Titus Livius, known as Livy, was a Roman historian from Padua whose monumental work, Ab Urbe Condita ("From the Founding of the City"), sought to preserve the memory and moral spirit of Rome. Living during the reign of Augustus, Livy looked back on Rome's early struggles and triumphs to remind his generation of the virtues that had once made the Republic great-courage, justice, temperance, and devotion to country. His history unites patriotic legend and philosophical reflection, teaching that the true strength of a nation lies in the character of its people.