makes significant alterations. Livy begins with the political honors Scipio spurned followed by the religious honors likewise rejected. The facts are, moreover, related in the wider context of Scipio’s political struggles with Tiberius Gracchus and with the Petillii, and also his marriage alliance to Tiberius through Cornelia.37 Valerius reverses the order. He begins with the religious, quickly relates the political, and moves rapidly to a conclusion. Valerius’ genre demands that he make a point quickly.
