Stoicism and history in Joachim du Bellay's Antiquitez Du Rome

At first glance, Joachim Du Bellay's collection of sonnets, the Antiquitez de Rome, may seem like a solemn, withdrawn meditation upon the ravages of time. And in many respects this is true. But the text is also much more. The Antiquitez actively engages in contemporary debates and draws upon Stoicism to make a profound critique of the imperialistic historiographies that flourished prior to its publication in 1558. Du Bellay uses the Antiquitez to propose an alternate philosophy of history.