46. Quintus Curtius (1. x. c. 9) pays an elegant compliment
to the emperor of the day, for having, by his happy
accession, extinguished so many fire-brands, sheathed so
many swords, and put an end to the evils of a divided
government. After weighing with attention every word of the
passage, I am of opinion that it suits better with the
elevation of Gordian, than with any other period of the
Roman history. In that case, it may serve to decide the age
of Quintus Curtius. Those who place him under the first
Caesars, argue from the purity of his style, but are
embarrassed by the silence of Quintilian, in his accurate
list of Roman historians.