When we reach the borders of mythical story, which without a miracle could not be immediately followed by annals, we are constrained to adopt a division of time into periods: so that I am not to be reproached for its being immethodical. The opinion we are to form with regard to the pretended histories of the period just marked out, is evident from a comparison of the two historians. Livy under 251 and 252 narrates a war against Pometia and the Auruncians, and repeats the same again afterward, under the year 259, as a war against the Volscians; of an oversight like this Dionysius could not be guilty, and he relates it only in the latter year. On the other hand Livy, who on this point is the more inconsiderate of the two, displays much greater judgement on occasion of the Sabine wars; mentioning nothing about them except two triumphs out of the Fasti; without a syllable on the military occurrences of the five campaigns circumstantially recounted by Dionysius.

Nor does the latter go less into detail in describing the events of the Latin war; concerning which nothing but the battle of Regillus is narrated in Livy; except under 255, where it is said, as briefly as possible, that Fidenæ was besieged, Crustumeria taken, Præneste came over to the Romans.