ABSTRACT
In the footnotes to some of Kierkegaard’s compositions one can stumble upon the name of Valerius Maximus, a crafty and for that reason popular Roman storyteller. A contemporary reader might associate the name with moral punch lines, memorable anecdotes, or aphorisms such as, for instance: “the divine wrath is slow indeed in vengeance, but it makes up for its tardiness by the severity of the punishment.”1 This and similar statements originate from the book Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri IX or The Memorable Deeds and Saying in 9 Books. This is the only written text produced by Valerius. Unfortunately, not much is known about his personal history.
