Also read the same author’s _Synopsis_ of the above twenty books in
five volumes. In this his style is more elegant but not nearly so
agreeable; at the same time the work is more useful, since nothing is
inserted except what is absolutely necessary. From his style, concise
and free from redundancies, he may be described as a king laying
down the law; his composition and diction send forth a sound which
reaches the ears of the hearer somewhat more harshly. His manner is
not unsuitable for synopsis, but by no means adapted for a perfect
and complete history. It is evident that the writer lived before Dion
Coccaeus[451] and Appian[452] of Alexandria, who also wrote on Roman
history.