Livy's History of Rome is our main source for the study of the history of the early centuries of the Roman Republic. In Book IX Livy narrates the course of the Second Samnite War, one of the most important that Rome fought during its conquest of Italy: the book begins with Livy's celebrated account of the Roman defeat in the Caudine Forks and ends with Roman victory over the Samnites. This commentary discusses all problems posed by Livy's matchless narrative.

This magisterial work, to be published in three volumes, is the first full-scale commentary to be written in modern times on this part of Livy's great history of Rome. This second volume consists of Books VII and VIII, in which Livy describes Rome's annexation of Capua and Naples and her first fighting against the Samnites, the powerful tribe that lived in the mountains of central Italy. (The commentary is not accompanied by the Latin text or a translation).

Livy's tenth book, an exciting climax to his first decade, narrates two political advances of 300 BC, the Lex Valeria de provocatione and the opening up of major priesthoods to plebeians; it also tells of the Spartan Cleonymus' landfall at the site that long afterwards would be Venice. Its main topic, however, is Roman warfare, above all the outbreak of the Third Samnite War and the decisive battle of Sentium in 295 BC. This new commentary, which completes Professor Oakley's exposition of Books VI-X, deals comprehensively with all aspects of Livy's work, including the literary structure of his narrative, the historical and topographical problems of the Samnite Wars, the poetical and archaic language sometimes affected by Livy, and the numerous textual problems posed by the extant manuscripts. An extensive section of addenda and corrigenda contains revisions to the preceding volumes.

Livy's ninth book, one of his finest and most interesting, begins with his celebrated account of the Roman disaster in the Caudine Forks and its aftermath and contains also the famous digression on Alexander and our longest account of the censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus. This new commentary, which is a sequel to those on Books VI-VIII published in 1997 and 1998, deals comprehensively with all aspects of Livy's work, including the literary structure of his narrative, the purpose of the digression on Alexander, the historical and topographical problems of the Samnite Wars, Roman politics in the age of Appius Claudius Caecus, the poetical and archaic language sometimes affected by Livy, and the numerous textual problems posed by the extant manuscripts.